The Ball State Cardinals (3-2, 1-1 MAC West) had to fight off a comeback rally from the hosting Central Michigan Chippewas (1-5, 0-2 MAC West) in the last two minutes of the contest, but they managed to pick up a vital pass break-up on fourth down to spoil CMU’s Homecoming weekend, winning by the narrow margin of 17-16 on Saturday afternoon.
It was a strange game from the start, with Ball State stopped for a three-and-out on the first possession— only for CMU to cough up the ball on a catch-fumble to give it right back. The Cards couldn’t make anything of it on the short field, with Ben VonGunten missing from 39 yards out to give CMU the ball back once again.