BSU FOOTBALL TEAM WINS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!!!

(EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the game story to my national championship game played in season three of my dynasty on NCAA Football 08 for the Xbox 360. Since it is doubtful BSU will ever make it to the national championship game, I thought this would be something everyone would enjoy. All the quotes are obviously fake, everything else is very, very "real". Yes, I wrote a game story for a video football game. I am awesome.)

Jaunary 10, 2010

It's in the Cards

Ball State caps off most unlikely, memorable season with sweet taste of a national championship

PASADENA, Calif. — It wasn't the prettiest of games.

Actually, it was downright ugly. Both Ball State and Indiana played like two unlikely combatants that had never competed for a national championship.

It was a game with plenty of intriguing storylines. IU coach Bill Lynch was the head man at Ball State from 1995-2002, nearly driving the program into the ground. Hoosier quarterback Kellen Lewis made himself the Hoosiers' starting QB with a comeback victory over these same Cardinals in 2006. And this game also featured Indiana schools separated by only two hours.
But the Ball State defense created four turnovers, and the Cardinals' electric offense made IU pay as Ball State one-upped the 2006 Boise State football team as the Cardinals capped off the most unlikely collegiate football season ever with a stunning 24-0 victory over the Hoosiers and won the BCS National Championship.

It was an amazing run for the Cardinals. Neither team started the season in the top 25, but when the dust settled, they were the only two left undefeated.

"This is one of the greatest days in the history of college football," Ball State coach Brady Hoke said. "If you would've told me we'd be where we are at the beginning of the season, I would've told you that you were crazy. I'm daggone proud of our defensive performance today. On the biggest stage possible, the defense played its absolute best game of the year. Kyle Kuntz was everywhere tonight, and we're certainly going to miss him next year. But we're going to soak this moment in for awhile."

The two-time All-American Kuntz intercepted two passes and the Ball State defense converted four Lewis turnovers into 21 points, by far the senior's worst performance of the season.
But the first eight minutes showed nerves and cautiousness as both offenses failed to get on track. Ball State reached the red zone first early in the second quarter, but Jake Hogue missed a 41-yard field goal.

But with 57 seconds left left in the first half the Hoosiers blinked.

On 2nd and five from Ball State's 40, Lewis tried to find Andrew Means deep, but was picked off Kuntz, who returned it to the BSU 34. Six plays later, Davis hit Gary Anderson for a 10-yard touchdown, the first of three touchdown connections for the duo.

"It certainly seemed like our front seven was getting plenty of pressure on Lewis and he was forcing passes," Kuntz said. "It really made our jobs easy."

Ball State struck quickly on the opening possession of the third quarter. Twenty-six seconds in, to be precise. On 1st-and-10 from the 50, Anderson ran an out and up, and no Indiana defender was within 10 yards of him, as Anderson raced to the end zone untouched.

On the Hoosiers' opening possession of the second half, IU reached the red zone, only to have Lewis' pass intercepted once again by Kuntz.

The score remained the same until the opening play of the fourth quarter. On a 2nd-and-7 play from the 50, Lewis took off on a scramble, only to have the ball poked away by Kuntz and Jafe Pitcock recovered the fumble at the Ball State 40-yard line.

The Cardinals once again turned the turnover into points. Two plays later, Davis hit Anderson on an out route and he outraced everyone to end zone on a 57-yard touchdown pass.

"I felt like that was huge momentum boost," Hoke said. "Up to that point, Nate had been a little off with his passes and to be able to turn a checkdown pass into a touchdown was an important one."

Hogue later added a field goal for the final margin. The game was sealed when Alex Knipp picked off a Lewis pass with one minute left.

Neither running game got on track. Ball State only finished with 25 yards rushing, while the Hoosiers tallied 35. Indiana's All-American receiver Ray Fisher, the Heisman trophy runner up, did not catch a pass while being neutralized by All-American corners Darren Williams and Jakeem Gregory.

"Defense, defense, defense," Hoke said. "We struggled so much with it my first six seasons at Ball State. I'm just so proud of everybody's performance. I know this wasn't Nate's best game, but we never would've gotten to this point without him. He's meant so much to this Cardinal program over the past four years. I just ... I just don't know what to say."

The Ball State defense has placed in the top 10 each of the past two seasons, both occurring after former defensive coordinator Mark Smith was relieved of his duties.

The Cardinals' story is one for ages. They reached a BCS bowl game for the first time in school history last season, defeating Texas, 31-24. Ball State used a loaded non-conference schedule to build its credibility for a national championship run this year, starting off the season by escaping No. 3 Louisville with a 34-27 victory. The following week, they went into the Horseshoe and thrashed Ohio State, 45-0, and then KO'd Texas A&M, 56-13. Due to some deft scheduling, the then-No. 3 Cardinals ended the season hosting No. 4 Florida State. It was a watershed moment for Ball State, who after falling behind 10-0, outscored the Seminoles 42-9 on their way to a 42-19 victory. Davis was lights-out in that game, finishing with 427 yards in the air and 3 touchdowns.

In the past three seasons, Hoke is a ridiculous 39-3 at the helm. His last loss was a 47-34 defeat at the hands of USC in the second game of the 2008 season.

Davis leaves Ball State as the all-time leading passer in Ball State history, finishing with the following career marks, all school records: 12,997 yards and 109 touchdowns. He finished 2009 with 41 touchdown passes and 4,182 passing yards. He also set an NCAA record for highest passer rating in a season with 197.6, eclipsing Louisville's Brian Brohm's 179.5 mark from 2007.

MiQuale Lewis, neutralized during Monday night's game, was a force for the Cardinals in 2009, finishing with a BSU-record 42 career rushing touchdowns.

Wide receiver DeAndrie Rogers, who finished with 103 receiving yards Monday, is the school's all-time leader in receiving yards with 2,229.