MUNCIE, Ind. – Ohio shut out Ball State in the first half, but the Cardinals returned the favor in the second half and rallied for a 20-14 victory Saturday at Scheumann Stadium.

A strong defensive first half ended with the Bobcats making a defensive stand to maintain a 14-point lead. In the second half, the Cardinals found a way to cap drives, scoring the go-ahead touchdown on a 43-yard pass from Kiael Kelly to Qian Magwood with 57 seconds left.

Ball State did not score until its second possession of the second half. Having been stopped in the red zone before, the Cardinals got a fourth-and-2 conversion on Kelly’s 13-yard touchdown run, making it 14-7 with 7:05 left in the third quarter.

Ohio was turned away on fourth-and-1 from the Ball State 43 on the first of two disastrous botched shotgun snaps. This one was on Navarro, who simply did not handle a good snap and then was dropped for a loss and turnover on downs.

Ball State once again converted a fourth down with a pass interference call and that set up a Carson Holmer 22-yard field goal to make it 14-10 in the final minute of the third quarter.

A long pass play from Navarro to Delaney Crawford was negated upon review showing it hit the ground, and the Bobcats punted. The Cardinals returned the favor but downed the ball at the 1-yard line, ultimately setting up a safety when this time Navarro could not handle a low snap.

Still leading 14-12, Ohio did well to force a punt following the free kick, but after just one first down, the ball was punted back to Ball State for what turned into the winning possession.

Beginning with 3:02 remaining, the Cardinals converted a pair of third downs to reach Ohio territory. Then on another third down, a defender fell down trying to defend the pass to Magwood, who then juked another defender on his way to the end zone. A conversion pass to Donovan Hamilton made it a six-point game.

That left Ohio with 57 seconds to go 80 yards. It went 50 of them, reaching the Ball State 30-yard line with two seconds remaining. Navarro threw a hail Mary pass to the end zone that was deflected by a couple of different Ball State defenders before hitting the ground.

The Bobcats easily could have had a bigger halftime lead but they failed to cash in on chances, including on their first possession when David Dellenbach missed a 49-yard field goal attempt.

On their next possession, Sieh Bangura came up a yard short on a fourth-and-2 from the Ball State 8-yard line, resulting in a turnover on downs. The Bobcats still ended up with a touchdown, though, after the defense forced a quick punt, leading to possession at midfield. Chase Hendericks made a 37-yard catch to set up a Duncan Brune 1-yard touchdown run.

In the second quarter, Navarro threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Rodney Harris II on a third-and-15 play to make it 14-0.

Ball State threatened to score for the first time in the game, reaching the Ohio 1-yard line on a Kelly 20-yard run, but a run and then a pass both lost yards before another pass for no gain, leading to fourth down. Kelly’s fade attempt was short and incomplete with three seconds to go in the half.

Navarro was 16-of-29 passing for 188 yards and a touchdown and rushed 13 times for 77 yards despite losing 26 yards on four sacks. Bangura rushed for 67 yards on 15 carries, and Hendricks had another big receiving game with 104 yards on eight receptions. Harris added 58 yards on four catches.

Kelly perhaps outperformed Navarro’s dual-threat game by going 17-of-33 passing for 185 yards and rushing 21 times for 96 yards. Magwood caught four passes for 92 yards.

Ohio’s defense did not come up with any sacks in the game. Ball State’s Nathan Voorhis had 3.5 sacks on his own.

After a week off, the Bobcats look to bounce back for homecoming with a 3:30 p.m. game Oct. 18 against Northern Illinois at Peden Stadium.