MUNCIE, Ind. — Throughout the 2024 season, the Ball State Cardinals have played their fair share of close football games.
The Cards lost to Central Michigan and Western Michigan by 3 points to open conference play, but they defeated Kent State 37-35 two weeks ago to tally their first conference win of the season.
Saturday’s homecoming game was no different, with a trophy on the line as the Northern Illinois Huskies entered Scheumann Stadium with aspirations to regain the Bronze Stalk Trophy for the first time since 2021. However, Ball State was prompt to keep the trophy in Muncie.
“When you’re having a trophy game, it just adds to it that much more,” said Ball State head coach Mike Neu, who is now 5-4 against Northern Illinois following Saturday’s matchup. “We knew it was going to be a dogfight. We knew that this team had a lot of experience. Our goal was to make sure we were the most physical team on the field.”
Ball State’s offensive attack was balanced. The Cardinals ran for 170 yards and passed for 222 yards and two touchdowns. Redshirt Junior Tight EndTanner Koziol once again dominated, hauling in both touchdowns and a team-high 78 receiving yards on nine receptions. Quarterback Kadin Semonza also wrote an impressive stat line, throwing no interceptions for the third straight game.
The Cardinal defense also emerged as an anchor for the team, holding Northern Illinois to 23 points, the lowest total from a Ball State opponent this season.
“It feels like there’s a lot more confidence going on in the backend that wasn’t there earlier in the season,” said senior linebacker Keionte Newson. “If we eliminate explosive plays, playing with us on defense is hard.”
However, special teams were the most critical phase of the game for the Cardinals. Sophomore Kicker Jackson Courville performed his best this season, hitting four of his five field goal attempts (having one blocked in the fourth quarter) and setting his career-high with a 52-yard kick with five seconds left to win the game 25-23.
“I don’t treat it any differently than any other kick when I’m going out there, so it’s just the same every time,” Courville commented following the game-winner. “When I go out there, I’m just gonna do my best to perform how I know I can.”
Ball State will host the Miami Redhawks in the Redbird Rivarly on November 5th at 7:00 p.m..
Contact Jayden Collins with comments at jayden.collins@bsu.edu.
