Eastern Michigan 20, Ball State 16
Associated Press
MUNCIE, Ind. - Austin Smith scored the go-ahead touchdown on a quarterback keeper midway through the fourth quarter after a big interception by Robert Daniel Jr. and Eastern Michigan held on for a 20-16 victory over Ball State.
Smith's game-winning 2-yard run came four plays after Daniel intercepted a John Paddock pass, giving Eastern Michigan (5-3, 2-2 Mid-American Conference) a first-and-10 at the Ball State 28-yard line.
Paddock staked Ball State (4-4, 2-2) to a 7-0 lead 4 seconds into the second quarter when he connected with Carson Steele for an 8-yard touchdown.
The Eagles answered with Bryson Moss' 4-yard scoring run and a career-long 55-yard field goal by freshman Jesus Gomez on the final play of the quarter to grab a 10-7 lead at halftime.
Ben VonGunten knotted the score at 10 with a 24-yard field goal. Paddock followed with an 18-yard touchdown toss to freshman Brady Hunt, but the Cardinals' lead remained 16-10 heading to the final quarter after VonGunten's point-after kick was blocked.
Gomez added a 38-yard field goal to pull the Eagles within 16-13 with 11:04 left to play. Smith's winning score came with 7:23 remaining.
Smith completed 19 of 33 passes for 193 yards for Eastern Michigan. He also led the team with 52 rushing yards on 19 carries. Hassan Beydoun had 10 catches for 85 yards.
Paddock totaled 178 yards on 15-of-26 passing with two interceptions for Ball State. Steele carried 24 times for 101 yards.
| Scoring Summary |
| Second Quarter |
EastMi | BallSt |
| BallSt |
TD |
14:56 |
Carson Steele 8 yd pass from John Paddock (Ben VonGunten kick) |
0 |
7 |
| EastMi |
TD |
10:56 |
Bryson Moss 4 yd run (Jesus Gomez kick) |
7 |
7 |
| EastMi |
FG |
0:00 |
Jesus Gomez 55 yd FG |
10 |
7 |
| Third Quarter |
EastMi | BallSt |
| BallSt |
FG |
10:14 |
Ben VonGunten 24 yd FG |
10 |
10 |
| BallSt |
TD |
4:09 |
Brady Hunt 18 yd pass from John Paddock (missed kick) |
10 |
16 |
| Fourth Quarter |
EastMi | BallSt |
| EastMi |
FG |
11:04 |
Jesus Gomez 38 yd FG |
13 |
16 |
| EastMi |
TD |
7:23 |
Austin Smith 2 yd run (Jesus Gomez kick) |
20 |
16 |
| Team Stats |
| |
Eastern Michigan |
Ball State |
| First downs |
25 |
20 |
| Rushing |
12 |
7 |
| Passing |
10 |
8 |
| Penalty |
3 |
5 |
| 3rd Down Efficiency |
9-16, 56% |
6-12, 50% |
| 4th down efficiency |
1-3, 33% |
0-0, -% |
| Rushes-Yards |
46-161 |
34-114 |
| Passing Yards |
197 |
178 |
| Return Yards |
62 |
31 |
| Completions-Attempts-Int |
20-35-0 |
15-26-2 |
| Sacks-Yards Lost |
4--22 |
1--8 |
| Punts |
4 |
3 |
| Punts-Average |
44.3 |
42 |
| Fumbles Lost |
2-0 |
2-1 |
| Penalties - Yards |
11-112 |
5-62 |
| Time of Possession |
37:09 |
22:51 |
| Eastern Michigan Passing |
| Player |
Cmp |
Att |
Yds |
TDs |
Int |
| A. Smith |
20 |
34 |
197 |
0 |
0 |
| Ball State Passing |
| Player |
Cmp |
Att |
Yds |
TDs |
Int |
| J. Paddock |
15 |
26 |
178 |
2 |
2 |
| Eastern Michigan Rushing |
| Player |
Carries |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| A. Smith |
19 |
52 |
2.7 |
1 |
| D. Boone Jr. |
11 |
43 |
3.9 |
0 |
| J. Jackson |
7 |
39 |
5.6 |
0 |
| T. Knue |
2 |
16 |
8.0 |
0 |
| B. Moss |
4 |
14 |
3.5 |
1 |
| E. Jackson-Anderson |
1 |
1 |
1.0 |
0 |
| Ball State Rushing |
| Player |
Carries |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| C. Steele |
24 |
101 |
4.2 |
0 |
| V. Pemberton |
7 |
39 |
5.6 |
0 |
| W. Jones |
1 |
3 |
3.0 |
0 |
| J. Paddock |
1 |
-8 |
-8.0 |
0 |
| Eastern Michigan Receiving |
| Player |
Rec |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| H. Beydoun |
10 |
85 |
8.5 |
0 |
| G. Oakes |
3 |
44 |
14.7 |
0 |
| T. Knue |
3 |
25 |
8.3 |
0 |
| A. Paaske |
2 |
24 |
12.0 |
0 |
| D. Drummond |
1 |
12 |
12.0 |
0 |
| J. Jackson |
1 |
7 |
7.0 |
0 |
| Ball State Receiving |
| Player |
Rec |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| J. Jackson |
4 |
66 |
16.5 |
0 |
| C. Steele |
4 |
57 |
14.3 |
1 |
| B. Hunt |
3 |
28 |
9.3 |
1 |
| A. Abdur-Rahman |
1 |
13 |
13.0 |
0 |
| W. Jones |
1 |
6 |
6.0 |
0 |
| R. Lezon |
1 |
5 |
5.0 |
0 |
| N. Presley |
1 |
3 |
3.0 |
0 |
| Eastern Michigan Interceptions |
| Player |
Int |
Yards |
| Q. Scandrett |
1 |
34 |
| R. Daniel Jr. |
1 |
0 |
| Ball State Interceptions |
| Player |
Int |
Yards |
| Eastern Michigan Punting |
| Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Avg |
| M. Tomasek |
4 |
177 |
44.3 |
| Ball State Punting |
| Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Avg |
| L. Borrow |
3 |
126 |
42.0 |
| Eastern Michigan Punt Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| Ball State Punt Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| J. Jackson |
2 |
13 |
6.5 |
| Eastern Michigan Kick Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| J. Jackson |
2 |
28 |
14.0 |
| Ball State Kick Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| N. Jones |
1 |
18 |
18.0 |
| Eastern Michigan Missed FG |
| Player |
Length |
| Ball State Missed FG |
| Player |
Length |
