The Kent State football team lost its Mid-American Conference opener, 41-20 to Ball State, this afternoon in Muncie, Ind.

Ball State running back MiQuale Lewis rushed for 116 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries, and quarterback Nate Davis added 265 yards and a touchdown through the air.

Kent State coach Doug Martin said the Cardinals are, in his opinion, the best team in the MAC.

“They’ve got a lot of weapons, particularly on offense, but they’re playing well on defense too,” Martin said. “They are definitely the team to beat in my opinion.”

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The Cardinals scored the first 14 points of the game on a 2-yard run by Lewis and a 31-yard pass by Davis to Myles Trempe.

The Flashes cut their deficit in half on a 12-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Julian Edelman with 2:33 left in the first half. However, Ball State returned the ensuing kickoff 66 yards and Lewis scored on a 1-yard run.

Ball State made it 31-7 on a 38-yard field goal and a 10-yard run by Cory Sikes before Edelman hit senior receiver Shawn Bayes for an 18-yard touchdown pass with 3:12 left in the third quarter.

A 47-yard field goal and Lewis’ third touchdown, from 5 yards out, made it 41-14 before Edelman scored from 2 yards out with 3:19 left in the game.

Edelman said the team needed to put more points on the board to even compete with the Cardinals.

“I don’t think our offense has gone on all cylinders yet at all,” Edelman said. “We put 20 points on the board. Against a team like this, you’re going to have to put (up) at least 35 to even be a contender.”

Edelman went 13-of-24 for 177 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He added 70 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries.

“I thought we fought hard, we just didn’t make enough plays on either side of the ball” Martin said. “When you play a team like Ball State, there’s not much room for error.”

The Flashes will return to action by hosting rival Akron next Saturday at noon at Dix Stadium.