DEKALB, Ill. — Jackson Courville made a 36-yard field goal as time expired and Ball State scored the last 10 points to beat Northern Illinois 20-17 on Tuesday night.
Ball State's Kiael Kelly tossed a 6-yard touchdown pass to Tanner Koziol to tie the game 17-all with 3:44 remaining. On the ensuing possession, Tyler Potts had a strip sack of Rocky Lombardi and Kyron Mims recovered the ball at the Northern Illinois 41-yard line with 2:13 left.
The Cardinals converted twice on third down to keep the drive alive before Courville's kick split the uprights.
Kelly completed 15 of 25 passes for 115 yards and added 66 yards on the ground with a 6-yard touchdown run.
Marquez Cooper had 93 yards rushing on 25 carries for Ball State (3-7, 2-4 Mid-American Athletic Conference).
Lombardi was 15-of-26 passing for 141 yards and had a 4-yard touchdown run. Trayvon Rudolph's 35-yard TD run gave Northern Illinois (4-6, 3-3) a 17-10 lead with 10 minutes to play.