MUNICE, Ind.— Ball State Football took on the Indiana State Sycamores on Saturday afternoon at Scheumann Stadium.
In front of a crowd of over 15,000 people, the Cardinals hit the field for the ‘Battle of the Blue Key Victory Bell’, a rivalry that dates back to 1924. The Cardinals would find themselves leading just 10-0 at halftime.
But after the break, it was the running back show as redshirt junior Marquez Cooper rushed for 177 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown. Fellow running back Rico Barfield piled on two touchdowns of his own. The defense also came up big as Tyler “Red” Potts intercepted a pass and Keionte Newson recovered a fumble for a 66-yard scoop and score to further cement the 45-7 win.
Mike Neu highlighted the defense’s monster performance after the game.
“Those guys did a great job of getting home and you know, even the plays where they didn’t get the sack, they did a good job of pressuring the QB and getting some hits on him. We just have to continue to grow that," Neu said.
This win sees the Cardinals move to 1-2 on the season after opening up with back-to-back losses to Kentucky and Georgia. It also sees Ball State regain the Blue Key Victory Bell, which has been property of ISU since 2014.
Ball State now looks to their next home matchup with a tough Georgia Southern team, this upcoming Saturday at 2 p.m..
Contact Jake Dickman with questions at jacob.dickman@bsu.edu.
