Whether the gap is 56 points or three, a loss looks the same in the record books. But Ball State football head coach Mike Neu knows which deficit hurts the most.
The Cardinals only led for nine minutes and 33 seconds of their home contest against the Western Michigan Broncos, but they never trailed by less than 14 points and even had a chance at a last-second win when redshirt freshman quarterback Kadin Semonza found redshirt sophomore wide receiver Cam Pickett for a 27-yard touchdown to put Ball State within three points of its Mid-American Conference (MAC) rival as the clock showed one minute and 47 seconds remaining.
A failed onside kick followed, allowing the Broncos to kneel the clock out and secure a 45-42 victory, their third straight against the Cardinals. Saturday was Ball State’s fourth consecutive loss, meaning now the red and white sit at 1-4 overall with an 0-2 record in conference play.
Yes, Ball State tied for the most points they’ve scored all season. Yes, the Cardinals allowed less yards than they did the past three weeks.
But Neu believes this loss is worse than the ones Ball State faced against Miami (FL) and James Madison. Maybe even worse than Sept. 21’s loss to Central Michigan in Mount Pleasant, especially because Saturday’s contest against Western Michigan was on home turf. It was on Ball State’s Family Weekend.
Just like last weekend’s 63-7 loss to James Madison, Neu believed Saturday’s loss was a product of low confidence and a lack of consistency.
“It’s not winning football,” Neu said. “ … There were different moments throughout the course of the game when there were some good things going on, but you got to be able to sustain that, you got to be able to finish that, you got to be able to bring that stuff for four quarters.”
2 fourth-quarter interceptions by Semonza certainly didn’t make things any easier for Ball State down the stretch, but the Cardinals’ offense gained 397 total yards and found the end zone six times Saturday. Just as has been the case the past three weeks prior to Saturday, it was Ball State’s defense that disappointed the most.
The Cardinals have allowed 460-plus yards in each of its four consecutive losses, and in each of those contests the defense has let up at least five touchdowns.
“Obviously sometimes there's certain positions where you're thin, but man, we're gonna have to look at our personnel,” Neu said. “I'm gonna put the best guys out there to give us the best chance to win.”
Ball State was only down one defensive starter against the Broncos in the form of redshirt junior defensive back Thailand Baldwin, and redshirt junior AJ Taylor was the only defensive backup unable to compete. Whether it’s a lack of depth or disappointing personnel, the fact of the matter is that the Cardinals defense has to turn things around in the coming weeks if the red and white want to have a chance at an extended season.
Sparked off a few big plays by people like redshirt sophomore defensive back Jordan Coleman, Ball State’s defense briefly showed it is capable of improving. Coleman recovered a fumble in the third quarter, which led to a Cardinal touchdown on the following offensive possession.
Although this was the only turnover the Ball State defense forced Saturday, Coleman believes it can serve as a springboard for a hopeful increase in confidence moving forward.
“We’ve just got to keep playing complimentary football,” Coleman said. “We can start making different results in games like this and start coming out with wins instead of losses.”
The season is nearly halfway finished for the Cardinals, and Coleman knows time is running out for the defense to change its ways with just seven games remaining.
“We are a young group, but at the same time, that's not an excuse no more,” Coleman said. “We got to start maturing and understanding what we need to do to get off the field.”
Making Something Out of Nothing
Despite the struggling defense, Ball State’s offense has mostly shined this season. Semonza did finish with two interceptions, but he also compiled 304 passing yards and three touchdowns. Junior tight end Tanner Koziol caught nine passes for 102 yards, but it was senior running back Braedon Sloan who exemplified what the Cardinals’ offense is all about: versatility and explosivity.
Sloan finished with 177 all-purpose yards, the 20th time of his collegiate career in which he has recorded more than 100 in a game. Yet his most creative play came under center when he found sophomore tight end Christian Abney for a 22-yard touchdown pass.
Sloan said he has not played quarterback regularly since little league football, so the score was the first pass attempt of his four years playing college football. Sloan said it will hopefully be his last.
“‘Just don’t throw an interception,’” Sloan said to himself. “ … I can throw the ball decently, like playing catch in the backyard. He was wide open, so just toss it up. If I threw it into coverage, I probably would’ve got my butt chewed out.”
Prior to the creative score that tied the game at 28 apiece in the third quarter, Sloan broke free for a 72-yard reception when Ball State’s offense faced third-and-eight from its own two-yard line. Sloan caught his pass from Semonza in the flat, and he said all that was running through his mind was to try and make his man miss so he could jet to the outside.
“I was like, ‘Don’t get caught,’” Sloan said. “I gotta unhook the trailer and get to the end zone the next time.”
The former Eastern Kentucky Colonel smiled sporadically throughout his post-game press conference, seemingly not feeling the same weight as Neu did less than 20 minutes before him. However, once he was finished talking about making something out of nothing for a 72-yard gain or throwing a one-of-a-kind touchdown, Sloan’s expression changed.
He wasn’t angry, he wasn’t even particularly upset, but he was focused. Despite facing one of the worst teams in college football next Saturday, Oct. 12 when the Cardinals travel to Kent State (0-5, 0-1 MAC) for a Noon kickoff, Ball State’s entire team will have to be focused.
And they’ll have to do it for a full 60 minutes.
“It's never a good feeling to lose, but games like that definitely have a little bit more sting to ‘em,” Sloan said. “ … At the end of the day, we’re on the same team. It’s not the offense and then the defense, it’s Ball State.”
Contact Kyle Smedley via email at kmsmedley213@gmail.com or via X @KyleSmedley_.
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