MUNCIE — Ball State’s offensive numbers were remarkable in the first half Tuesday night against 17th-ranked Western Michigan.

Fifty-five plays for 358 yards and 18 first downs. The problem was the Cardinals were only able to turn all of that into 10 points. Three turnovers in Western Michigan territory — including an interception returned for a touchdown — derailed several scoring opportunities.

Western Michigan (9-0, 5-0 MAC) led 28-10 at halftime and scored on its first play of the second half on the way to a 52-20 victory at Scheumann Stadium.

“We lost to a good football team tonight that did not make any mistakes,” Ball State head coach Mike Neu said. “We knew going into the game one of the glaring stats in their favor is the turnover margin. They were plus-12 going into this game, first in our league, and today they were plus-3.”

James Gilbert led Ball State (4-5, 1-4 MAC) offensively with his fifth consecutive 100-yard rushing game.

The sophomore ran for 155 yards — including 139 in the first half — on 29 carries, surpassing the 1,000-yard mark for the season on the game’s opening drive. The school record for consecutive 100-yard games is six, accomplished by both Dave Blake (1974) and MiQuale Lewis (2008).

Ball State’s biggest plays all came on the ground, including a 50-yard touchdown run from freshman Malik Dunner in the first quarter and a 47-yard scamper from junior Jack Milas on a quarterback keeper in the second half.

“We felt good about our game plan going in,” Neu said. “We felt like we could run the ball and have some shots in the passing game. I thought our guys had one of the best weeks of practice we’ve had around here. We went out today, and unfortunately we didn’t execute at a high level like we needed to in order to have a chance to win against a football team like Western Michigan.”

Western Michigan’s big plays came through the air. Quarterback Zach Terrell hit Corey Davis for touchdowns of 57, 35 and 62 yards. Davis caught 12 passes for 272 yards, while Terrell threw for 367 yards. Running back Jarvion Franklin scored two touchdowns and finished with 109 yards.

Milas made his first start of the season for Ball State in place of a banged up Riley Neal and hit 20-of-38 passes for 199 yards. He found freshman Damon Hazelton Jr. for a 14-yard score in the fourth quarter. Senior KeVonn Mabon led the Cardinals receivers with five catches for 58 yards.

The teams combined for 1,050 yards on the night with Western Michigan going for 553 and Ball State finishing with 497.

The Cardinals will return to action next Tuesday night, Nov. 8, with their final home game against Eastern Michigan. The game will kick off at 7 p.m. and air on CBS Sports Network.

For the most up-to-date news on the Ball State football team, please follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateFB and @BSUCoachNeu.

Tickets for next week’s home finale against Eastern Michigan are now on sale. Fans can visit BallStateSports.com (click here), call 888-BSU-TICKET or visit the Stoops Buick/GMC Ticket Center inside Worthen Arena to purchase tickets.