A little more than an hour after Ball State football opened up its season with a 42-34 win against Missouri State, history was made elsewhere in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). Approximately 140 miles north of Scheumann Stadium, Northern Illinois became the first MAC team to ever beat an AP top 5-ranked team when the Huskies defeated former No. 5 Notre Dame in South Bend.
In the process, Northern Illinois moved into the AP Top 25 poll to become the first conference squad since Toledo in November 2023 to be nationally ranked. The 28.5-point underdog Huskies defeated the Fighting Irish in the biggest upset of the young college football season, something head coach Thomas Hammock shed tears over in a postgame interview.
Ball State’s head coach Mike Neu later sent Hammock an email of encouragement following the win, knowing he has yet to beat a ranked opponent outside of the MAC during his nine-season tenure as the Cardinals’ leader.
“I love the emotion because I know what goes into it,” Neu said. “The Mid-American Conference is a good conference, but obviously it's a great challenge.”
Neu and the Cardinals will face a similar challenge this Saturday when they square off against the No. 10 Miami Hurricanes, the first of two Power-5 opponents they’ll face this season. Ball State has faced a nationally ranked opponent two years in a row, losing to No. 1 Georgia in the second game of the 2023 campaign.
Fifth-year center Ethan Crowe is using his MAC rival’s recent upset as an example of what Ball State may be capable of in Coral Gables, Florida.
“I feel like just because we're a group-five conference we get slept on a little bit,” Crowe said. “I feel like we can compete with them.”
Crowe has been in his fair share of big matchups during his time as a Cardinal, suiting up for MAC Championships, bowl games, and road contests against the likes of Penn State, Kentucky and Tennessee. While he may not have seen the field in every big atmosphere he has stood in the face of, Crowe said the feeling never gets old.
“I love it; even running out here, it's one of my favorite things,” Crowe said. “It's a great feeling knowing that you're gonna put a show on for them all.”
The fact of the matter is, Ball State has not put on a show against any Power-5 team since a 2013 victory against Virginia. In the 13 Power-5 games since the Cardinals defeated the Cavaliers, Ball State has been outscored 473-209.
However, the Cardinals have defeated an AP Top 25 more recently when they beat No. 22 San Jose State in the 2020 Arizona Bowl. It has been four years since, but optimism still surrounds Ball State heading into each and every game, regardless of its opponents caliber.
“I tried to tell these guys, ‘Hey, learn from these moments,” Crowe said. It's fun and everything, but make sure when the game starts, lock in.’”
Junior linebacker Joey Stemler was once one of those younger guys to whom Crowe gave that advice. Even with experience against Tennessee and Georgia under his belt, Stemler still remembers how he felt the first time he stood on the sidelines against a Power-5 foe.
“I was just soaking it all in, it’s a great atmosphere,” Stemler said. “You gotta love the game, but you can't get caught up too much in all the hype. At the end of the day, it is still just a game.”
And the Cardinals feel good heading into their uphill battle against Miami, unlike the last time they faced a Power-5 squad. Despite a stalling offense that held the football for 23 of 30 first-half minutes against Missouri State and only scored once, Ball State turned things around in the second half offensively. They scored on four of five red zone opportunities Saturday, three of which came in the second half.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Kadin Semonza finished with 262 total yards and five total touchdowns, more than half the scores Ball State’s former starting QB Kiael Kelly found last season (nine in six games). Semonza’s first touchdown Saturday came on the ground, progress toward fulfilling the California native’s objective to not be defined as a standard pocket passer.
“I had no doubt in my mind,” Crowe said about Semonza. “I know he's going to get the job done back there, whether that’s throwing the ball or tucking the ball.”
Even though Ball State’s top two receivers – Justin Bowick and Ty Robinson – are both likely to miss Saturday’s game against Miami, Malcolm Gillie, Qian Magwood and Cam Pickett all showed they are capable of rising to the occasion when their number is called.
Pickett, a third-year, led the Cardinals with 69 yards on seven receptions in the first game of his college career. He took a redshirt in his freshman season and injuries prevented him from seeing the gridiron in 2023, but Neu praised the Chicago native for sticking with the program despite his two years of setback.
“I really credit him for staying positive, because it would be easy to wonder ‘Why me?’” Neu said. “It gets lonely when you're sitting there staring at the same four walls all the time and you start to wonder, ‘Is this meant to be for me?’”
The Hurricanes head into Hard Rock Stadium essentially at full health with a 2-0 record to back that up, including a 41-17 win against the Florida Gators in week one. Senior quarterback Cam Ward’s 689 passing yards, six passing touchdowns and 75.4 completion percentage are both currently among the top 10 in the nation through two weeks.
Neu is so confident in the ability of the former Washington State Cougar that he feels some of Ward’s throws are better than some currently taking the field in the NFL. That said, Neu emphasized that there is no secret recipe or special preparation he feels is necessary to achieve victory against Miami.
He just hopes that the 10,018 fans who supported the Cardinals at Scheumann Stadium against Missouri State continue to stick with the program, regardless of the result in Coral Gables.
“We got to put a great product on the field,” Neu said. “When we win, they'll come and they'll be excited about that. It’s a great responsibility on our end.”
Officially set to kickoff at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Ball State opens as a 36.5-point underdog against Miami.
Contact Kyle Smedley via email at kmsmedley213@gmail.com or via X @KyleSmedley_.
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