MUNCIE, Ind. (AP) — Messiah Burch ran for a career-high 209 yards and two touchdowns and Buffalo defeated Ball State 28-7 on Wednesday night for their fifth straight victory.
The Bulls (7-3, 5-1 Mid-American Conference) secured bowl eligibility and remained in a four-way tie atop the MAC standings, while also eliminating Ball State (3-7, 2-4) from bowl contention.
Burch became the 12th player in Buffalo history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season, and put the game on ice after breaking three tackles at the line of scrimmage and dashing for a 67-yard touchdown with 4:04 remaining in regulation.
The Bulls blew the game open on the next possession, taking advantage of a special teams miscue by the Cardinals to recover their own kickoff. Terrance Shelton Jr. took the first play 27 yards to the end zone, their second rushing score in six seconds of clock.
The Cardinals struck first thanks to a special teams error by Buffalo. Punter Ethan Stumpf kicked the ball directly into the back of lineman Christopher Climes, and the ball went all the way back into the end zone.
Gabe Aramboles simply fell onto the ball for the first score of the game.
Buffalo evened things up with a 14-yard reception by Chance Morrow from Jason Wright with four minutes to go in the first half.
Burch’s 2-yard dive put the Bulls ahead in the third quarter, capping off a 12-play, 79-yard drive that took over six minutes.
Ball State had ample opportunities to cut back into the lead, but missed three field goals from 39, 44, and 47 yards on the night.
TJ Horton led with 92 rushing yards on 11 carries. Donovan Hamilton had 11 catches for 104 yards.
Buffalo: hosts Central Michigan next Wednesday.
Ball State: visits Ohio next Tuesday.
