Ekpe's strip sack with less than a minute left in the game halted a rally by host Toledo and allowed BSU to finish off a 27-24 win. The Cardinals have won three straight games and are now 3-1 on the year. Toledo fell to 2-2.
"I'm really proud of our guys; I'm proud of the effort, and I'm proud of the fight," Ball State head coach Mike Neu said. "More than anything . . .
Ball State dominated early and never trailed. The Cardinals led 17-0 early in the second quarter and extended that to 24-3 after Yo'Heinz Tyler caught his second touchdown of the day. The score was 24-9 after three quarters before Toledo began to rally late in the contest.
UT scored 15 unanswered points in 2:57 of game time and then launched a potential game-winning drive in the final minute. The Rockets, with their backup quarterback in the game, advanced into Ball State territory before Ekpe knocked the ball free from Carter Bradley. Bryce Cosby, who also had an interception, recovered the fumble to clinch the Cardinal win.
"I was proud of the defense for delivering in a critical situation," Neu said. "Our defense was incredible."
Ekpe's play capped the best defensive effort for Ball State this season. The Cardinals had 12 tackles for loss, four sacks and two takeaways while holding Toledo to just 42 yards rushing. Neu called the effort "championship-level defense."
Brandon Martin racked up 12 tackles, and Jaylin Thomas made 10 stops. Christian Albright made three tackles behind the line of scrimmage, including a sack, and he also forced a fumble.
Playing without star running back Caleb Huntley, the Cardinals ran up 447 yards of offense. Drew Plitt passed for 304 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for a score. The Cardinals went to Justin Hall through the air and on the ground for 151 yards from scrimmage. Hall caught nine passes for a career-high 127 yards and ran for 24 more. Tye Evans gained 101 yards on 25 carries while taking on the bigger role in the backfield.
"Caleb is a special player, but we have other guys on our team who are special players too," Neu said. "And when the opportunity presents itself, it's next man up. And it was great to see those guys deliver. It all starts up with the guys up front in the trenches."
The game looked like a rout early as Plitt ran in a short TD early in the game and then found Tyler for an 11-yard score eight minutes later. The Cardinals led 17-3 at halftime and then Tyler found the end zone again in the third quarter. Tyler has scored at least one touchdown in each of the last three games and has six touchdowns in the last five games dating back to last season.
Bryce Mitchell scored both of Toledo's fourth-quarter touchdowns, catching one from each UT quarterback. Eli Peters threw for 363 yards -- most of them coming in the late rally when Ball State had a sizable lead -- but was sacked three times.