Hoosiers lose 42-20 against Ball State

IU might have landed the first punch, but the Hoosiers were the ones trying to pick themselves up off the canvas Saturday night after a 42-20 beating at the hands of visiting Ball State.

For the first time ever, the Cardinals beat the Hoosiers, and they did so in astounding fashion.

IU, a team that has aspirations of a second straight bowl game, was throttled by a hungry Ball State team.

“It’s something we’ve got to learn from,” junior quarterback Kellen Lewis said after the game. “This is the first time we had to play four quarters, and we learned a lesson from this.”

Post-game, everyone refused to admit the loss was a setback for the program while at the same time, it was arguably the program’s worst loss since falling to Southern Illinois on Sept. 16, 2006.

All of the talk revolved around how the loss to Ball State was just one game and there are nine more remaining. But the looks on the faces of the Hoosiers told a different story.

This was a game IU was supposed to win. Instead, they were blown out at home.

“You’ve just got to give credit to them,” junior wide receiver Andrew Means said.

Nearly every aspect of the Hoosiers’ game was off. Whether it was the offense, the defense or even in the kicking game, there were flaws to point out and fix before their Big Ten opener against Michigan State next weekend.

Even though IU hung in the game while Ball State wracked up yardage, the expanding list of mistakes led to the Hoosiers’ downfall.

Lewis played like a different quarterback, certainly not the one who has been ranked as one of the best in the conference. The Hoosier signal caller completed 11-of-25 passes for 159 yards and two interceptions.

Down 21-20 with less than two minutes left in the second quarter, Lewis’ pass across the middle sailed over junior wideout Ray Fisher’s head and into the hands of Ball State’s Sean Baker. Forty yards later, Baker had a touchdown, and the Cardinals never looked back.

“I thought I could squeeze it in there,” Lewis said. “A defender got his hand on my arm and it just tailed on me. It was just kind of a gift-wrap interception.”

The Cardinals scored twice more in the fourth quarter while the Hoosiers floundered. The offense looked inept and the defense crumbled whenever Ball State running back MiQuale Lewis touched the ball.

The Ball State back rushed for 166 yards and four touchdowns, bringing back the same questions about IU’s run defense from a year ago.

“He would just start out one way and cut all the way back,” said junior linebacker Will Patterson. “We had a couple of guys that should have been there, but that’s the game and we’re going to get better from it.”

IU coach Bill Lynch refused to admit his team was not prepared entering the game. After all, the Hoosiers had played Ball State the past two years and had won twice.

Lynch insisted his team knew how good the Cardinals were, and that the Hoosiers did not overlook them.

“I’ve been on sidelines where (overlooking a team) has happened,” Lynch said. “That was not the case tonight.”