BOWLING GREEN — Bowling Green scored two touchdowns 11 seconds apart in the final minutes of regulation on Saturday afternoon, took a 24-17 lead with 1:01 to play — and still lost. Ball State drove 78 yards to tie the game on its final play, then won it 32-31 in overtime on a two-point conversion at a sun-drenched Doyt L. Perry Stadium.
For three quarters it was a grind: Ball State led 3-0 after one quarter, the teams were level 10-10 at halftime, and the Cardinals edged ahead 17-10 after three. Then the last 1:12 of regulation and overtime produced 36 points between the two teams.
The Falcons’ late surge looked like the story of the day. Two scores in 11 seconds flipped a 17-10 deficit into a 24-17 lead with just over a minute left, the second coming after Ball State quarterback Keldric Luster’s critical late fumble. But Luster answered immediately, marching the Cardinals 78 yards and finding Eli Hohlt for a 20-yard touchdown on the final play of regulation to force overtime at 24-24.
Bowling Green struck first in the extra period, going the required 25 yards in four plays, with Austyn Dendy scoring from four yards out and Travis Kenner adding the extra point for a 31-24 lead. Dendy finished with 61 rushing yards and the score.
Ball State refused the script. The Cardinals converted a fourth-and-1 with Luster rushing up the middle, and three plays later TJ Horton scored from a yard out to make it 31-30. Instead of kicking to extend the game, Ball State went for two and the win: Luster rolled right and found Alex Scherle in the front corner of the end zone for the conversion and the 32-31 final.
Luster was the game’s outstanding player, throwing for 195 yards and a touchdown and rushing for a game-high 125 yards and another score — 320 yards of total offense. For Bowling Green, Jay Kastantin went 17-for-24 for 215 yards and two touchdowns in the loss.
The defeat drops Bowling Green to 2-5 overall and 2-1 in the Mid-American Conference, a stinging first league loss in a game the Falcons had won twice in the final minutes. Ball State improves to 2-5 and 1-2 in the MAC, with its first road win since October 2024.
Bowling Green goes back on the road next Saturday, Oct. 24, visiting Buffalo for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff, before an Oct. 31 trip to Western Michigan. The Falcons’ next home game is not until Nov. 10, when Kent State visits on a Tuesday night — a long wait to wash out the taste of this one.
