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With the Ball State defense pressuring him through much of the evening, Hiller threw four interceptions and fumbled once. Sean Baker's fourth-down pick in the final minute ended a last-ditch attempt by Western Michigan to pull out a win on a rainy senior night.

“He was getting hit a lot in the first half,” Broncos head coach Bill Cubit said. “We didn’t give him much protection. Guys were in his face.”

In addition to the usual senior night incentives, WMU (5-7, 4-4 MAC) needed a win to become bowl eligible.

Ball State, on the other hand, came in hoping to close the season on a winning note. The Cardinals accomplished that with their second win of the year. Their only other victory came against winless Eastern Michigan, but BSU had shown improvement through the season. Two of its last three losses were by less than a touchdown.

"First time in two years we've won our last game,” Ball State coach Stan Parrish said. “We had so much go south on us, but if you just keep grinding, the football Gods will even it out. I had an old coach who used to tell us that every day. If you work hard, the Football Gods will even it out."

Ball State grabbed an early lead as the Broncos got off to a slow start. Following Jason Pinkston’s interception of a Hiller pass, Ian McGarvey opened scoring with a 31-yard field goal at 10:07 of the first quarter. Two Cardinal possessions later, McGarvey connected from 45 yards out.

The visitors improved their lead to 13-0 in the second quarter after McQuale Lewis scored on a three-yard touchdown at 14:36. McGarvey added the PAT.

Western Michigan mounted two scoring drives later in the quarter. John Potter provided the first score with a 29-yard field goal at 4:32.

Ball State punted after three plays on the following possession, but Hiller was hit and fumbled on Western Michigan’s next play from scrimmage. “I just wasn’t secure with the ball,” Hiller said. “The guy did a good job of stripping it.”

That turnover was quickly offset as the Cardinals returned the favor two plays later when quarterback Tanner Justice was intercepted.

Western Michigan capitalized on the miscue, moving 54 yards in 10 plays. Brandon West's one-yard TD run with 28 seconds remaining and the extra point made it a 13-10 game in favor of Ball State at halftime.

The Cardinals appeared to score a huge touchdown midway through the third quarter when Sean Baker intercepted a pass and returned it to the end zone. A personal foul penalty, however, negated the TD and BSU ultimately settled for McGarvey’s 48-yard field goal.

“We had a chance … to open it up a little bit to a 10-point lead, but that was just exuberance,” Parrish said. “It was a clean block; it was behind the guy (with the ball, but) that was a good call. It was right in front of us. It was called because it was way behind the ball.”

As the game progressed, settling for the field goal loomed as a major factor. Hiller hit Jordan White on a four-yard TD pass on the first play of the fourth quarter. Potter’s PAT gave the hosts their first lead and some momentum.

After yielding three first downs on WMU’s next possession, however, the Cardinals forced a punt. Charlie Todd received the punt and raced 87 yards to pay dirt. It was Ball State’s first punt return for a TD since 2005.

“I’ve been waiting all year (for  this). I had my chance earlier in the game, and I didn’t take it,” Todd said. “I went inside instead of to my wall, where my help was …. So when the next time (came), I set it up inside and went to all my blocking on the outside. I saw they had the blocking. After that, my job was easy. All I had to do was run.”

Now up 22-17, the Cardinals went for a two-point conversion. After a pass interference call against the Broncos, Ball State got another shot and turned to MiQuale Lewis. The 5-6, 193-pound senior was ruled down just short of the goal line, and replays failed to overturn the call on the field.

Down by five with 7:51 remaining, Western Michigan drove into Cardinals’ territory. Hiller’s 33-yard pass to Chleb Ravenell gave the Broncos a first down at the BSU 27. The drive ended, however, after WMU picked up just four more yards with a Brandon West run on first down. Three Hiller passes fell incomplete, and the Cardinals took over on downs with 5:42 left.

Ball State stayed on the ground and turned to Lewis three straight times on third down. He converted the first two. By the time Western Michigan received Scott Kovanda’s punt, Hiller had just 58 seconds left to drive 87 yards in the rain. Hiller hit Ravenell twice – first for 34 yards and then for 13 more – as the Broncos made it to the Cardinals 40-yard line.

That proved to be the end of the line, as three Hiller passes fell incomplete before Baker’s fourth down interception.

“We get four turnovers and a punt return. Many, many other days, that would have been a knockout win for us,” Parrish said. “To hang in, they just did a great job.”

“It’s frustrating,” Cubit said. You have five turnovers, and that’s the kind of thing that happens. When we don’t get two or three key stops on third down … we don’t make plays when we need to, and there were a few shots we had when we thought we’d get touchdowns, but we didn’t do it.”

Hiller, whose four interceptions was a career-high, fell one TD short of the all-time MAC record for passing touchdowns. However, his 34-yard pass to Ravenell on the final drive moved Hiller into first place on the school’s career passing yardage list. He also recorded his 16th game with over 300 yards passing, placing him in a tie with former Bronco QB Tim Lester for tops in that statistical area.

“It’s frustrating. I really let the guys down tonight and embarrassed myself,” Hiller said. “It’s a tough pill to swallow. I appreciate everything every one has done for me, and I am grateful for the opportunities.”
“We've been in a lot of close games, and we finally won one and got (it) against a team a lot of people had winning the conference with a quarterback I've heard is going into the NFL,” Parish said. “Our team never went south. I thought we always had a lot of character.”

NOTES:
-  Western Michigan outgained the Cardinals 463-226 overall and held a 24-10 advantage in first downs. “We really got off to a good start on offense, but once we ran through everything, they stopped us,” Parrish said. “We really didn’t do anything until right at the end with (Cory) Sykes and MiQuale (Lewis) with some great effort runs. We took care of the football.

- Brandon West led all rushers with 102 yards on 21 carries with one TD. Cory Sykes paced the Ball State ground game with 79 yards on 16 carries.

- Ball State quarterback Tanner Justice completed 7-of-16 passes for 71 with one interception and no touchdowns. Hiller was 33-for-62 for 354 yards with four interceptions and one TD.