Joe Novak said he had a bad feeling coming into Saturday’s game.

He knew Ball State played better than its record. He also felt like his team was not ready to play.

Unfortunately for Novak, the NIU football team proved its coach right with a 31-17 defeat at the hands of Ball State. The loss snapped the Huskies (4-4 overall, 3-2 MAC) three-game win streak and marked their first home loss to a team not named Toledo since 2002.

Coming into the game, the NIU offense was ranked ninth in Division I in total offense with over 500 yards a game. The visiting Cardinals were third to last in the nation in total defense, giving up 256 rushing yards per game and 46 points per game.

But the two teams reversed roles Saturday as the Huskies produced its lowest offensive output of the season with only 66 yards rushing, 166 yards less than their average. Ball State played the part of offensive juggernaut by running over the Huskie defense for 196 yards.

The constantly blitzing Ball State defense harassed NIU into three straight three-and-outs to start the game and was rewarded by great field position, frequently in NIU territory. But Ball State did not take advantage of its opportunities until the end of the first half with a 13-play, 74-yard scoring drive.

On a broken play, BSU junior quarterback Joey Lynch rolled right and found wide receiver Terry Moss in the back of the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown.

The ensuing kickoff to NIU sophomore running back Cas Prime was fumbled, giving possession back to BSU. Lynch threw for another touchdown with 21 seconds left to give the Cardinals a 17-0 halftime lead.

The normally potent NIU offense was constantly harassed the entire afternoon by BSU blitzes that plugged running routes and sacked junior quarterback Phil Horvath four times. Frequently facing third and long, the Huskies only managed to convert one of 11 third downs.

“The whole game was shocking,” Horvath said. “They played a lot better than us. Our heads just weren’t in it. I always thought we were going to come back and win. We just made too many mistakes.”

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Ball State wore down the NIU defense by pounding the ball with the running game, holding the ball for almost 38 of the game’s 60 minutes. Using short passes to the sidelines, the Cardinals converted 12 of their 21 third-down chances.

NIU did manage to score three times in the second half, highlighted by a 17-yard touchdown reception by freshman wide receiver Britt Davis in the third quarter. Senior running back A.J. Harris scored the other touchdown in his return to the lineup, but only managed 17 yards on the day.

“It will be a wake-up call,” Novak said. “That’s the thing about losing. It always provides a gut check for you. Today we didn’t play with emotion.”