Eastern's offense thrived in spite of 40 mile-per-hour winds thanks to a variety of contributions -- six touchdown scores were provided by six different Eagles' players. Meanwhile, a full-throttle defensive effort kept the Cardinals at bay.
With their victory, the Eagles (4-4, 2-3 MAC) moved to .500 on the year and earned their first Mid-American Conference road victory. Meanwhile, Ball State dropped to 3-5 overall and 2-2 in the MAC.
Quarterback Tyler Wiegers registered 257 yards through the air on 22-for-28 passing. Wiegers 78.6 completion percentage ranks second-best in EMU single-game history, behind his 85.7 clip against Monmouth earlier this year.
He targeted seven different receivers in the win, Among them was junior Arthur Jackson III, who recorded 59 yards on six receptions, including a touchdown catch in the third quarter.
Leading the receiving corps on the day was junior Line Latuo, racking up 86 yards on three receptions with a score. Junior Isaac Holder logged his best receiving performance of the season, adding 53 yards on three receptions, highlighted by a 41-yard TD catch in the third.
The ground attack continued to be significant for the Eagles, as senior Shaq Vann led EMU rushers with 63 yards on 20 carries, in addition to a TD. Eastern also benefited from a pair of rushing scores by its signal calls as Wiegers and sophomore Isaac Stiebeling scampered for rushing touchdowns.
The Eagles defensive had a stellar day, registering an interception, fumble reception, and five three-and-out series in the defeat of the Cardinals.
Senior Kyle Rachwal moved seven tackles closer to 300 career tackles with his performance, adding a fumble recovery. Senior Brody Hoying led the Eagles in tackles with 11 (5 solo, 6 assisted) on the day, including a solo tackle-for-loss in the fourth quarter.
Senior Jeremiah Harris came up with his first interception of the season, while adding three (1 solo, 2 assisted) tackles, while senior Justin Moody turned in a seven-tackle (2 solo, 5 assisted) effort.
EMU's three first-half touchdowns all occurred when the Eagles started the drive inside Ball State territory. After a turnover by Eastern to start the contest, Harris' first interception of the season gave the Eagles great field position to begin their first scoring drive.
Starting on the Ball State 33, Wiegers handed the pigskin to Vann at the end of an eight-play drive to open the scoring and put Eastern in front, 7-0, through one quarter.
A forced fumble by junior Kevin McGill in the early minutes of the second quarter set the Green and White up at Ball State's 42-yard line for a three-play scoring series, capped by a 41-yard Latu touchdown reception.
Wiegers drove in Eastern Michigan's final points of the first half using all of his weapons. A pair of 21 and 24-yard darts to Latu got EMU inside the BSU 10-yard line and set Wiegers up for the first rushing touchdown of his career, extending the Eagles' lead to 21-6 at the half.
The Green and White came out of the break with a stellar third quarter, extending their lead to 22 points. Wiegers again used the long ball to get into the end zone, hitting Jackson III for his third touchdown of the year.
After a Ball State response, Wiegers and the EMU offense went right back to work with a 10-play 75-yard scoring drive. On third down with the ball at the BSU 41-yard line, Wiegers aired it out down the Ball State sideline where junior Isaac Holder hauled in a 41-yard TD strike to push EMU’s lead to 28-13.
Entering in relief, Stiebeling scampered for a 14-yard score and Ball State came back with a touchdown of its own as Eastern rolled to a 42-20 victory.