 "Photo: Clay Lomneth")
The second half of Saturday's game played like a shootout. In the end, Ball State's final bullet fired a little left of the mark.
With Marlon Lucky saying his prayers and Sam Keller unable to watch from the sideline, BSU true freshman Jake Hogue lined up for a 55-yard field goal attempt with 17 seconds remaining and the Cardinals down by one.
The kick had the distance, but the ball sailed left. The Cornhuskers rallied from a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit to win 41-40 in what was supposed to be an easy nonconference win.
Instead, the Huskers struggled defensively and were torched for much of the second half by a play-making offense. Ball State was ahead by nine with the ball in hand when Bo Ruud returned an interception 34 yards for a touchdown, pulling Nebraska within two.
"We've needed a big play for a while now," Ruud said. "It's been a few games since we've gotten one. It gave everyone some confidence and changed the momentum. I think that's what was important about it."
Nebraska gave up 30 second-half points after allowing only 10 in the first half and none in the first quarter. Lucky's 28-yard touchdown run less than five minutes into the game gave the Huskers an early lead.
Ball State didn't get rolling until midway through the second quarter, when Nate Davis connected to Darius Hill for a 20-yard touchdown to tie the game at seven. Hogue kicked a field goal later in the quarter to give the Cardinals a brief lead before NU running back Quentin Castille ran in for a Nebraska score shortly before halftime to gain a 14-10 lead.
After the break, the offenses broke free of the defenses.
The teams combined to score 35 points in the third quarter, including 21 by Ball State. BSU's output tied a Nebraska record for points allowed in the third quarter. The lead changed five times, and Nebraska found itself down 31-28 going into the fourth quarter.
Davis and Nebraska quarterback Sam Keller highlighted the arms race of the third quarter. On four straight possessions, each quarterback led their teams on touchdown drives to answer one another. Highlighting the quarter was a 73-yard touchdown pass from Keller to senior tight end Sean Hill and a perfectly-thrown 58-yard scoring bomb from Davis to Dante Love. Love reeled in the pass at the goal line in between and just beyond the reach of two Blackshirts.
The offensive onslaught was finally stopped in the fourth quarter by B.J. Hill, who dove at a pass by Keller over the middle and intercepted it at the NU four-yard line.
"That throw, I would have liked to have that one back," Keller said. "They brought a safety blitz off the edge as I was just about to get rid of the ball and he slapped my arm. The turnovers bother me, and I obviously want to clean that up, but a win makes it feel a lot better."
On the ensuing play, Ball State's MiQuale Lewis broke free for 23 yards and set off a shower of boos from fans. After that, Davis threw to Love, who blazed 51 yards to the Nebraska 22-yard line.
Davis threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Madaris three plays later, extending Ball State's lead to nine after a missed extra point attempt. The touchdown was Davis' fourth of the game and third passing, capping a five-play, 96-yard drive.
"(Davis) was good," Nebraska Coach Bill Callahan said. "He showed a lot of poise coming in here, but it's nothing we didn't respect. The quarterback is dangerous and the quarterback can make plays out of the pocket because he does have vision. He did that today."
Davis made breathtaking passes and plays throughout the game, even in the face of good defense. But his single mistake in the fourth quarter may have been the most momentum-turning of the game when he lofted a pass over the middle that landed in Ruud's arms.
Their lead reduced, the Cardinals drove again after Ruud's score and extended their lead to five on a 22-yard field goal by Hogue. Needing a touchdown, Nebraska put together a nine-play drive that ate nearly four minutes of the game clock and resulted in an 11-yard touchdown pass from Keller to wide receiver Maurice Purify.
The two-point conversion failed, and Ball State took the kickoff with 3 minutes, 8 seconds remaining. Its drive took the visitors to the NU 38-yard line, setting up Hogue for a 55-yard field goal attempt.
Only two plays earlier, Love had failed to haul in a pass from Davis on a crossing route that would have put the Cardinals deep in the red zone, if not the end zone.
When Hogue's kick hooked left, it put an end to a shootout that featured nearly 1,200 total yards between both teams, 81 points and multiple defensive headaches.
"I'm concerned because we've yet to show what we can really do," Ruud said. "We have talent, we practice hard and we prepare hard. Last week (against USC), we were bad against the run. This week, we manned them up and gave up some yards on some deep throws. They made a lot of yards off those plays."
Keller broke the school record for passing yards in a game with 438 but was overshadowed by Davis' 488 total yards. The 610 total yards by Ball State was the forth-highest opponent yardage in Nebraska football history. Love's 214 receiving yards was the third-highest total ever by a Nebraska opponent.
"I'm just proud of the fact that our kids found a way to get this one done today," Callahan said. "There's a lot of things that we'll look back on, and we'll correct, but, overall, generally speaking, I'm proud of the fact that we showed the resilience to come back and win today."
jonathancrowl@dailynebraskan.com
