MACtion is back.
Ball State (3-6, 2-3 MAC) falls to rival Miami (OH) (5-4, 4-1 MAC) in the Battle for the RedBird Rivalry Trophy 27-21. The Cardinals must now go undefeated in its remaining three games to be bowl-eligible.
Here are three takeaways from the ESPN primetime loss.
The Brandon Berger game.
On the same drive, senior linebacker Brandon Berger forced a pivotal fourth down with a tackle for loss and then intercepted a failed punt which he returned for a touchdown.
His tackle for loss on third and one sent the RedHawks out of field goal range with the strong wind and forced them to punt.
Miami senior punter Alec Bevelhimer dropped the ball, recovered it and tried to heave it away. His heave landed straight in Berger’s hands, taking it 46 yards to the house.
Berger ended the day with four total tackles and his presence for the Ball State defensive line helped put pressure on Grett Gabbert.
Poor first-half red zone offense.
The first two Ball State red zone trips ended in field goals despite having less than ten yards to score.
The first drive started out with an out route that was quickly sniffed out. The second play saw redshirt junior wide receiver Kiael Kelly take the snap in the wildcat offense resulting in no gain. The next play was a pass that sailed out of the end zone.
The Cardinals had to settle for a field goal on the Miami 10-yard line.
The second end zone drive started out with Kelly taking the snap under wildcat again. His rush resulted in a loss of yards for the Cardinals. The second play was a 50/50 ball to junior tight end Tanner Koziol who could not come down with overthrown pass. The drive’s third play was a short pass that failed to reach the end zone.
Another red zone trip ended in a field goal, this time on the Miami four-yard line.
Those trips made the score 13-14. If Ball State had been able to put the ball in the end zone, they could have taken a 21-14 lead.
Instead, Ball State headed into the locker room at halftime down 21-13 after Miami scored on its final possession of the half.
Justin Bowick shines, but the offense falters
Junior wide receiver Justin Bowick transferred from Eastern Illinois to Ball State this season and was thrown into action for his first game against Vanderbilt.
Bowick made an impact against the Commodores but shined against the RedHawks. Bowick had 171 yards on eight catches with one touchdown. His eight receptions were his career high.
Bowick's lone touchdown was a 55-yard score when redshirt freshman quarterback Kadin Semonza found him on the sideline.
The Ball State’s offense only had three first downs in the fourth quarter. The Cardinals were tied up with Miami 21-21 heading in the final frame but failed to produce any offensive momentum.
Ball State produced -17 rushing yards in the quarter and was 4-for-8 through the air, racking up 32 receiving yards. The Cardinals only had the ball for 3:57 out of the 15 fourth-quarter minutes.
After it was all said and done, it was the Ball State offense’s inability to score when it was absolutely necessary that handed them their fifth straight loss to Miami.
Contact Elijah Poe via email at elijah.poe@bsu.edu or on X @ElijahPoe4.
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