Nebraska 41
Ball St. 40

Sept. 22, 2007 • 11:37 a.m. Central
Memorial Stadium •Lincoln, NE • FSN PPV
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Bo Ruud

Bo Ruud celebrates his fourth-quarter pick-six. | Courtesy of Huskers.com
1st quarter
NEB: M. Lucky 28 run (A. Henery kick) 10:17
2nd quarter
BSU: D. Hill 20 pass from N. Davis (J. Hogue kick) 9:46 
BSU: Hogue 45 FG, 4:41  
NEB: Q. Castille 1 run (Henery kick) 0:26
3rd quarter
BSU: Davis 14 run (Hogue kick) 11:31 
NEB: S. Hill 73 pass from S. Keller (Henery kick) 6:39
BSU: M. Lewis 43 run (Hogue kick) 4:55
NEB: N. Swift 18 pass from Keller (Henery kick) 2:09
BSU: D. Love 58 pass from Davis (Hogue kick) 0:54
4th quarter
BSU: M. Grant 21 pass from Davis (Hogue kick) 12:50 
NEB: B. Ruud 34 INT return (Henery kick) 9:21
BSU: Hogue 22 FG, 7:05  
NEB: M. Purify 11 pass from Keller (pass failed) 3:13

                            BSU       NEB
First downs................. 27        25
  Rushing.................... 7         7
  Passing................... 19        17
  Penalty.................... 1         1
Net yards rushing.......... 188       114
  Attempts-Avg.......... 36-5.2    36-3.2
Net yards passing.......... 422       438
  Comp-Attempts-Int.... 26-43-1   29-37-1
Total offense yards........ 610       552
  Plays-Avg............. 79-7.7    73-7.6
Fumbles-Lost............... 2-1       2-2
Penalties-Yards........... 4-34      5-50
Punts-Avg............... 3-45.0    4-42.8
Punt returns-Avg........ 1-12.0     2-8.5
Kickoff returns-Avg..... 3-21.3    7-20.1
Interceptions-Yds-TD..... 1-0-0    1-34-1
Possession Time.......... 27:08     32:52
Third-Down Conv. ...... 9 of 15   8 of 13
Fourth-Down Conv. ...... 0 of 0    1 of 1
Red-Zone Scores-Chances.... 3-3       3-3
Sacks By-Yards............ 3-14       1-4

RUSHING
BSU: M. Lewis 19-122; N. Davis 6-57; F. Edmonds 6-5; D. Love 4-2; T. Lewis 1-2.

NEB: M. Lucky 21-102; Q. Castille 5-16; R. Helu 4-13; TEAM 1-(-2); S. Keller 5-(-15).

PASSING
BSU: N. Davis 26/43 422 YDS, 3 TD, 1 INT.
NEB: S. Keller, 29/37 438 YDS, 3 TD, 1 INT.

RECEIVING
BSU: D. Love 10-214; D. Hill 5-93; J. Everett 3-39; M. Lewis 3-25; F. Edmonds 2-16; M. Grant 1-21; N. Davis 1-9; D. Dunford 1-5.

NEB: M. Lucky 11-81; M. Purify 6-122; S. Hill 3-129; T. Peterson 3-43; T. Nunn 3-25; N. Swift 1-18; Q. Castille 1-15; R. Helu 1-5.

Attendance: 84,294

Coverage

Stats & Recap
Complete Stats

Huskers survive shootout with Cardinals

Nebraska used a nine-play, 82-yard touchdown drive to cap a rally from a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit to stave off an upset by Ball State, then sweated out one final threat from the Cardinals at game’s end for a 41-40 victory.

Husker quarterback Sam Keller completed 29 of 37 passes for three touchdowns and a school-record 438 yards. On Nebraska’s final drive, Keller completed 7 of 7 passes for 78 yards, including the game-winning toss to Maurice Purify.

Nebraska racked up 552 yards of total offense only to be outgained by Ball State, which produced 610 yards, the third-highest total ever by an opponent at Memorial Stadium. BSU quarterback Nate Davis threw for 422 yards and three touchdowns while rushing six times for 57 yards and another score.

Dante Love was Davis’ favorite target, making 10 catches for 214 yards and a touchdown. But with the Cardinals driving on their last possession, a wide-open Love could not haul in a Davis aerial that could have put BSU back on top in the final 30 seconds. After a third-down pass breakup by Steve Octavien, Ball State’s a 55-yard field goal attempt with 17 seconds remaining sailed wide left.

Keller’s 438-yard passing day eclipsed Zac Taylor’s school record of 433 yards, set in 2005. Marlon Lucky’s 11 catches were the most ever by a Husker running back, and he also rushed for 102 yards.

Lincoln Journal Star
Omaha World-Herald
Grand Island Indep.
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Daily Nebraskan
Nebraska StatePaper
Nebraska Athletics
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Des Moines Register
Muncie Star Press
Ball State Daily News
Ball State Athletics
Associated Press
NCAA.org
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Pregame & team info
2007 schedule
04/14Red 38, White 0
09/01NevadaW 52-10
09/08@ Wake ForestW 20-17
09/15Southern CalL 31-49
09/22Ball St.W 41-40
09/29Iowa St.W 35-17
10/06@ MIssouriL 6-41
10/13Oklahoma St.L 14-45
10/20Texas A&ML 14-36
10/27@ TexasL 25-28
11/03@ KansasL 39-76
11/10Kansas St.W 73-31
11/23@ ColoradoL 51-65

Commentary

Colonel Mustard

We have all the problems that a defense can have from no pass rush to poor tackling.


Colonel Mustard
HuskerMax
Sipple

With due respect to the fighting Cardinals, this looked like mediocrity, Big Red style.

Steven M. Sipple
Lincoln Journal Star
Douglass

While the Huskers didn't necessarily appear flat, they often looked completely inept on the defensive side.

Terry Douglass
Grand Island Independent
Husker Dan

Husker fans will be talking about this one for years to come — and for all the wrong reasons.

Husker Dan
HuskerMax
McKeever

Don't lose the vision of Ball State receiver Dante Love in the open and having a for-sure touchdown reception slip through his hands with 27 seconds to play.

Curt McKeever
Lincoln Journal Star
Gouldsmith

Maybe that's why fans were booing. In Callahan's fourth year in Lincoln, he's calling a one-point win over Ball State a step forward.

Ben Gouldsmith
Daily Nebraskan
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