Ugly Upset
Late field goal lifts Ball State to upset of Chippewas
Fans and members of the Central Michigan University football team watched helplessly as a 55-yard field goal sailed through the uprights and handed the Chippewas their fourth loss of the season.
Scott Secor’s booming kick with 17 seconds remaining sealed a 32-29 victory for Ball State Saturday night, and landed the Chippewas at 4-4 overall and 2-2 in the Mid-American Conference.
"I thought it was short," said head coach Dan Enos. "(Overall) We made too many mistakes today. Every week it is going to be close like this in this league and we just did not make enough plays to win."
Secor’s kick nullified a 12-point second half comeback by the Chippewas.
It appeared CMU had avoided disaster when quarterback Cooper Rush connected with senior wide receiver Titus Davis from 10 yards out late in the fourth quarter.
Rush found Kroll for a two-point conversion and tied the game at 29 with two minutes and twenty-two seconds remaining on the next play.
The Chippewa defense could not keep the Cardinals offense from crossing midfield on the proceeding BSU drive, and Secor sealed Ball State's first MAC victory of 2014.
"We beat ourselves," Davis said. "The turnovers, penalties and everything. We can't let that happen."
CMU committed five turnovers in the game and was penalized a season-high 10 times for 91 yards in the loss.
"It is very uncharacteristic of this team," Enos said. "We talk to our guys all the time about being disciplined. I don't know why that changed today."
Senior running back Thomas Rawls fumbled twice in the game. Rawls' second fumble hit ground in the red zone with CMU down by one score with under five minutes remaining.
"He's the one that got us to the dance," Enos said of Rawls. "He's human too. We all made a lot of mistakes out there today."
Rawls finished the game with 32 carries for 167 yards and one touchdown.
The game fell out of the Chippewas control when Rush fumbled inside the CMU’s red zone late in the first half.
Ball State scored a touchdown on the next drive en route to a 26-14 lead at halftime.
"The ball got stripped. I don't want to put too much of that on (Rush) just yet," Enos said. "The one interception he threw, it was an under throw."
Rush completed 20-of-32 passes for 245 yards and three touchdowns in the loss.
The Chippewas travel to Buffalo next weekend for a matchup with the 3-4 Bulls.
