Ball St. 49, Buffalo 14

9/29/2007 4:03 PM

MUNCIE, Ind. (AP) -Ball State jumped out to a 21-0 first quarter lead and used a balanced offense to cruise to a 49-14 win over Buffalo on Saturday.

The Cardinals scored their first two touchdowns less than five minutes into the game. Freshman running back Frank Edmonds scored on a one-yard run. Then Trey Lewis returned an interception 26 yards for another touchdown on the next defensive play.

Ball State then added two touchdown passes from quarterback Nate Davis to tight end Darius Hill to take a 28-0 lead into halftime.

Edmonds, making his first start, gained 38 yards on the team's first play from scrimmage, a fake reverse. He rushed for 89 yards in the first half and finished with 124 yards on 24 carries.

Ball State totaled 274 rushing yards on 48 carries while holding Buffalo to 83 yards on 27 carries.

The Cardinals, who nearly upset No. 24 Nebraska last week, controlled the ball for 34 minutes. Davis finished with 233 yards passing as Ball State improved to 3-2 overall and 2-1 in the Mid-American Conference.

The Bulls scored on a couple short touchdown runs by sophomore James Starks in the third and fourth quarters for the final score. Buffalo fell to 1-4.