Saturday was a day to remember for redshirt junior quarterback Drew Plitt. Not only did he register a career-high 439 passing yards, but he tied Ball State’s single-game record with six touchdown passes.
In the Cardinals’ 57-29 victory over Fordham, Plitt came 30 yards short of breaking Ball State’s all-time record in passing yards, set by current head coach Mike Neu. However, Neu made it clear his decision to replace Plitt in the fourth quarter with redshirt freshman John Paddock was not so he could keep his record.
“I wanted to see him break [my record]. Records are meant to be broken,” Neu said. “He did a lot of good things today, and he’s tough as nails. Drew processes very quickly.”
While Neu was impressed with Plitt’s individual performance, Plitt said Saturday’s win was based on a collective effort, and his statistics had little effect on his perception of the victory.
“It doesn’t really matter to me,” Plitt said. “It’s just about the win, and that’s what we did today.”
Facing a 7-0 deficit early on, Plitt began his day with a 50-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Justin Hall in the first quarter. The pass was Plitt’s longest of the day as well as the season, and he said it was easily a game-changer for his team’s momentum.
Junior wide receiver, Justin Hall runs the ball for a touchdown against Fordham in the Ball State Football home opener in Scheumann Stadium Sept. 7, 2019. Hall had 83 receiving yards in the game. Jacob Musselman, DN
“We’re not just going to be the same old team that lets into adversity,” Plitt said. “We’re going to overcome it and keep playing. That play worked out the way we knew it was going to work out.”
Plitt connected twice for touchdowns with redshirt senior wide receiver Antwan Davis and once with redshirt junior fullback Cody Rudy, assisting the two to their first-ever touchdowns as Cardinals. Plitt rounded out his day with two touchdown passes to redshirt senior wide receiver Riley Miller.
Plitt said he and his teammates have spent a great amount of time developing chemistry throughout practices by working on a more versatile offense.
“We have a lot of weapons,” Plitt said. “It’s awesome to see everybody involved with scoring because I know they can do it. It happens in practice all the time. The game is a proving ground, and that’s what we did today.”
Davis, who sat out the majority of the 2018 season with a broken foot, had high praise for Plitt’s day and his overall work ethic.
“Drew Plitt had an amazing game,” Davis said. “He’s been working extremely hard since the day he got here. This year is finally where he gets to come out as a starter, and I think he’s worked hard to develop chemistry not just with me, but with all my teammates.”
Contact Connor Smith with any comments at cnsmith@bsu.edu or on Twitter @cnsmithbsu.
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