Bronze Stalk Staying in Muncie

MUNCIE, Ind. -- The Bronze Stalk trophy will look good for another year in BSU's Fisher Football Training Complex. Ball State wore down visiting Northern Illinois 31-25 Wednesday night, keeping the rivalry trophy in Muncie. The Cardinals won 27-20 at NIU last season.

"I'm just proud of the way the guys answered the bell in the second half," BSU head coach Mike Neu said. "We knew we had to go play a four-quarter game. No matter what would've happened in any previous play or previous quarter or half, we just needed to go play, battle, fight, scratch and claw, and the guys did that."

Perhaps the biggest play of the game came in the second quarter with Ball State trailing 14-7 and NIU…