For the first time since 1996, Ball State is the champion of the Mid-American Conference.
Ball State was a two-touchdown player against undefeated Buffalo on Friday night, but Mike Neu’s team managed to beat 38-28 in Detroit.
The keys to Ball State’s historic victory were a 21-0 run to close out the first half and its ability to put a stop to Jarret Patterson, Buffalo’s star who ran back.
Buffalo had a 21-14 lead midway through the second quarter, but the Cardinals would score on back-to-back possessions through Drew Plitt’s touchdown passes. The second was a deep ball to Jalen McGaughy’s wide open to give Ball State his first advantage, a 28-21 lead with 1:30 remaining in the first half.
That lead was about to grow.
In the third track that followed, defender Jimmy Daw collapsed from the sidelines and stripped Buffalo defender Kyle Vantrease. The ball bounced directly to Christian Albright of Ball State, who lifted it and sprinted 34 yards for a touchdown to give his team a 35-21 lead at the break.
That lead turned out to be too much to overcome. The first half was weak and full of great games and points. The second half was the opposite.
Patterson, who came into the game with an average of over 200 yards per game and more than eight yards per carry, was limited to just 47 yards on 18 carries. Meanwhile, Buffalo had two turnovers, had a short goal on blocked ground and overturned it three times in the second half.
Two of these turnovers fell in the fourth quarter. One was stopping the Ball State defense in the red zone, when Buffalo followed with 10 points, with 8:31 to play. The second came at 2:52 on a fourth run and 1 near the middle of the field. It was the song that essentially sealed the MAC championship for Ball State.
While Ball State has won the MAC five times in its history, it never won a MAC title game until Friday night. The only other appearance of the program in the title game came back in 2008, also against Buffalo. It was a 42-24 victory for the Bulls that day.
This time, however, it was Ball State’s turn to celebrate.
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