Thursday's (8/29) MAC Football Results
Buffalo 38, Robert Morris 10
Bowling Green 46, Morgan State 3
Central Michigan 38, Albany 21
Arizona State 30, Kent State 7
Saturday's (8/31) MAC Football Results
Kentucky 38, Toledo 24
Illinois 42, Akron 3
Indiana 34 Ball State 24 (at Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Ind.)
Ohio 41, Rhode Island 20
Eastern Michigan 30, Coastal Carolina 23
Western Michigan 48, Monmouth 13
NIU 24, Illinois State 10
Iowa 38, Miami 14
Game stories courtesy of MAC Athletic Communication Departments
Ohio 41, Rhode Island 20
Box Score
ATHENS, Ohio -- Senior quarterback Nathan Rourke (Oakville, Ontario, Canada) threw for 188 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score as the Ohio football team (1-0) picked up a school-record 10th-straight home win, opening up the 2019 season with a 41-20 victory over Rhode Island (0-1) this afternoon at Peden Stadium.
The Bobcats improved to 10-5 in season openers under 15th-year head coach Frank Solich. Solich, who now owns a 107-75 record as head coach at Ohio, is now four wins away from passing Herb Deromedi (110; Central Michigan, 1978-83) for the most by a Mid-American Conference head coach. With the win over the Rams, Ohio has now won 15 of its last 16 games played at Peden Stadium.
"We won the ballgame," said Solich. "I think that's great. I think we played a pretty good football team, a fairly talented football team, and fought. We're obviously going to have to do things better, really, on both sides of the ball and in special teams also. We have a lot of improvement to do. I'm proud of the guys for getting it done today, and even though we seem to get off to a slow start, I thought as the game went on, we did things much better."
Rourke led the way for the Ohio offense, completing 16 of his 22 pass attempts (72.7 percent) and recording his 14th career outing with multiple touchdown passes. He also led the team with 75 yards on the ground via 10 attempts. Rourke improved to 18-7 as the starting quarterback at Ohio and has now been responsible for 80 career touchdowns, putting him three away from breaking the school record. Ohio scored on all seven of its drives with Rourke in the game and went a perfect 5-for-5 on red zone opportunities.
"Our expectation is to end every drive with a kick and take care of the ball and do what we did today," said Rourke. "We know what we're capable of and the bar that we set for ourselves is high, so we came out and did what we expected to do."
Rourke completed passes to nine different receivers, with redshirt junior Tyler Tupa (Brecksville, Ohio) leading the way with a team-high 49 receiving yards. He matched redshirt freshman wide receiver Jerome Buckner (Columbus, Ohio) and redshirt sophomore wide receiver Isiah Cox (Jasper, Ala.) for the team lead with the three receptions. Both he and redshirt junior tight end Ryan Luehrman (Athens, Ohio) hauled in their first career touchdown receptions.
Including Rourke, three Bobcats picked up over 50 yards on the ground to pave the way for a 278-yard rushing day for Ohio. Redshirt sophomore Julian Ross (Kansas City, Mo.) rushed for 68 yards on a team-high 14 carries while redshirt junior running back De'Montre Tuggle put together a breakout performance in his first game as a Bobcat, rumbling for 65 yards and two touchdowns on just three carries -- including a 55-yard scamper in the third quarter.
"When my number's called I want to take advantage of every moment I get, just focus on the end goal, which is winning," said Tuggle. "Transferring here (from Kilgore College), coming in, I already knew what the situation was so, from day one, I just wanted to make sure to prove myself and prove that I belong here. Hopefully that's showing."
Defensively, Ohio was led by redshirt junior linebacker Jared Dorsa (Kings Mills, Ohio), who accumulated a team-high eight total tackles (three solo, five assisted) -- including a half a sack. Redshirt junior linebacker Dylan Conner (Fort Wayne, Ind.) logged a career-high seven total tackles (one solo, six assisted) while senior Eric Popp (Loveland, Ohio) added a career-high six (two solo, four assisted) and redshirt senior safety Javon Hagan (Jacksonville, Fla.) chipped in five (two solo, three assisted). Senior defensive tackle Cole Baker (Pinson, Ala.) recorded a game-high 1.5 sacks, and junior cornerback Marlin Brooks (Miami, Fla.) logged the second interception of his career. The unit helped limit Rhode Island to just 84 rushing yards.
After the Ohio defense forced Rhode Island to punt on the game's opening drive, the Bobcats drove 94 yards on 13 plays on a march that took over six minutes off of the clock. Rourke completed six of his seven pass attempts for 76 yards and rushed for 16 more on Ohio's opening drive of the season, capping it off by keeping it himself for a five-yard touchdown.
The Rams responded with a 15-play, 57-yard drive that ticked over seven minutes off of the clock and ended with junior kicker C.J. Carrick converting knocking down a 35-yard field goal less than two minutes into the second quarter.
Carrick's ensuing kickoff ended up out of bounds, giving the Bobcats the ball on their own 35. Rourke, Allison and Ross combined to pick up 43 yards on the ground over the first three plays of the drive, but Ohio stalled at the Rhode Island. Redshirt senior placekicker Louie Zervos (Tarpon Springs, Fla.) came on to connect on a 37-yard field goal, extending Ohio's advantage of 10-3 with just over 10 minutes to play in the half.
Ohio forced Rhode Island to punt, then finished off a seven-play, 61-yard drive with Rourke connecting with Tupa on a 22-yard scoring strike – the first touchdown reception of Tupa's career – that pushed Ohio's lead to two touchdowns with three minutes to go before halftime.
"It just felt amazing to back out there, preforming competing with my teammates," said Tupa. "They believed in me these past couple of years, and it's just nice to be able to go out and prove that I can still play a bit. It felt like the first time I was playing football again. It was that same feeling of excitement being out there with all my brothers."
The Rams added three more points to their total just before the end of the half. A pass interference penalty by Ohio and a 38-yard completion from redshirt junior quarterback Vito Priore to senior wide receiver Aaron Parker put the ball on the three yard line for Rhode Island. The Bobcats dug in, though, and forced the Rams to settle for a 19-yard field goal by Carrick.
The Bobcats moved 72 yards on 10 plays after receiving the second-half kickoff. Rourke hit Cox for a 16-yard completion on a 3rd-and-7, kept it himself for a gain of 17 and finished the drive off by finding Luehrman for a four-yard scoring strike.
Rhode Island answered with a touchdown on its first drive of the half, though, cutting Ohio's lead to 24-13. A roughing the passer penalty on the Bobcats helped set up a 34-yard touchdown from Priore to senior wide receiver Aaron Parker.
Ohio increased its lead back to 14 points on the ensuing drive as Zervos connected on a 42-yard field. The three-pointer was set up by redshirt freshman wide receiver Shane Hooks (Orlando, Fla.) make a great one-handed grab along the sideline for a gain of 30 yards for his first career reception. The Bobcats then got the ball back at the Rams' 15 after Rhode Island fumbled on the punt attempt. Ohio scored three plays later on a six-yard touchdown run by Tuggle, giving Ohio a 34-13 advantage going into the final quarter.
After forcing Rhode Island to punt again, Tuggle made up for a 78-yard touchdown run that was negated by a holding penalty by racing into the end zone from 55 yards out six plays later.
The Rams got a break when Ohio fumbled on a punt return and then scored the very next play when Priore found junior wide receiver Isaiah Coulter for a 38-yard touchdown, cutting the Bobcats' lead to 21 points. Ohio sealed the victory, though, when Brooks picked off Priore on Rhode Island's next possession with just over three minutes to play.
Priore finished 22-of-42 through the air with 291 passing yards and two touchdowns. Parker led all receivers with a game-high nine receptions on a game-high 144 yards. Junior running back Zoe Bryant was the game's leading rusher with 89 yards on 17 touches.
Next up, Ohio hits the road for the first time in 2019, traveling to Heinz Field for a matchup against Pitt on Saturday, Sept. 7. Kickoff is slated for 11 a.m. ET from the Steel City. The contest will be televised on the ACC Network. The Bobcats are set to battle Pitt for the first time since Sept. 9, 2005, when Ohio knocked off the Panthers in overtime, 16-10, at Peden Stadium in Athens. Ohio last visited Heinz Field on Sept. 11, 2004 -- a 24-3 loss to Pitt. Ohio is set to play an ACC team for the second year in a row. The Bobcats fell to Virginia, 45-31, on Sept. 15, 2018, in a contest that was moved from Charlottesville to Nashville due to Hurricane Florence.
Eastern Michigan 30, Coastal Carolina 23
Box Score
CONWAY, S.C. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University football team overcame a slow first quarter to take down Coastal Carolina University in exciting fashion, 30-23, Saturday, Aug. 31, at Brooks Stadium. After falling 10-0 in the first quarter, the Eagles stormed back to outscore the Chanticleers 30-13 the rest of the way.
After Coastal (0-1) connected on a 38-yard field goal to bring the score to 30-23 with just 40 seconds to go, the Chanticleers recovered an onside kick to give themselves one last chance. On their first play, Eastern (1-0) cornerback Kevin McGill (Waldorf, Md.-Westlake) pulled down an interception to put the game on ice.
EMU's first strike of the 2019 season was a touchdown to kick off the second quarter, as senior quarterback Mike Glass III (St. Louis, Mo.-Hazelwood Central (Southwestern College)) connected with sophomore Dylan Drummond (Cleveland, Ohio-Cuyahoga Heights) for a highlight-worthy 11-yard catch-and-pass.
With Coastal driving into Eastern's territory on the ensuing drive, senior Brody Hoying (Coldwater, Ohio-Coldwater) picked off a pass for his third career interception. As the Eagles returned the drive, a fumble off the pylon and out of the endzone resulted in a turnover and touchback for the Green and White. Coastal Carolina capitalized on the turnover, knocking through a 52-yard field goal to take a 13-7 lead into halftime.
On the first drive of the second stanza, Glass punched in a two-yard touchdown on a quarterback keeper to put Eastern ahead 14-13. The run capped off a 13-play, 75-yard drive to open up the second half, and gave the Eagles a lead they would not relinquish. Running back Shaq Vann (South Bend, Ind.-John Adams) was crucial to the drive with and featured heavily all afternoon. The senior finished the game with 108 yards on 22 attempts, marking the fifth 100+ yard game in his career.
Senior defensive lineman Clay Holford (Carrollton, Texas-Hebron) came up big for the Eagles on the Chanticleers' next drive, snagging a pass out of the air on Coastal's first play from scrimmage. Eastern's drive stalled on the nine-yard line, but sophomore Chad Ryland (Lebanon, Pa.-Cedar Crest)knocked home a 26-yard field goal to put the Green and White ahead 17-13.
As Eastern forced a three-and-out on the next Coastal possession, the Green and White responded quickly with a second Glass-to-Drummond connection from 19 yards out. The second touchdown catch of the day put the Eagles ahead 23-13 and, for Drummond, marked the first time in the Cleveland, Ohio native's career that he hauled in two touchdown receptions in a game.
After Coastal used a six-minute drive to bring the score back to 23-20, Eastern's offense rose to the occasion to make it a two-score game once again. Facing a third and long, Glass connected for his third touchdown of the day with Quian Williams (Oklahoma City, Okla.-Southmore), putting EMU ahead 30-20 with 5:46 remaining.
On the second-to-last CCU drive of the contest, the Chanticleers moved the ball inside the red zone and were threatening to score when junior Turan Rush (Charleston West Side, W.Va.-Capital-Antelope Valley) came up with EMU's first sack of the campaign to halt the drive. Though Coastal connected on a 38-yard field goal to bring the score to 30-23, Eastern was able to hold on for the win.
Eastern was led by Glass, who had an efficient 188 yards and three touchdowns on 20-of-22 from the pocket. Vann led the way on the ground with his 108 yards, and Drummond led a balanced attack through the air with 52 yards. Joining the aerial assault was senior Matthew Sexton (Clinton, Mich.-Clinton), who had 48 yards on four catches, and Williams, who finished the game with 42 yards and two catches.
Defensively, Kobie Beltram (Antioch, Calif.-Antioch (City College of San Francisco)) and Terry Myrick (Austell, Ga.-Woodward Academy) were all over the field for the Eagles, finishing with 12 and 11 tackles, respectively.
Coastal Carolina was led by quarterback Fred Payton, who had 304 yards through the air to go along with two touchdowns and four interceptions. The four picks marked the most in a game since 2017. Receiver CJ Marable pulled down seven catches for 84 yards.
EMU's win over CCU marks the first win over a Sun Belt Conference member since defeating Arkansas State in 1976, 32-30. Eastern's only other appearance in the Palmetto State was to take on the University of South Carolina, Sept. 16, 2000.
Eastern returns to the gridiron Saturday, Sep. 7 when it travels to the Bluegrass State to take on the University of Kentucky. The Eagles and Wildcats kick off at 7:30 p.m. from Kroger Field and can be found on ESPNU/SEC Network, as well as WEMU 89.1.
Western Michigan 48, Monmouth 13
Box Score
KALKALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan football team cruised past Monmouth, 48-13, in the 2019 season opener at Waldo Stadium on Saturday night behind a 368-yard, five-touchdown performance from senior quarterback Jon Wassink.
The five touchdown passes for Wassink tied his career high, matching the five thrown at Miami on Sept. 29, 2018, and at Buffalo on Oct. 7, 2017. Wassink also moved his career total to 35, bumping him into a tie for eighth most in school history. He reached 300 yards passing for the third time in his career, and second consecutive season opener after throwing for 379 against Syracuse last year.
Wassink's favorite target against the Hawks was fellow senior Giovanni Ricci, who finished with five receptions for a career-high 97 yards and two touchdowns. Of Ricci's five catches, two covered at least 30 yards. In his first game in the Brown & Gold, redshirt freshman DaShon Bussell had five catches for 116 yards and became the second WMU freshman to have over 100 yards in his debut.
Defensively, senior D'Wayne Eskridge led the Broncos with eight tackles (six solo) and one pass break up in his first career game as a defensive back. The Broncos as a team had three sacks with fifth year senior Timothy Collins, redshirt freshman Braden Fiske and senior Antonio Balabani each recording one.
Graduate transfer Keith Mixon Jr., torched the Hawks on special teams, recording four returns for 169 yards. Mixon Jr., had three kickoff returns for 143 yards, the tenth most in a game in program history and the most since Dervon Wallace had 177 versus Toledo on Nov. 8, 2011.
As a team the Broncos totaled 458 yards to Monmouth's 322 with 368 coming through the air. In the red zone WMU was a perfect 7-for-7 with five touchdowns and two field goals.
Western Michigan got off to a fast start in the first quarter, out gaining Monmouth 174-68 en route to a 21-0 lead. The Broncos scored on their first possession of the season as senior LeVante Bellamy crossed the goal line from three yards out. WMU proceeded to score on its next two possessions with Wassink finding Ricci and sophomore Jaylen Hall for touchdown passes.
Wassink found Ricci once again with five minutes remaining in the second quarter to extend the Bronco lead to 31-7. Monmouth drove down the field to end the half and got to the one-yard line before the Bronco defense kept the Hawks offense out of the end zone to conclude the first half.
In the second half, Western Michigan outscored Monmouth 17-6 as Wassink connected on two more touchdown passes along with a field goal from junior Thiago Kapps.
Kapps was 2-for-2 on the night, hitting field goals from 45 and 19 and was 6-for-6 on extra points. The fifth and final touchdown of the night for Wassink came on an 8-yard touchdown pass to freshman Skyy Moore to extend the Bronco lead to 45-13.
Monmouth scored two touchdowns in the season opener as running back Pete Guerriero rushed for a 14-yard touchdown to begin the second quarter. The Hawks crossed the goal line again midway through the third quarter on a 14-yard pass from quarterback Kenji Bahar to receiver Terrance Greene Jr.
The Broncos hit the road next weekend for a Big Ten match-up against Michigan State on Saturday, Sept. 7 at 7:30 p.m. WMU returns home the following weekend, Sept. 14, to host Georgia State on CommUniverCity.
NIU 24, Illinois State 10
Box Score
DEKALB, Ill. – A pair of fourth quarter touchdowns helped lead the Northern Illinois University Huskies to a 24-10 win over Illinois State on Saturday night in the season opener at Huskie Stadium. Senior quarterback Ross Bowers (Bothell, Wash./Bothell), a transfer from California, went 20-of-33 through the air for 299 yards and two touchdowns as head coach Thomas Hammock began his coaching career with a victory.
"[I'm] excited about the win," Hammock said. "We expected a four-quarter game and we trained all training camp for these types of situations and elements. Our team did a great job of not flinching and they did a great job of handling the moment.
"We will improve as an offense. Teams make the biggest jump from Week 1 to Week 2. I saw some great things out of the defense and our special teams were solid but as a team I like where we're at."
The Huskies and Redbirds traded a pair of field goals in the first half but neither team found the end zone until late in the third quarter when a Huskie score started a flurry of touchdown drives.
NIU took a 10-3 lead with a nine-play, 92-yard drive, capped by a Bowers to Tyrice Richie (Chicago, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor/Dodge City CC) 22-yard touchdown pass with 2:11 to play in the third quarter. Illinois State had pinned the Huskies back on their own eight-yard line, but it took NIU just 3:12 to go the length of the field for the score. Bowers was 6-of-8 passing on the drive for 89 yards, connecting with five different receivers.
A total of nine receivers caught at least one pass for the Huskies, led by four receptions from junior tight end Mitchell Brinkman (Council Bluffs, Iowa/Lewis Central) for 51 yards.
Illinois State answered right back on the next drive as Brady Davis connected with Taylor Grimes for a 42-yard touchdown to tie the game, 10-10, on the second play of the fourth quarter. The Redbirds needed just five plays to go 75 yards on the drive.
On the first play of the ensuing drive, Bowers found Richie on a short route before the junior receiver eluded the first defender and raced to the end zone for a 68-yard score, giving the Huskies a 17-10 lead less than a minute into the fourth quarter.
"We trust our players, nobody panicked," Hammock said. "We're going to throw the ball. [Ross] made a good throw and Tyrice made a good catch and run. We're not going to play scared."
"(Ross) and I worked on that since the first day he walked on campus," Richie said of the long touchdown play. "I saw that the defensive back was on outside leverage so I ran an out route to make him come down hard and ran inside."
The 68-yard touchdown was NIU's longest play from scrimmage since a 73-yard touchdown pass from Marcus Childers to Chad Beebe on October 21, 2017 at Bowling Green. Richie finished the night with three catches for 102 yards and two touchdowns.
After trading a pair of possessions, the Redbirds had the ball, trailing by seven with 2:43 left when sophomore cornerback Jalen McKie (Gurnee, Ill./Waukegan) intercepted a Davis pass and went 32 yards back the other way for a touchdown to put the game out of reach.
Davis finished the night 14-of-32 passing for 187 yards for the Redbirds, who rushed for just 51 yards as a team. The NIU defense held Illinois State to just 238 yards of total offense, including six three-and-outs.
Freshman Mark Aitken (Chicago, Ill./Kenwood Academy) and senior Kyle Pugh (Chicago Heights, Ill./Bloom Township) tied for the team lead with five tackles. NIU had a total of eight tackles for loss, with Pugh and senior Jack Heflin (Prophetstown, Ill./Erie-Prophetstown) with 1.5 each.
In the opening half, NIU took a 3-0 lead with 4:19 to play in the first quarter on a 25-yard field goal by freshman John Richardson (Orland Park, Ill./Brother Rice). A 45-yard completion from Bowers to senior tight end Daniel Crawford (Macomb, Mich./Dakota) gave the Huskies first and goal at the Illinois State nine and four plays later NIU took the three-point lead.
The first turnover of the game helped Illinois State even the game at 3-3 with 2:55 left in the first half. A pass from Bowers was tipped at the line of scrimmage and intercepted by Dylan Drake, giving the Redbirds the ball on the NIU 32-yard line. Illinois State's drive stalled at the Huskie 15 and Sam Fenlason connected on a 32-yard field goal to tie the contest.
NIU will now hit the road for the entire month of September, beginning next Saturday, September 7, when the Huskies travel to Utah. Kickoff against the 14th-ranked Utes is scheduled for noon CT and will be televised by the Pac-12 Networks.?
Iowa 38, Miami 14
Box Score
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Despite taking a lead in the second quarter and trailing by just three at the half, the Miami RedHawks fell away late to lose 38-14 to the #20 Iowa Hawkeyes in their season opener Saturday night at Kinnick Stadium.
Brett Gabbert became the first true freshman to start a game at quarterback for Miami and launched a pair of touchdown passes in his debut. He completed 17-of-27 passes (63%) for a total of 186 yards along with the two TDs and an interception.
The Hawkeyes got the ball to start the game and moved into Miami territory, but a big stop on fourth and three turned the ball over to the RedHawks. Gabbert completed his first collegiate pass for a first down, but a penalty negated the gain and eventually forced the 'Hawks to punt it away.
Iowa would take their next drive to within the Miami ten, but the Hawkeyes were forced to settle for a field goal after a Miami stop on third and goal and took a 3-0 lead as the first quarter came to a close.
The RedHawks answered back in a big way as they pieced together a 77-yard touchdown drive to take the lead early in the second. The series featured a big 30-yard strike from Gabbert to Luke Mayock on third down to keep the drive alive and was punctuated by a diving touchdown catch from Jack Sorenson for Gabbert's first career passing TD.
Iowa would come back and retake the lead with a big drive of its own. The Hawkeyes took it 79 yards and punched it in on a Nate Stanley pass to Brandon Smith, just one play after Stanley found Mekhi Sargent for 41 yards on third and 16.
The two teams would trade punts, resulting in the RedHawks taking possession at midfield with two and a half minutes left. A Gabbert scramble on third down appeared to pick up the first, but the call was reviewed and overturned and Iowa kept the 10-7 lead going into the locker room.
Miami went three-and-out to start the second half, and the Hawkeyes ran with the opportunity to extend their lead. A seven-play drive from Iowa resulted in Stanley's second touchdown pass of the game, this time to Oliver Martin, as the Hawkeyes stretched their lead to 17-7.
It wouldn't take long for Iowa to find the endzone a second time, as the Hawkeyes found pay dirt in just three plays, punching it in on a two-yard Mekhi Sargent run.
Miami took their next drive into Iowa territory but stalled out. However, the 'Hawks would take the ball back just a few plays later when they forced an Iowa fumble that was picked up by Doug Costin as the third quarter came to a close.
The turnover paid off for the RedHawks – after a clutch fourth-down conversion from Gabbert to Davion Johnson, Gabbert would throw his second touchdown of the game with a 20-yard toss to Andrew Homer that trimmed the deficit to 24-14 with just under 13 minutes left in the game.
Despite the glimmer of hope for the RedHawks, Iowa would put things away on their next drive. After a 13-play, 75-yard series that chewed up nearly seven minutes of clock, the Hawkeyes converted a fourth down on the Miami two-yard-line with a touchdown run from Toren Young and went back up by 17.
The RedHawks immediately turned the ball back over to Iowa, as the very first play of the ensuing drive was a Michael Ojemudia interception off of a Gabbert pass. The Hawkeyes made good on the turnover, finding the endzone for the fifth time with an Ihmir Smith-Marsette touchdown reception from Stanley.
Jackson Williamson came in at QB for the last drive of the game, but the 'Hawks couldn't get anything going and the game to a close with the final score at 38-14.
Iowa outgained the RedHawks 465 to 245, including a 213-59 edge on the ground. The Hawkeyes ran 71 plays to Miami's 52 and had possession for just over ten minutes longer than the RedHawks.
On the defensive side of the ball, Sterling Weatherford and Ryan McWood led the 'Hawks with 10 tackles apiece.
Miami will return to action with its home opener next Saturday as the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles visit Yager Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 2:30 p.m.
Indiana 34, Ball State 24
Box Score
INDIANAPOLIS -- Ball State found itself within a single possession late in both the third and fourth quarters, but Indiana answered both times on the way to a 34-24 victory in the Ruoff Kickoff Classic at Lucas Oil Stadium.
BSU quarterback Drew Plitt threw for 298 yards and two touchdowns, engineering a pair of scoring drives in the second half of Saturday's season opener. But Indiana kicker Logan Justus went 4-for-4 on field goal attempts, including a 50-yarder with 2:15 to play, and the Hoosiers (1-0) sealed it with an interception of Plitt in the final minute.
Ball State (0-1) struggled to get pressure on Indiana quarterback Michael Penix Jr. who threw for 326 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The dual-threat signal caller also led the Hoosiers with 67 yards on the ground.
"There are a lot of positive things we'll be able to look at and build on from the tape," Ball State head coach Mike Neu said. "But certainly there are a lot of things we have to clean up. The effort part of it was good, but now we're on tape, we've played one game here in 2019. We have a lot to do, to study, to watch and clean up when we get back to Muncie."
Stevie Scott III finished off a pair of IU's second-half drives with short touchdown runs, though Ball State held last year's 1,100-yard rusher to just 48 yards on 19 carries.
BSU intercepted Penix twice, with first-half takeaways from Amechi Uzodinma II and Antonio Phillips. But Penix also hit on a 75-yard touchdown pass to Nick Westbrook and consistently moved the Hoosiers offense.
Ball State used the ground game in the first half to control the tempo, with Caleb Huntley carrying most of the load. The junior running back, who missed the second half of last season to injury, ran 15 times for 56 yards and a touchdown before the break.
But Indiana largely bottled up the run game in the second half, limiting the Cardinals to just nine yards on the ground. Sacks played a role in that, with the Hoosiers getting more pressure on Plitt and taking him down three times.
The junior quarterback still managed to find graduate transfer running back Walter Fletcher and sophomore wideout Yo'Heinz Tyler for touchdowns.
Fletcher, who scored 41 career touchdowns as a Division II All-American at Edinboro, took a short pass, broke a tackle and scampered 45 yards for his first Division I score to cut the IU lead to 23-16 on the first drive of the second half. Tyler's catch and run with 6:58 remaining in the fourth quarter pulled the Cardinals within seven again at 31-24.
But the Hoosiers responded to Fletcher's score with a 65-yard drive and one of Scott's touchdowns and later answered Tyler's with Justus' 50-yard field goal. Justus also drilled kicks of 48 and 49 yards on the day.
"Obviously, we were playing a Big Ten opponent, and I know they have high expectations for this season, but we're capable if we play our best football," Neu said. "That's the challenge. You have to play your best football for four quarters when you play a team like Indiana."
Justin Hall led the BSU receivers with six catches, while Tyler finished with a team-high 71 receiving yards. Riley Miller caught five balls for 51 yards.
Bryce Cosby, Jacob White and Ray Wilborn – playing his first game at safety after moving from linebacker – led Ball State with nine tackles.
The Cardinals will return to Muncie for their next two games, hosting Fordham on Saturday, Sept. 7, and FAU on Saturday, Sept. 14. Both games will kick at 2 p.m. from Scheumann Stadium.
Kentucky 38, Toledo 24
Box Score
Lexington, Ky. – Toledo gave Kentucky all it could handle in the first 30 minutes but the Wildcats rallied in the second half to defeat the Rockets, 38-24, in the season opener in Lexington on Saturday afternoon.
Senior quarterback Mitchell Guadagni put the Rockets up 14-7 early in the second quarter with a 21-yard touchdown run. But Kentucky scored 24 second-half points to claim the victory.
"First and foremost, I'm proud of our team," said head coach Jason Candle. "We played with really strong effort. We played with mental toughness. We were dealt with some situations that any team will have to face. But you've got to respond. And for the most part, our players did a really good job with that. Obviously, the video tape is going to have its points that we'll have to comb through and fix but I thought the fight and the attitude of our team was good."
Guadagni completed 7-of-12 passes for 122 yards before leaving the game due to injury late in the third quarter. He also tied sophomore Bryant Kobackfor the team lead with 73 rushing yards. Juniors Danzel McKinley-Lewis and Bryce Mitchell topped the Rockets with three receptions apiece.
Sophomore Saeed Holt led Toledo's defensive efforts with a career-high 10 tackles, while junior Tycen Anderson registered a career-best eight stops.
Toledo won the toss and elected to receive the football, and the decision proved to be a good one as the Rockets scored on their opening possession and held Kentucky to a three-and-out on its first time with the ball. The big play on Toledo's first drive was a 39-yard completion from Guadagni to McKinley-Lewis on third down. Koback ran it in from five yards out to give Toledo the early 7-0 lead.
Kentucky tied the game on the first play of the quarter. Chris Rodriguez fumbled into the end zone from the one-yard line and Justin Rigg recovered it in the end zone. The score capped a 97-yard drive for UK after Bailey Flint had pinned the Wildcats with a punt to the three-yard line. The Rockets came right back to regain the lead thanks to the feet of Guadagni, who had rushes of 17 and 21 yards on the drive, the latter for a touchdown. Kentucky tied the score at 14-14 on an 11-yard TD run by Asim Rose with 6:01 left in the half.
Kentucky converted a fumble recovery into three points early in the quarter, a 46-yarder by Chance Poore to put UK up, 17-14. The Wildcats increased their lead to 24-14 moments later when Terry Wilson connected with Bryce Oliver for a 32-yard score with 7:17 remaining. Toledo narrowed the gap to a touchdown, 24-17, on a 46-yard field goal by Evan Davis.
Kentucky increased its lead to 31-17 on a 40-yard touchdown run by Kavosiey Smoke with 8:26 left. The Wildcats then extended their margin to three touchdowns on Wilson's two-yard toss to Josh Ali with 5:32 remaining. Redshirt freshman Carter Bradley scampered in from seven yards out with just over a minute to play for the game's final score.
The Rockets have a bye week before returning home on Sept. 14 to host Murray State.
