Ball State stepped up big when it needed to and on Friday night the Cardinals defeated No. 23 Buffalo to win their first Mid-American Conference championship game.
Drew Plitt threw three touchdown passes and was 20-for-32 with 263 yards and one interception in the game. He also had one rushing touchdown in the 38-28 victory.
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Ball State scored 28 points in the second quarter capped off by a Christian Albright 34-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown with 48 second remaining in the first half.
Ball State’s defense forced two turnovers with Antonio Phillips intercepting a pass from Buffalo quarterback Kyle Vantrease.
It’s their first conference title win since 1996.
Vantrease was 29-for-42 with 365 passing yards and one touchdown. His lone touchdown pass went to Trevor Wilson.
Despite the Ball State defense holding strong for the game, Buffalo’s Wilson and Antonio Nunn each had 100-plus yards receiving. Nunn had 13 catches for 182 yards and Wilson had six catches for 118 yards.
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Buffalo was really missing running back Jarret Patterson, who developed into one of the best running backs in the nation over the last few weeks.
Patterson had a touchdown but left the game due to an injury in the third quarter. He came back but only managed 45 yards on 17 carries. Kevin Marks Jr. led the way with 93 yards on nine carries.
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Ball State sort of gets revenge on Buffalo from their 2008 matchup. The Bulls blew out the Cardinals, 42-24, in that game. Ball State was ranked No. 12 at that time.
