I couldn't watch the game. No, not that I was nervous or anything; OK, a little.

But 4 a.m. comes mighty early to do a morning show. So, after watching the first 10 or so minutes, off I trotted to my pillow.

I woke up this morning full of hope.

Would my mighty Ball State Cardinals finally pull off a bowl win?  Alas, not.

It was a crazy and heartbreaking evening for my alma mater's football team.

On Sunday night, I wanted to be at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala., for the GoDaddy Bowl, where the Ball State Cardinals played Arkansas State.

There was no joy in Muncie, Ind., as Ball State placekicker Scott Secor's 38-yard field-goal attempt with no time left got blocked by Arkansas State.

Final score: Arkansas State 23, Ball State 20. Ugh.

Cardinals running back Jahwan Edwards had scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with 93 seconds left to give Ball State the lead, with Secor's point-after kick making it 20-16. The Cardinals had marched 80 yards for a score after intercepting a driving Arkansas State.

But Arkansas State came back to score on Fredi Knighten's 13-yard TD pass to Allen Muse, with Brian Davis' extra-point giving the Red Wolves a three-point lead. Knighten finished 15-of-20 passing for 115 yards with one TD and one interception, and also ran 97 yards on 19 carries.

Edwards finished with a game-high 146 yards rushing and a touchdown on 28 carries.

The Red Wolves, the Sun Belt Conference runners-up who finished the season 8-5, won the GoDaddy Bowl for the second straight year. Last year, they beat Kent State 17-13. It was Arkansas State's third consecutive GoDaddy Bowl appearance.

Ball State, which was runner-up in the Mid-American Conference West Division, lost for the second time in three games and finished 10-3.

Keith Wenning, a senior, became the first Ball State quarterback to pass for more than 4,000 yards in a season. He finished the evening 23-of-44 for 215 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

It had been 10-10 at halftime.

Ball State is now 0-7 in bowl games in its 89-year football history. Mid-American Conference teams went 0-5 in bowl games this year.

Arkansas State won six of its last eight games.

 

 

 

 

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