No. 14 North Dakota State Uses Fourth Quarter Comeback to Defeat Ball State 29-24

Saturday, September 23

Muncie, Ind.

5:30 p.m.

North Dakota State Athletics

3-0

Ball State

1-3 , 1-0

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
North Dakota State	0	13	3	13	29
Ball State	7	7	10	0	24

No. 14 North Dakota State Uses Fourth Quarter Comeback to Defeat Ball State 29-24

9/23/2006 5:00:00 AM | Football

Box Score

MUNCIE, Ind. -- North Dakota State scored 13 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to defeat Division I-A Ball State 29-24 before a crowd of 10,285 at Scheumann Stadium on Saturday, September 23.

Trailing 24-22 with less than two minutes remaining, Bison quarterback Steve Walker hit Travis White on a 39-yard wide receiver screen pass to give NDSU (3-0) the victory.

Walker set career highs and broke school records with 29 completions, 46 attempts and 451 passing yards to lead the Bison. Walker also threw for three touchdowns and connected with eight different receivers in the game.

Ball State (1-3) scored first when running back B.J. Hill scored on a 1-yard run in the only scoring play of the first quarter but NDSU tied the score on the first play of the second quarter when Walker hit Tyler Jangula for a 17-yard strike.

After quarterback Joey Lynch hooked up with Dante Love on a 70-yard touchdown reception, the Bison responded again on the last play of the quarter with a 39-yard pass to Kole Heckendorf. The extra point was blocked and Ball State led 14-13 going into halftime.

After a 69-yard kickoff return by John Majeski to open the second half, NDSU took the lead for the first time when freshman kicker Shawn Bibeau nailed a career long 42-yard field goal to give the Bison the 16-14 lead. But once again the Cardinals regained the advantage with a Brian Jackson 20-yard field goal and 81-yard touchdown pass to Terry Moss from Lynch to make the score 24-16 heading into fourth quarter.

Bibeau connected on fourth quarter field goals of 29 and 24 yards to cut the lead to two before Walker hit White with the game winning pass with 1:25 remaining.

Ball State got the ball back and managed to pick up a first down, but a pass to Darius Hill on a fourth down attempt with 21 seconds remaining fell incomplete.

The Bison outgained Ball State 535-399 and were 2-for-2 on fourth down conversions.

Heckendorf set a career high with seven receptions and White had 112 receiving yards to lead the Bison receivers. Kyle Steffes had 77 yards rushing on 18 attempts.

Safety Craig Dahl led the team with 11 tackles and defensive linemen Brian Dahl and Alex Kingsley each recorded a sack.

The Bison will travel next to Nacogdoches, Texas, to face Stephen F. Austin on Saturday, Sept. 30. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. central at Homer Bryce Stadium. The Lumberjacks (0-4) were defeated by Central Arkansas 37-35 on Saturday, Sept. 23.