No. 18 Toledo Gets Bounced by Ball State

No. 18-ranked Toledo, the first Mid-American Conference team to crack the top 20 since 1975, saw its unbeaten season come to a screeching halt Saturday as Ball State shut down the Rockets offense and romped to a 35-3 victory at Muncie, Ind.

Toledo fell to 8-1 overall and 6-1 in the MAC. Ball State is 5-6 and 4-4.

“The defense really set the tone for the game,” Ball State Coach Bill Lynch said.

Toledo, averaging 468.6 yards and 35 points a game, managed only 218 yards and had three turnovers.

Jake Josetti, who finished the game a modest six for 11 for 131 yards, threw two touchdown passes and ran for a third score in leading Ball State offensively.

Toledo’s Chris Wallace finished the game 22 for 42 with two interceptions and was sacked twice. “I’m willing to put the blame on the offense,” Wallace said. “Ball State played an excellent game.”

The Cardinals, who have won four in a row and are 4-1 at home this season, knocked Toledo out of the conference title race last year with a late-season 24-14 victory. But Toledo clinched the MAC West Division title and an appearance in the Dec. 5 conference title game last week.

*

Chad Pennington threw three touchdown passes, including one to Randy Moss, to lead Marshall (8-2, 6-1) to a 28-0 MAC victory over Bowling Green (3-8, 3-5) at Huntington, W.Va. Marshall and Ohio University will play next Saturday for the MAC East title. The winner meets Toledo for the MAC crown. Moss, who finished with seven catches for 56 yards and one touchdown, extended his scoring streak to 25 games. Moss also returned a punt 58 yards to set up Marshall’s first touchdown. . . . Travis Prentice rushed for 227 yards and two touchdowns in 41 carries and Sam Ricketts passed for 254 yards and four scores to lead Miami of Ohio (8-2, 5-2) to a 45-21 Mid-American Conference victory over Ohio University (8-2, 6-1) at Athens, Ohio. Ohio entered the game averaging 342 yards rushing a game, but was limited to 178 in 41 attempts--including 61 on one play. Miami, meanwhile, rolled up 581 total yards against an Ohio defense that entered the game ranked second in the nation in scoring defense.

EAST

No. 20 Virginia Tech 27, Miami 25--Pierson Prioleau intercepted a two-point conversion pass with 1:48 remaining at Blacksburg, Va., to preserve the Big East victory for the Hokies (7-2, 2-3). After Prioleau’s interception, Miami (4-5, 2-3) recovered an onsides kick, but it was that a Hurricane player touched the ball before it went 10 yards.

No. 22 Syracuse 20, Boston College 13--Donovan McNabb teamed with Kevin Johnson on a 66-yard touchdown pass play early in the fourth quarter to help the Orangemen (7-3, 4-1) beat the Eagles (3-7, 3-4) at Syracuse, N.Y. for their sixth consecutive victory.

*

Quarterback Chris McCoy scored twice to become Navy’s career touchdown leader, and the Midshipmen (4-4) got touchdowns on each of their first five possessions to record a 49-17 victory over Temple (3-7) at Annapolis, Md. McCoy, a 5-foot-10 senior, ran for 96 yards and two two-yard touchdown runs in 26 carries and was seven for eight passing for 128 yards and three scores. He has scored 36 touchdowns, one more than Bill Ingram from 1916-1918. . . . Herman Lewis rushed for 129 yards and two touchdowns as Wake Forest (5-5) handed Rutgers (0-10) a 28-14 nonconference defeat at Piscataway, N.J.

Chris Menick ran for 201 yards and three touchdowns to give Harvard (7-1, 5-0) a 27-10 Ivy League victory over Brown (5-3, 2-3) at Providence, R.I. Harvard, which had not beaten Brown since 1992, retained sole possession of first place by scoring 27 unanswered points. . . . Dartmouth (6-2, 4-1) rallied for a 23-21 Ivy League victory over Columbia (3-5, 2-3) at New York after Columbia took a 14-7 lead by returning two interceptions for touchdowns. John Bishop blocked a Princeton field-goal attempt with 2:38 remaining, setting up Jeremiah Greathouse’s game-winning 24-yard field goal that lifted Penn (5-5, 4-1) to a 20-17 Ivy League victory over Princeton (4-4, 1-4) at Philadelphia. . . . Chris Allen returned a punt 54 yards for a touchdown to spark Cornell (4-4, 2-3) to a 37-10 Ivy League victory over Yale (1-7, 0-5) at Ithaca, N.Y.

SOUTH

Anthony Southern scored from the one with 1:16 left to cap a 75-yard, 15-play drive and give Virginia (6-3, 5-2) a 35-31 ACC victory over Georgia Tech (4-4, 3-3) at Charlottesville, Va. The Cavaliers were on the verge of having its bowl hopes ended until Phillip Rogers fumbled at the Virginia 25 with 7:14 left and Anthony Poindexter recovered. Then Cavaliers then went on their long scoring drive. . . . Jamie Barnette threw two touchdown passes and ran for one score as North Carolina State (4-5, 2-5) posted another impressive offensive effort in a 45-28 ACC victory over Maryland (2-8, 1-6) at Raleigh, N.C. Coming off a 448-yard performance against Florida State, the Wolfpack totaled 493 yards against the Terrapins. . . . Linebacker Rahim Abdullah returned an interception 63 yards for a touchdown in overtime to seal a 29-20 ACC victory for Clemson (6-3, 4-3) over Duke (2-7, 0-6) at Clemson, S.C. With the score tied 20-20 after regulation, David Richardson kicked a 36-yard field goal after Clemson managed only six yards on its first overtime possession.

WEST

John Dutton threw for a school-record 557 yards and five touchdowns as Nevada (5-5, 4-0) recorded a 56-42 Big West victory over Boise State (3-7, 2-2) at Boise, Ida. By halftime, Dutton had 408 passing yards and four touchdowns. . . . Ja’Quay Wilburn rushed for 224 yards in 30 carries as North Texas (3-6, 1-3) ran over New Mexico State (2-8, 0-4) for a 26-15 Big West victory at Las Cruces, N.M. . . . Cal State Northridge (5-5) held on for a 31-22 victory over Idaho State (2-7) at Northridge after leading 28-6 at halftime. The Matadors, unbeaten at home, outgained the Bengals, 443 yards to 242. . . . Alan Beilke kicked a 50-yard field goal with six seconds remaining to lift Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (8-1) to a 20-19 victory over Montana State (5-4) at Bozeman, Mont. Cal Poly, an independent, is ranked No. 23 in Division I-AA.