MUNCIE, IND.: Kent State played its most balanced and efficient offensive game of the season Saturday at Scheumann Stadium. It still didn't matter.

Ball State ripped through the Flashes' defense with relative ease on its way to a 41-20 win and a 5-0 record for the season. The Golden Flashes fell to 1-4.

''In this league, I think there are two recipes for success: a really good quarterback and a good defense,'' Kent State coach Doug Martin said. ''I think they've got both. Obviously, they have one of the best quarterbacks in the country.''

The Cardinals, who, Martin said, are the team to beat in the Mid-American Conference, picked apart the Kent State defense with their running back, MiQuale Lewis, proving to be too elusive.

Their quarterback, junior Nate Davis, was just too efficient. For the second week in a row, the Kent State defense allowed more than 40 points.

Davis and the Cardinals did not slow, even though they were playing without top receiving target Dante Love, who had a career-ending spinal injury last week.

A lack of Kent State pressure, coupled with the emergence of freshman receiver Briggs Orsbon, allowed Davis, the younger brother of former Kent State quarterback Jose Davis, to throw for 265 yards on 23-of-35 passing.

Orsbon finished the game with 10 catches for 112 yards. He had nine catches for 129 yards in the first four games.

Yet, he wasn't alone, as Davis found seven receivers throughout the game.

''I think Orsbon is kind of in the mold of the rest of the receivers,'' Martin said. ''They have a lot of explosiveness. If you get up on them too tight, they go deep on you. They do a great job of getting yards after the catch.''

The real catalyst of the Ball State offense was Lewis.

A week after tying a Ball State record with four touchdowns against Indiana, Lewis responded with a three touchdown, 116-yard performance. The Cardinals compiled 423 yards of offense overall.

The Flashes know they have to play better on defense.

''We just aren't making any plays on defense,'' sophomore safety Brian Lainhart said. ''You got to get that third and long; we can't let them out. We had a dropped (interception), missed tackles. It is on us as a defense.''

Kent State senior quarterback Julian Edelman ran for two touchdowns and passed for another.

He finished the game with 177 yards on 13-of-24 passing but was still plagued by dropped balls by the receivers. He also rushed for 70 yards.

Despite playing without leading rusher Eugene Jarvis, who missed his second consecutive game with an ankle injury, the Flashes were balanced on offense.

Freshman Jacquise Terry and sophomore Andre Flowers were viable fill-ins as the Flashes rushed for 176 yards. They had 353 yards of total offense.

Yet, as at Iowa State early in the season, Kent State had problems with its special teams that hindered an opportunity to win.

Demonstrating his usual elusiveness and speed, Edelman ripped off a 12-yard touchdown run with two minutes and 33 seconds remaining before halftime. He left his feet at the 3-yard line, diving across the goal line and landing two yards into the end zone to bring the Flashes within seven at 14-7.

On the ensuing kickoff, Cardinals return man Torieal Gibson took the ball to the Kent State 34-yard line with a 66-yard return that set up another Lewis score with 21 seconds remaining in the half.

The special teams blunder ruined the halftime momentum that Kent State had seemingly just obtained. The teams headed into the locker in a 21-7 game. Ball State was firmly in control.

''We needed to shorten the game,'' Martin said. ''You got to keep Ball State's offense off the field. You've got to try to keep the possession of the football, keep getting first downs to help the defense. We really did a pretty good job of that for most of the day, until the game got out of hand and a lot of that was that kickoff return.''