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 MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State University football team (2-1, 1-0 MAC) defeated Buffalo 28-25 (1-2, 0-1 MAC) Saturday night in Scheumann Stadium in its first Mid-American Conference game of the season. Ball State managed to put together an 18-play, 75-yard drive which resulted in a 4-yard touchdown pass from Wenning to wide receiver Willie Snead with 29 seconds left to win the game.
The touchdown was the first in the career of the freshman wide receiver and capped a first ever win for Lembo in his first game in Scheumann Stadium.
"I was very proud of our guys," said head football coach Pete Lembo. "There was no panic on the sidelines. We had a lot of guys leave the game with injuries. I think Buffalo took advantage of some of those matchups in the second half, but we kept fighting. Even though we didn't score until the very end,it felt like we were making every effort to try to answer the momentum Buffalo generated in the second half. Obviously the last drive was very well executed. Some guys stepped up and made plays, and that's how you win close games."
Buffalo scored on its opening drive after quarterback Terrell Jackson threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Marcus Rivers to take the early 7-0 edge over the Cardinals.
After a scoreless first quarter, Ball State managed to tie the game at 7-7 when freshman Jahwan Edwards scored an eight-yard touchdown run with 14:11 on the clock in the second stanza.
Ball State scored two more times before the half, once after sophomore quarterback Keith Wenning found senior wide receiver Briggs Orsbon for his eighth career TD reception off of a 19-yard pass at the 4:39 mark, making it a 14-7 ball game. With 49 seconds remaining, Edwards scored his second TD of the game and third of his career off a four-yard touchdown run to give the Cardinals a 24-7 cushion over the Bulls.
Midway through the third quarter, the Bulls scored a touchdown after running back Branden Oliver ran in from 10 yards out. Jeffrey Garrett blocked the extra point to make the score 21-13, marking the first time the Cardinals blocked a PAT since Brandon Crawford did so Sept. 27, 1998, at home against Kent State.
Buffalo scored again at the start of the fourth quarter after Chazz Anderson connected with Alex Neutz on a 45-yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion was no good, which made the score 21-19. However, the Bulls regained the lead after a one-yard touchdown run by Anderson to go up 25-21 over the Cardinals with 6:28 left in the game.
Wenning’s TD pass to Snead in the final minute allowed the Cardinals to pull out the win.
Courtesy of Ball State Athletics
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