For the second straight weekend, fifth-year senior quarterback Drew Plitt found an open receiver on the Cardinals' (3-3, 1-1 MAC) first play from scrimmage. This time, it was freshman wide receiver Jalen McGaughy who hauled in the pass and ran it in for a 75-yard TD just 11 seconds into the game to give Ball State a 7-0 lead over the Broncos (4-2, 1-1 MAC).
It was the first of four touchdown passes of at least 21 yards for Plitt, who finished the game with a season-high 310 yards through the air. Plitt has now thrown for at least 300 yards in a MAC game six times in his career, with today's total being his fourth-best overall effort in league play.
On the other end of two of those touchdown passes was senior wide receiver Yo'Heinz Tyler, who led all receivers with 93 yards. Tyler's first touchdown was a 21-yard grab, which tied the score at 14 with 11:05 left in the second quarter. The second was a 24-yard snag that pushed the Cardinals ahead 31-20, effectively sealing the victory.
Plitt's other touchdown pass was a 33-yard strike to fifth-year senior Justin Hall for what proved to be the game-winning score late in the third quarter. Hall, who finished the game with three catches for 49 yards, also ran one in from five yards out with 9:35 remaining in the contest. Hall now has 16 receiving and five rushing touchdowns over his career.
Capping the scoring, and an impressive showing for the Ball State defense, was fifth-year senior safety Brett Anderson II, who picked up a fumble and ran it in from 18 yards out to give the game its final score of 45-20.
It was the fourth turnover of the afternoon for a Broncos team which has turned the ball over just twice in the first five games of the season. In fact, junior inside linebacker Clayton Coll's interception of WMU quarterback Kaleb Eleby as WMU was driving to regain the lead late in the third quarter was Eleby's first pick in 188 pass attempts.
Eleby's last interception came in Muncie, during Ball State's 30-27 come-from-behind victory on Dec. 12, 2020 to clinch the 2020 MAC West Division title and a berth in the 2020 MAC Championship game.
Ball State fifth-year senior Jaylin Thomas would add a second interception to the Cardinals' stat line on the next possession. Those four WMU turnovers, starting with a fumble forced by fifth-year senior Bryce Cosby in the second quarter, led to 28 total points.
In addition to the turnovers, the Cardinals defense came up with a pair of big red zone stops and forced the Broncos to settle for field goals for their final two scores. The first stop came midway through the second quarter when WMU had first and goal from the seven. The second stop came early in the third quarter when WMU had first and goal from the four.
In addition to his forced fumble, Cosby led the BSU defense with 10 tackles, including one sack. Coll finished the night with seven tackles along with his 25-yard interception return, while Thomas tallied eight tackles to go along with his pick.
Redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Tavion Woodard also had a pair of forced fumbles, including the one returned by Anderson for a touchdown.
Also factoring in the scoring for Ball State was redshirt senior kicker Jake Chanove who connected on a field goal from 34 yards out as time expired in the second quarter to tie the game at the half.
(Courtesy of BSU Athletics)