Ball State walked away with the upset the last two times it faced off against Indiana, and for most of the game it looked like it would be more of the same. The Hoosiers might've been the first to get on the board with a field goal, but they would spend the next 60 minutes playing catch up to the Cardinals.
But with one second remaining and a 42-yard field goal teed up, it was actually Ball State that had to come back for the win. With the field goal, fifth year senior kicker Steven Schott managed to secure the win for Ball State, 41-39.
And while it was the final kick that gave the Hoosiers their first loss of the season, it was Ball State's 440 yards against the Indiana defense that led to it.
The Cardinals were about as balanced as it gets with 45 passing attempts and 44 rushes. Junior quarterback Keith Wenning was 26-of-44 and threw for three touchdowns and no interceptions. He methodically worked through the offense and Indiana never seemed to really get into the kind of rhythm that is expected when a Big Ten school plays a mid-major school.
And while the momentum and scoring during the game was back and forth, one trend that seemed to permeate the Hoosiers’ entire game was their penalties, 12 in total which added up to 127 yards.
So even though Indiana sophomore quarterback Cameron Coffman showed improvement from last week after stepping in for Indiana sophomore Tre Roberson, who will be out the rest of the season with a broken leg, his progress seemed to be nullified by penalties elsewhere.
The Hoosiers now have a week off before they head into conference play at Northwestern before hosting Ohio State and Michigan State.