Ball State 32, Central Michigan 29: Late field goal lifts Cardinals to win over Chippewas


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The Central Michigan University football team received a letter of intent from 18 high school seniors on Wednesday. (Central Michigan Life File Photo) 

Members of the Central Michigan University football team watched helplessly Saturday night as a 55-yard field goal from Ball State's Scott Secor sailed through the uprights and handed the Chippewas their fourth loss of the season. 

The Chippewas now sit at 4-4 overall and 2-2 in the Mid-American Conference following a 32-29 loss to the Cardinals at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. 

"I thought it was short," said Head coach Dan Enos. "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." 

Senior wide receiver Titus Davis' second touchdown of the game set up a two point conversion from quarterback Cooper Rush to wide receiver Jesse Kroll, which tied the game at 29 with 2:22 remaining. 

The Chippewas defense could not keep the Cardinals offense from crossing midfield on the ensuing 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 the artificial turf in the red zone with CMU down by one score. 

"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." 

The game fell out of CMU's hands when Rush fumbled inside the Chippewas 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." 

Freshman quarterback Jack Milas was efficient on BSU's final drive of the game, which set up the game-winning field goal. 

"I thought it was well short," Enos said. "It just kept carrying. I thought our defense was decent on that last drive, but not great because we let them get close enough to kick a field goal. 

"It was a great kick." 

The Chippewas head to Buffalo next weekend for a matchup with the Bulls (3-4). 

Read Monday's edition of Central Michigan Life for more on Saturday's loss to Ball State. 

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About Dominick Mastrangelo

Dominick Mastrangelo is the Editor in Chief of Central Michigan Life. Contact him at: editor@cm-life.com 

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