TUSCON, AZ -- Offense, defense and special teams all contributed Thursday as Ball State posted its first-ever bowl victory with a 34-13 win over previously undefeated San Jose State.
"All season we kept saying, 'The job's not finished.' Well, the job is now finished," Ball State head coach Mike Neu said. "We are so excited to bring a bowl win back to Muncie, Indiana."
The Cardinals (7-1) created their own momentum early, racing out . . .
Senior Antonio Phillips opened scoring just five plays into the game when he picked off Nick Starkel’s pass attempt and sprinted 53 yards down the sideline for a touchdown. The extra point attempt was wide right, and given the Cardinals propensity for close games, it might have been an early concern.
As BSU continued to roll, however, the Cardinals allayed any worries about a single point. Ball State scored touchdowns on each on its first four possessions.
San Jose State (7-1) was quickly forced to punt on its second possession, but it was a short boot and the Cardinals took over at midfield. Quarterback Drew Plitt’s 22-yard toss to Antwan Davis was the big play of a six-play drive. Will Jones went in from three yards out to complete the trip and Jacob Lewis split the uprights to put BSU up 13-0 just five minutes into the game.
After again forcing SJSU to punt after three snaps, Ball State used eight plays and just 2:51 on the clock to score its third touchdown. Freshman Donny Marcus got the drive started with a 28-yard burst. Tye Evans ended the trip with a three-yard run.
Now down 20-0, San Jose State was already facing its largest deficit of the season. After registering a third-straight three-and-out, Ball State’s defense forced another punt. This time, however, Nic Jones managed to block the kick. That gave the Cardinals offense a short field, and they covered the remaining 35 yards in less than two minutes.
Plitt’s 23-yard strike to Yo’Heinz Tyler provided most of the yards. When the Spartans defense stiffened, Plitt, who was named the game's Most Valuable Offensive Player, slipped into the end zone on fourth-and-one. With the PAT, Ball State owned a commanding 27-0 advantage.
Although Ball State would score only one more touchdown on the day, the Cardinals surrendered just 13 points -- all in the third period. Seven of those points came off a 99-yard kickoff return by Charlie Bostic.
"I'm so proud of our football team and the effort that's been put in week in and week out," Neu said. "It's high-character men doing things the right way. We got here because of hard work. We embraced the underdog role, and we came out with a purpose. We wanted to seize the moment, and we've done that. Playing on this stage, on CBS, we wanted to put our best brand of football on the field, and our guys earned it."
BSU’s defense provided big plays throughout the day, In addition to Phillips’ early pick sick, the Cardinals intercepted three other Spartan passes. San Jose State completed 26-of-46 passes with one TD and the four picks. Starkel hit Jermai Braddock for an eight-yard TD with one second left in the third stanza to close scoring.
In addition to surrendering just one TD and picking off four passes, Ball State’s defense held the Spartans to 69 yards rushing. San Jose State totaled 347 yards of offense.
Ball State, meanwhile, had 402 yards of offense overall, despite the absence of regular season senior standouts (RB) Caleb Huntley and (WR) Justin Hall. The latter was injured in last week’s MAC Championship game.
Will Jones (22 carries, 89 yards, 1 TD) and Marcus (10 carries, 73 yards) did much of the Cardinals ground game work, but Plitt also scrambled for some key gains as the Cardinals netted 185 rushing yards.
While passing, the redshirt senior quarterback completed 12-of-19 for 217 yards and one score. That 48-yard third quarter TD was hauled in by Tyler, who caught four balls for 103 yards. Antwan Davis (3 catches, 53 yards) was the only other Cardinal with more than one reception.
"We knew we had the opportunity to do something special here. We bought in as a team," Cosby said. "We could've gotten complacent after the conference championship win, but the coaches did a great job keeping us locked in. We came out and executed.”