Lagow's trio of touchdown passes helps Hoosiers to 30-20 victory
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Richard Lagow threw three touchdown passes in his home debut, and Indiana's defense forced three more turnovers as the Hoosiers held off Ball State's frantic fourth-quarter flurry for a 30-20 victory Saturday.
Lagow, a junior college transfer, was 17 of 28 for 266 yards with no interceptions as Indiana (2-0) snapped a three-game losing streak in the series. The Hoosiers have won four of their last five, this one by flipping the script.
Instead of following Devine Redding's lead on the ground, Indiana beat the Cardinals (1-1) through the air.
"That style of defense in the box is going to be loaded," coach Kevin Wilson said. "Richard played well but we've got to take advantage (of that defense) a little more. The running game was solid, nothing flashy, but we can do a little more."
Lagow & Co. made it look easy.
After converting a fumble recovery into an early field goal, Lagow beat a blitz and threw a gorgeous 43-yard TD pass to Nick Westbrook for a 10-0 lead. Lagow then hooked up with Luke Timian on a 10-yard TD pass in the second quarter, and Griffin Oakes made it 20-0 at halftime with a 49-yard field goal as time expired.
The Hoosiers (2-0) started fast in the second half, too, with a 79-yard TD pass to Westbrook. They led 30-0 before the Cardinals finally got on the scoreboard.
Ball State (1-1) scored the final 20 points but never got close enough to seriously challenge the Hoosiers.
Cardinals quarterback Riley Neal was 15 of 30 for 231 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
"It's not the recipe you can have in order to have success," new Ball State coach Mike Neu said. "You can't have three turnovers and get off to a slow start. That's asking a lot out of your team each and every week."
Redding carried 26 times for 110 yards, his fifth consecutive 100-yard game.
TAKEAWAYS
Ball State: The Cardinals have a long way to go to compete with college football's big boys. After rushing for 325 yards against Georgia State, Ball State managed just 371 yards in total offense and fumbled away its first scoring chance -- at Indiana's 3-yard line.
Indiana: The Hoosiers have been impressive in their first two games, winning both in typical Big Ten fashion -- putting away Florida International late in the Miami heat and never giving the Cardinals a chance Saturday.
UP NEXT
Ball State: The Cardinals host Eastern Kentucky, an FCS playoff contender, next weekend. They will need their defense to play much stouter against a team that topped the 40-point mark five times last season.
Indiana: The Hoosiers get an extra week to fix the kinks before hosting Wake Forest. Indiana needs to build momentum with a daunting start to Big Ten play looming. They host No. 12 Michigan State on Oct. 1 and visit No. 4 Ohio State on Oct. 8.
