MUNCIE, Ind. | As representatives of the Orange and Motor City Bowl looked on from the press box, NIU fell flat.

For the first time this season, the Huskies were blown out, losing 45-14 to No. 17 Ball State.

The 31-point differential is the worst loss under first year NIU head coach Jerry Kill. A combined total of 11 points have separated the Huskies in their three previous losses prior to this game.

“We got beat on special teams, offense, defense, coaching – we got beat in every single phase of the game,” Kill said. “They kicked our butt, that’s as simple as I can put it.”

BSU (9-0 overall, 5-0 MAC) attacked NIU early under the direction of Cardinal quarterback

Nate Davis. The junior completed 18-of-22 passes for 300 yards and four touchdowns, plus one rushing touchdown in the BSU victory.

Coming into the game, NIU (5-4, 4-2) had the best pass defense in the MAC, holding opponents to 161.6 yards per games.

Davis had no problem dissecting the defense, hitting wide-open receivers deep down the field. The quarterback threw zero interceptions while hitting nine different receivers.

“He’s a great football player, obviously,” said NIU linebacker Alex Kube. “He’s been rallying and scrambling and we weren’t able to keep him in the pocket. It’s something that we’re going to have to fix real soon.”

But stopping the pass wasn’t the only problem the NIU defense faced.

The Huskies, which held the best defense in the MAC before the game, also failed to stop the Cardinal’s rushing attack. Running back MiQuale Lewis ran for 119 yards on 19 carries, finding his way into the end zone once. The junior passed 1,000 rushing yards for the season against an NIU defense which had limited opponents to 105.6 rushing yards per game.

NIU’s defense wasn’t helped by its offense. The Huskies’ initial score came on a 25-yard quarterback rush by Chandler Harnish. However, the scoring drive did not give time for the defense to rest, as it lasted only six plays.

In total, the Huskie offense was on the field for 26:07 and produced a mere 12 first downs. Of NIU’s 12 offensive drives, only four consisted of series with more than three plays.

“Our best defense is a good offense,” said Harnish of the inability of the offense to produce long drives. “When we put those drives together we were keeping those guys off the field. When [the NIU defense has] to keep going out there and Nate Davis keeps making great plays after great plays, it’s hard to keep it going.”

The Huskies have failed to beat the Cardinals since the Bronze Stalk trophy was added to the annual meeting between the foes last season. Prior to these trophy games, NIU had won the last seven of eight meetings against BSU.