The Cardinals moved in position to win the game, but Jake Hogue's 55-yard field goal attempt was wide left with 17 seconds left, allowing Cornhuskers fans everywhere to breathe a sigh of relief.

Keller passed for a school-record 438 yards, and Nebraska (3-1) needed every one of them against the 23-point underdog Cardinals (2-2).

Keller's 11-yard touchdown pass to Maurice Purify gave the Huskers the lead for good with 3:13 left, but there were more nervous moments for Nebraska before it avoided what could have been the most embarrassing defeat in school history.

Nate Davis, who passed for 422 yards and three touchdowns, drove the Cardinals to the Nebraska 38 with 17 seconds left, but Hogue was unable to connect. The Huskers were soundly beaten by No. 1 Southern California last week, and were hoping to avoid a letdown.

It took until the final minutes for the Huskers to regroup.

Ball State played on even terms with the Huskers all day, but the Cardinals, who nearly upset a second-ranked Michigan team a year ago, couldn't finish the job.

Ball State scored on four of its first six second-half possessions to lead 37-28 early in the fourth quarter.

Nebraska pulled to 37-35 when linebacker Bo Ruud intercepted a pass that bounced off his chest into his hands and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown.

Ball State then drove from its 30 to the Nebraska 5 before settling for Hogue's 22-yard field goal, making it 40-35 with 7:05 left.

Keller, who completed 29 of 37 passes, dinked the Ball State defense with short passes to Marlon Lucky and then hit Sean Hill for a 32-yard gain before finding Purify for the go-ahead touchdown.

The Huskers tried for 2 points, but Keller's pass to Todd Peterson was out the back of the end zone.

Lucky rushed for 107 yards and caught 11 passes for 81 yards.