Muncie, IN – On a rainy Tuesday evening visiting Ball State’s Schuemann Stadum for our first time, the Miami Red Hawks fought off the Ball State Cardinals into the final period to a 27-21 victory. They stay atop the Mid-American Conference (MAC as in weekday night MACtion). Miami QB Brett Gabbert tossed three TD passes in the first half. Red Hawk RB Keyon Mozee rushed for 105 yards, 45 yards more than all other running backs in this game. BSU freshman QB Kadin Semonza completed 23 of 36 attempts for 280 yards and a TD. However, two Red Hawk INTs terminated two Cardinal drives. The Red Hawks allowed only 51 rushing yards. Overall, it was a well-played, competitive game.
Blast from the Past!
Ball State’s defense started the scoring with a play right out of the Miami Dolphin’s Garo Yepremian Playbook (dating myself here- Super Bowl VII: PK who tossed an unwarranted pass for an INT in the Dolphin victory. You can look it up.). LB Brendan Berger made a solid hit to stop Dylan Dowling’s two-yard gain to force Miami to punt. Next, punter Alec Bevelhimer dropped the direct snap, rushed to pick it up, stood and attempted a pass that looked more like a basketball, jump-shot! Berger picked the fluttering ball off on the way down and then rambled 46 yards for a 7-0 Ball State lead. As rain intensified, Gabbert led the Miami Red Hawks to tie on a 75-yard touchdown drive finished off with a 34-yard pass to WR Roger Virgil.
Cardinals “chirp” while Red Hawks screech
The BSU Cardinals responded with a drive starting from their 15 and ending with Jackson Courville’s 21-yard field goal early in the second for a 10-7 lead. Immediately, the Red Hawks mounted a 68-yard drive to go up, 14-10. Gabbert threw a 12-yard scoring strike to WR Kevin Davis. Both offenses focused on their passing attacks. On the next BSU series, Semonza connected on four of five passes. However, his last came up short of a first down at the Red Hawk four. Ball State settled for Courville’s 21-yard kick.
With BSU now trailing, 14-13, Gabbert moved the Red Hawks with four completions. Javon Tracy gathered in three – the final for ten yards to lead, 21-13. With 0:36 left in the half, Semonza continue to air the ball out. “The chirping” halted at the Miami Red Hawks 39 with Corban Hondru’s INT.
Rain subsides briefly, but Lightning strikes.
Both defenses forced punts to start the second half. However, as the steady rain started to slow, Ball State provided a lightning strike as Semonza connected with WR Justin Bowick (eight catches, 171 yards, one TD) down the left sideline for a 55-yard catch and run. They now trailed, 21-19. BSU HC Mike Neu called for the two-point conversion, and Cam Pickett took it over for the tie, 21-21.
Driving with the ball into the final period, the Red Hawks got down to the five-yard-line with a 12-yard pass to TE Jack Coldiron. A loss of five followed. Miami brought in Dom Dzioban – constantly on an exercise bike on the sideline most of the game – for a 28-yard field goal. The Miami Red Hawks led, 24-21. Both defenses tightened. Miami sandwiched two three-and -outs around a Ball State three-and-out. The Miami Red Hawks started their next series at the Cardinal 45. Dzioban added three in his next attempt from 39 yards away.
Last “chirp” for Cardinals
With 1:48 left in the fourth, Ball State started from its 25. At their 35, Miami LB Matt Salopek sacked Semonza for a seven-yard loss. The next pass on fourth down fell incomplete. Ball State’s Cardinals turned the ball over on downs. Miami ran the last 53 seconds off the clock to take home the win, 27-21.
Coming up: More MACtion games for all involved and SEC Barn-burner for us
Ball State (3-6, 2-3) heads to Buffalo (3-2, 5-4) next Tuesday. The Miami Red Hawks (5-4, 4-1) won to tie three other teams for the Mid-American Conference lead. They return to Oxford to entertain Kent State (0-5, 0-9). The Red Hawks currently share the MAC lead with Ohio U., Bowling Green, and Western Michigan. All hold 4-1 MAC records. We plan to attend two more MACtion games in November. We’ll see Ohio U. host Eastern Michigan next Wednesday. And then we follow the Bobcats to Toledo the following Wednesday. Both venues in Athens and Toledo will be our first games at both. Plus, we’ll have our finger on the pulse to see who among these will play or the MAC title.
This Saturday, we don’t have to travel too far to see a good SEC confrontation. We go to nearby First Bank Stadium to see the improved, No. 24 Vanderbilt Commodores (6-3, 3-2) host South Carolina (5-3, 3-3). The Gamecocks visit fresh off their 44-20 win over Texas A&M last week. This looks to be a great game. Vandy has not defeated the Cocks since 2008. In 1995, we saw Carolina blast VU in Columbia, 52-14. In September 2018, we saw the Gamecocks knock off Vanderbilt in Nashville, 37-14. As Alabama can attest, with Diego Pavia at QB, these are not the SEC’s typical Doormat Commodores.
MACtion Musings
After attending Ohio State’s 20-13 win over Penn State in front of 111,030 fans on last sunny Saturday, this Tuesday night game in Muncie brought us back to earth. We attended this rainy, weekday night game among 6,412 true Ball State and Miami (O.) fans. I mostly noted that my walk from the Muncie Days Inn Hotel where I stayed, turned out to be a shorter stroll than we did on Saturday from out tailgate to the other side of Beaver Stadium.
In addition, a one-night stay at the hotel costs a little more than a parking space at State College. It gives you a stunning perspective among the “elites” of the Power Four programs and teams among the Group of Five. All categorized as Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) members. Good, competitive game this evening. That’s what we always enjoy most. Short, convenient walks to the hotel, but very saturated on the return trek. What a bargain to see FBS football! We look forward to visiting Athens and Toledo the next two weeks.
-ed. by Steve Koreivo Member of Football Writers Association of America and Author of Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly. Click on the title to purchase a copy and submit a review. Thanks.
