UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Ball State football came into Happy Valley confident and left with its first loss of the season. Quickly, BSU learned why Penn State is the No. 11-ranked team in the country as the Nittany Lions dominated in an 44-13 victory.
Ball State saw both its eight-game overall winning streak and two-game winning streak against ranked opponents end. Ball State moves to 1-1 with a tough three-week stretch ahead, which includes games at Wyoming next Saturday and at home against Toledo and Army in the ensuing weeks.
Here are three takeaways from the Cardinals' defeat:
Defense couldn't come up with stops
For the most part, Penn State had no problem driving on Ball State's defense.