Football September 23, 2012 USF

USF's Comeback Attempt at BSU Falls Short

Team	1	2	3	4	OT	Final
USF	3	6	10	8	--	27
Ball State	3	7	14	7	--	31

By TOM ZEBOLD

USF Senior Writer

MUNCIE, Ind. – USF's incredible escape act almost continued Saturday at Ball State.

Keith Wenning's 19-yard touchdown pass to Willie Snead with 1:02 remaining foiled the Bulls' strong comeback attempt in the Cardinals' 31-27 victory before a crowd 16,397 at Scheumann Stadium.

The decisive score came about three minutes after B.J. Daniels orchestrated a 99-yard, go-ahead scoring drive for USF (2-2).

The Bulls had a 27-24 lead after a 29-yard Lindsey Lamar touchdown catch and a two-point conversion before suffering their second-straight loss.

What turned into a battle in the air started with two teams grinding it out on the ground. USF talked all week about wanting to get the running game going and the Bulls did just that on the first drive of Saturday's game. USF ran the ball 15 times in a row to get into Ball State red zone and ended the drive on the 17th play with a 42-yard field goal by Maikon Bonani into the wind.

Ball State (3-1) answered back on its first drive with a 39-yard field goal by Steven Schott and the Cardinals grabbed a 10-3 lead on a 3-yard scoring run by Jahwan Edwards with 7:18 to play in the half.

The touchdown capped off a 13-play drive that featured a 21-yard reception by Willie Snead to the USF 3. Snead had six catches for 83 yards in the first half.

USF got back to the ground game on the ensuing drive that started with a 19-yard run by Daniels. The senior quarterback ended the 11-play series with a 15-yard shovel pass to Lamar for a score.

Ball State kept a 10-9 lead after Joel Cox blocked Bonani's extra point attempt with 3:27 remaining in the second quarter.

The Bulls had 149 rushing yards at the half a week after totaling 95 in a loss to Rutgers. Daniels led the way with 63 yards on 11 attempts, and Lamar carried the ball nine times for 48 yards. Daniels' feet helped him become only the 14th FBS player from a school in the state of Florida to surpass 9,000 yards of total offense.

Ball State extended its lead to 17-9 on the opening drive of the second half thanks to assists by the USF defense. The Cardinals faced a third and 16 on USF's 38 when the Bulls were penalized on consecutive plays. The second flag was for unnecessary roughness to give Ball State a first down on the 18 and Wenning scored on a quarterback keeper four plays later from 1 yard out.

Daniels fired back with a 35-yard pass to Terrence Mitchell on USF's next offensive play and Ball State tacked on another 10 yards for roughing the passer to get the Bulls to the Cardinals' 26.

Bonani's 27-yard field goal cut USF's deficit to 17-12 with 5:36 to play in the third quarter.

Wenning gave Ball State more breathing room with 3:14 to go in the third quarter when he threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Jamill Smith to help put Ball State ahead, 24-12.

USF's deficit going into the fourth quarter was only five, however, after Daniels converted a key third-and-8 by hitting Andre Davis for a 15-yard touchdown with 21 seconds left in the third. Daniels warmed up his arm for the scoring toss by connecting on a 24-yarder to D'Vario Montgomery and a 22-yarder to Lamar earlier in the 81-yard drive.

The Bulls defense forced Ball State to punt for only the second time and got the ball back with a chance to go ahead with 10:31 remaining.

Daniels kept a drive that started at USF's own one alive with one of his trademark escapes from a potential sack. The Bulls faced a third-and-12 at their own 29 when Daniels circled defenders and hit a wide-open Mitchell for 21 yards.

Daniels was clutch again on a third-and-10 at the 50 by throwing an 18-yard pass to Derrick Hopkins and suddenly the Bulls were in business at the Ball State 32. Two penalties sent USF all the way back into their own territory on the drive, but more Daniels magic followed. Demetris Murray caught a 25-yard pass to make it a manageable third-and-7 at the Ball State 28 and Daniels finished off the drive with a 29-yard touchdown pass to Lamar, who weaved around defenders to the end zone with 4:12 left.

The Bulls tacked on two more points with a Murray run to go up 27-24.

The Bulls had one last go-ahead drive to complete and got all the way to the Ball State 28 before Daniels threw his second interception to end the game.

Next up for USF is a highly anticipated meeting with in-state rival Florida State on Saturday, Sept. 29 at Raymond James Stadium. The start time will be determined on Sunday.

USF	Stat	Ball St.
27	1st Downs	27
75	Total Plays	71
518	Total Yards	413
312	Passing Yards	244
206	Rushing Yards	169
11-112	Penalties	5-65
30:07	Possesion	29:54
2	Turnovers	0

USF	Comp./Att.	Yards	TD/Int	Long
Daniels, B.J.	19/30	312	3/2	34
Ball State	Comp./Att.	Yards	TD/Int	Long
Wenning, Keith	24/36	244	2/0	23