AKRON, Ohio – Freshman Caleb Huntley ran for a personal-high 129 yards, but the Ball State football team fell to host Akron Saturday afternoon in Mid-American Conference action, 31-3.

The Cardinals ran 90 plays and maintained possession for nearly 34 minutes but struggled to move the ball in Akron territory for much of the day.

Akron scored on the game’s opening possession and built a 17-3 lead by halftime. The Zips’ defense made a key goal line stop in the second quarter after Akron had just extended its lead to 14-3. Ball State faced second-and-goal from the 2-yard line, but the Zips stuffed the Cardinals on three consecutive runs.

Following a scoreless third quarter, Akron put the game away with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns.

“Our defense really kind of kept us in the game,” Ball State head coach Mike Neu said. “Offensively we’re struggling to put points on the board. We had opportunities early in the game in the red zone but couldn’t get a touchdown.”

Ball State reached the red zone three times and only came away with three points.

Quarterback Thomas Woodson threw for 211 yards and two scores for the Zips. His touchdown pass to Kwadarrius Smith early in the fourth quarter extended the lead to three scores.

Huntley finished the day with a team season-high 129 yards on 25 carries for Ball State. Quarterback Jack Milas threw for 176 yards on 21-of-41 passing. Freshman wide receiver Justin Hall led the team with seven receptions for 48 yards.

“I’m proud of Caleb Huntley, the way he ran the ball tonight,” Neu said. “I really thought he made the most of his carries, and he’s really done a good job ball security wise.”