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DeKALB – Ball State got a field goal as time expired and capitalized on three fumbles by NIU quarterback Rocky Lombardi for a 20-17 Mid-American Conference win Tuesday.
Here are five takeaways from the Huskies’ (4-6, 3-3 MAC) loss to the Cardinals (3-7, 2-5).
Fumbled away
In a 17-17 tie, NIU took over with 3:36 left at its own 28-yard line. But on the third play of the drive, quarterback Rocky Lombardi fumbled for the third time, under pressure from Tyler Potts. It was recovered by Kyron Mims.
Ball State then converted a third-and-6 with just more than a minute left to get into field-goal range. They kept the ball on the ground, moving closer and closer until they got a 36-yard field goal from Jackson Courville.
Losing control
The Huskies had the ball with less than eight minutes left and a 17-10 lead, but Lombardi lost a fumble for the second time in the game. That set up the Cardinals at their own 32.
Facing third-and-8 on the NIU 20, Ray Thomas was called for tripping after the Huskies had an apparent sack. That led to Kiael Kelly finding Tanner Koziol in the end zone to tie the score at 17 with 3:47 left. It was the first touchdown pass of Kelly’s career.
Running wild
After a scoreless third quarter kept the score 10-10, Ball State opened the fourth quarter with a 38-yard field goal try in an effort to take the lead for the third time. Instead, the Cardinals missed, and NIU took the lead on the next drive.
The drive started with a 12-yard run by Antario Brown out of the Wildcat and ended with a 35-yard run with Trayvon Rudolph at quarterback. He took the sweep around the right side, then accelerated past the defense for the 17-10 lead with 10:00 left. The drive went 80 yards in eight plays, eating 4:57 off the clock.
The Huskies also converted a third-and-13 on a pass interference call. The Cardinals picked up a first down on the next drive but ended up punting the ball back with 8:00 left.
A spark from the strangest spot
Down 7-0, the Huskies tied the game with a 13-play, 98-yard drive that spanned 7:02 in the first and second quarters. Facing a fourth-and-1 at the Ball State 24, the Huskies got a 20-yard run from Lombardi. Two plays later, Lombardi scrambled in from the 4-yard line for the score.
Before the drive, NIU had 25 yards on its first two possessions, including a turnover.
At the break, the Huskies had 207 yards of total offense. They got 168 of those yards on their two scoring drives – a 98-yard scoring drive in the first quarter and a 70-yard drive that ended with a field goal in the second quarter.
On that field-goal drive, the Huskies were down 10-7 and took over with 57 seconds left. Gavin Williams picked up 15 yards on third-and-6, and Dane Pardridge and Trayvon Rudolph had big pickups.
NIU got as close as the 10, but with just one timeout, the clock was an issue. The Huskies ended up taking a 27-yard field goal from Kanon Woodill to tie the score at 10.
Another rough start
The Huskies had one of their traditional slow starts. The Cardinals went 65 yards in seven plays to go up 7-0 after the opening drive, facing third down only once and converting on a third-and-goal from the 6. Kelly ran it in for the score.
Lombardi fumbled on the fourth play of the first NIU drive, and even though the Huskies held Ball State, the offense went three-and-out on its next possession.