MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — Ball State football falls to Central Michigan 34-37 in a down-to-the-wire game.
Here are three takeaways from the first Mid-American Conference (MAC) game of the year.
Almost a perfect first quarter.
Ball State scored 0 points after 48 minutes of play last week against the University of Miami. Today, the Cardinals scored 10 points in only 12 minutes.
The first drive for Ball State was perfect until they got in the red zone. The Cardinals had 10 plays that spanned 53 yards. There was an equal amount of passing and rushing to get Ball State to the red zone.
In the red zone, Ball State used redshirt junior Kiael Kelly on a run play that was easily picked up by Central Michigan. This forced Ball State to kick a field goal. Usual sophomore kicker Jackson Courville was out today, so redshirt sophomore Carson Holmer stepped up and drilled his first kick of his collegiate career.
With a 3-0 lead, the Ball State defense forced the Chippewas to turn the ball over on downs.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Kadin Semonza and senior running back Braedon Sloan put together a second drive spanning seven plays for 63 yards.
Semonza found junior tight end Tanner Koziol many times and Sloan continued to put pressure.
Eventually, that pressure broke Central Michigan, and Seomza found redshirt junior Qian Magwood for a six-yard touchdown.
After 12 minutes, Ball State had eight first downs. Last week, they only had nine against Miami.
It was easy to see the Cardinals' offense was working at high efficiency in the first frame.
Bert Emanual Jr., 20 unanswered and abysmal rushing defense.
The Cardinals went into the locker room at halftime down after letting up 20 unanswered points in the second quarter. The Cardinals let up 23 points total in 12 minutes.
The three points were from a Chippewa drive that saw Central Michigan get points on the board with just 20 seconds remaining in the half.
The Chippewas first put points on the board with backup redshirt sophomore quarterback Bert Emanual Jr., calling his own number for a 20-yard rushing touchdown.
Emanual Jr. also led Central Michigan on the following drive and threw a touchdown to redshirt junior wide receiver Chris Parker.
The redshirt sophomore was used to great effect with Central Michigan interchanging him and starting redshirt junior quarterback Joe Labas.
The final unanswered touchdown saw senior running back Marion Lukes punch it in from two yards out to make it a 20-10 game. The extra point was blocked and marked the first PAT block for the Cardinals since 2015.
The Cardinals let up 238 rushing yards in the first half alone, and the Chippewas only had 48 of those yards in the first quarter. Central Michigan’s senior running back B.J. Harris had a jaw-dropping 120 yards on only four carries in the first half.
Compared to the Ball State's 78 yards, the Chippewas ran with dominance in the first half.
The only positive out of the second quarter was Semonza finding senior wide receiver Malcolm Gillie from 23 yards out with a truly perfect pass. Regardless, the Cardinals went into the locker room down 23-17.
The Cardinals allowed 335 total rushing yards. It is the most rushing yards Ball State has given up in half a decade.
On the final drive, Central Michigan was set up for a touchdown due to their rushing abilities. The Chippewas left 16 seconds left on the clock, and it was not enough time for Ball State to score late in the fourth quarter.
Steady Semonza and experienced Sloan were not enough to pull out a win.
Semonza stepped into Kelly/Shorts Stadium and put on a steady performance in just his first-ever MAC start.
The redshirt freshman had 164 passing yards in the first half and two passing touchdowns. He was also 17-for-23, which is an impressive 74 percent completion rate in the half.
Throughout the game, he also looked absolutely comfortable with anything the Cardinals were calling. His connection with his experienced offensive line has given him confidence in the pocket.
Semonza finished with 285 passing yards, three touchdowns and a 75 completion rate. He had zero interceptions.
Sloan, who transferred from Eastern Kentucky University, has played against MAC teams before, but today was his first time in the red and white.
Sloan only had five carries for 13 yards a week ago against the Hurricanes. He was able to gash Central Michigan for 95 rushing yards and one touchdown.
Although both performances were eye-popping, they were not enough to give Ball State the win.
In the end, the offensive talent could not overcome the deficit allowed by the defense late in the fouth quarter.
Contact Elijah Poe via email at elijah.poe@bsu.edu or on X @ElijahPoe4.
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