Georgia Southern 34, Ball State 23
Associated Press
STATESBORO, Ga. - Kyle Vantrease threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes and ran for a score to rally Georgia Southern to a 34-23 victory over Ball State.
Georgia Southern (3-1) trailed 23-20 after Ball State's Ben VonGunten kicked a 25-yard field goal with 12:39 remaining in the game.
Georgia Southern was forced to punt on its next possession, but Anthony Beck II's punt pinned the Cardinals at their own 8-yard line. The Eagles' defense forced a three-and-out and they got the ball back on the Ball State 43-yard line.
Six plays later Vantrease hit JJay Mcafee for a 7-yard touchdown and a 27-23 lead with 7:04 left. Ball State (1-3) was forced to punt and Vantrease threw a 47-yard scoring strike to Amare Jones to finish off a 10-play 86-yard drive and close out the win.
Vantrease completed 26 of 39 passes for 310 yards for the Eagles. He had a 4-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter to break a 13-all tie. Derwin Burgess Jr. had five catches for 133 yards.
John Paddock totaled 338 yards on 33-of-47 passing for the Cardinals with two touchdowns and an interception. Jayshon Jackson hauled in 10 passes for 122 yards and a touchdown. Freshman Tanner Koziol had the other TD catch. Carson Steele rushed for 119 yards on 23 carries.
| Scoring Summary |
| First Quarter |
BallSt | GaSo |
| GaSo |
FG |
7:09 |
Alex Raynor 25 yd FG |
0 |
3 |
| BallSt |
FG |
4:11 |
Ben VonGunten 22 yd FG |
3 |
3 |
| Second Quarter |
BallSt | GaSo |
| GaSo |
FG |
13:15 |
Alex Raynor 43 yd FG |
3 |
6 |
| GaSo |
TD |
5:29 |
Gerald Green 6 yd run (Alex Raynor kick) |
3 |
13 |
| BallSt |
TD |
1:54 |
Tanner Koziol 9 yd pass from John Paddock (Ben VonGunten kick) |
10 |
13 |
| Third Quarter |
BallSt | GaSo |
| BallSt |
FG |
8:56 |
Ben VonGunten 27 yd FG |
13 |
13 |
| GaSo |
TD |
7:10 |
Kyle Vantrease 4 yd run (Alex Raynor kick) |
13 |
20 |
| BallSt |
TD |
3:19 |
Jayshon Jackson 19 yd pass from John Paddock (Ben VonGunten kick) |
20 |
20 |
| Fourth Quarter |
BallSt | GaSo |
| BallSt |
FG |
12:39 |
Ben VonGunten 25 yd FG |
23 |
20 |
| GaSo |
TD |
7:04 |
Jjay Mcafee 7 yd pass from Kyle Vantrease (Alex Raynor kick) |
23 |
27 |
| GaSo |
TD |
1:40 |
Amare Jones 47 yd pass from Kyle Vantrease (Alex Raynor kick) |
23 |
34 |
| Team Stats |
| |
Ball State |
Georgia Southern |
| First downs |
25 |
26 |
| Rushing |
9 |
11 |
| Passing |
14 |
12 |
| Penalty |
2 |
3 |
| 3rd Down Efficiency |
6-15, 40% |
9-16, 56% |
| 4th down efficiency |
1-1, 100% |
1-2, 50% |
| Rushes-Yards |
34-158 |
38-164 |
| Passing Yards |
338 |
310 |
| Return Yards |
17 |
45 |
| Completions-Attempts-Int |
33-47-1 |
26-40-0 |
| Sacks-Yards Lost |
0-0 |
1--1 |
| Punts |
5 |
3 |
| Punts-Average |
42.4 |
45.7 |
| Fumbles Lost |
0-0 |
1-0 |
| Penalties - Yards |
7-95 |
4-35 |
| Time of Possession |
29:30 |
30:30 |
| Ball State Passing |
| Player |
Cmp |
Att |
Yds |
TDs |
Int |
| J. Paddock |
33 |
47 |
338 |
2 |
1 |
| Ball State Interceptions |
| Player |
Int |
Yards |
| Georgia Southern Interceptions |
| Player |
Int |
Yards |
| J. Birdsong |
1 |
0 |
| Ball State Punting |
| Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Avg |
| L. Borrow |
5 |
212 |
42.4 |
| Georgia Southern Punting |
| Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Avg |
| A. Beck II |
3 |
137 |
45.7 |
| Ball State Punt Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| Georgia Southern Punt Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| A. Jones |
2 |
13 |
6.5 |
| Ball State Kick Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| A. Uzodinma II |
1 |
17 |
17.0 |
| Georgia Southern Kick Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| D. Lewis |
2 |
32 |
16.0 |
| Ball State Missed FG |
| Player |
Length |
| Georgia Southern Missed FG |
| Player |
Length |
