As the final whistle blew at Kent State, head coach Mike Neu said the Cardinals looked emotionally spent. They were spent from thinking they had a win sealed, to almost losing it.
“It was a roller coaster,” Neu said. “...Everybody was so [relieved] that we forgot to celebrate knowing that the game is over!”
The Cardinals made up for a lack of celebration on the field with a ruckus one in the locker room.
When Ball State beat Kent State in 2022, special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach Corey Connolly celebrated the win on top of a chair. The chair broke and ended up leaving Connolly with a laceration on his head. The chair was now dubbed “The Victory Chair.”
The Cardinals brought The Victory Chair back to Kent State this year and celebrated with it again.
“Those are the moments where you laugh about those and enjoy those [locker room celebrations],” Neu said. “There is nothing like it. Every one of them is different, you can’t recreate it.”
Neu said it was a great win this past Saturday against Kent State 37-35, but he said the Cardinals are aware they still need to clean things up going forward.
Now, the Cardinals face one of the hottest teams in America in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) opponent Vanderbilt.
Neu specifically mentioned game management in the case of redshirt junior running back Vaughn Pemberton not going down in his touchdown run.
“I have got to be better to make sure those guys are educated better in those situations,” Neu said.
Neu said he understands Pemberton’s urge to score a touchdown with all the injuries and adversity he has gone through, but knowing when to go down is essential. Neu also said he could have done a better job reminding everyone about the situation.
“I was thinking the same thing of everybody is like, “Is he going to go down?” senior running back Braedon Sloan said. “He didn’t go down and went ahead and scored it. Still excited for him since it was his first one of the season.
“It is always good to score touchdowns, but sometimes it’s better to go down and knee it out to not worry about it [the ending].”
Sloan has had breakaway runs, but he said he also takes a lot of pride in the fact he can punch it in from one yard out on the goalline. The senior back leads Ball State with 423 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
Redshirt junior linebacker Joey Stemler said the win against Kent truly is a spark for the Cardinals' confidence. Stemler said consistency for the defense will be the biggest thing going forward for Ball State.
“We’ve shown what we can do, we just have to do our jobs,” Stemler said.
Stemler also said it is hard to be consistent constantly on defense but making plays can motivate the group to be the best they can be.
Neu said it was great seeing the Cardinals flourish and run well on the offense, but also great to see the defense stop the running game. On the flip side of things, Neu wants to see both sides of the ball improve with the passing game.
Neu said the defense still needs to clean up tackling and communication to ensure that every single player on the field is aware of the situation at hand.
“We got to get those things cleaned up and can't keep talking about them,” Neu said.
Stemler said the Cardinals are emphasizing tackling in practice, and also said it is frustrating to still have tackling issues.
“I know we can get it fixed,” Stemler said. “We keep on getting better week in and week out, which is very good to see.”
Vanderbilt is coming in the middle of Mid-American Conference play, and Neu said there is nothing the Cardinals could have done with the schedule but just go and play.
Neu said there is no secret the Commodores have been stellar with execution, and he plans to watch the heavy amounts of tape on Vanderbilt.
“They are the story of college football right now,” Neu said. “...They are playing great team football right now. They have a formula that is working for them, but it is an opportunity for us to go down there and take advantage of the opportunity.”
Neu pointed out the Commodores have scored 37 points off turnovers and allowed zero points off turnovers. He said he is not sure if he has ever seen a stat like it.
“It is a team with a lot of confidence,” Neu said. “You can see that when you turn on the tape.”
Regardless of the bigger stage and opponent, it is just another opponent, Sloan said. Neu said he is not worried about playing in the SEC night game atmosphere with the Cardinals experience.
“There would not be anything schedule-wise to do anything different than what we’ve done before,” Neu said.
In shifting their preparation for the Commodores ahead, the Cardinals will be without key redshirt junior wide receiver Ty Robinson.
Neu said seeing a player go down again is emotional and had him at a loss for words. He said the first thing he did with Robinson after the game was give him a hug and let him know he loves him.
The season-ending nondisplaced lower leg fracture comes just one game after being ready to play with a shoulder injury he sustained in week one. Robinson also missed every game but two last season with a thumb injury.
“It is heartbreaking because of what he has been through,” Neu said. “...Now we are going to be without him, but we are going to be there for him to support him. It is not easy, going through a tough time like that, but we have to be there for him.”
With players like Robinson and graduate student offensive lineman Damon Kaylor out for the season, Sloan said it is important every person on the team stays ready for whenever their number is called.
“You never know when your opportunity to step in and make the most out of it,” Sloan said.
Neu said he is optimistic to get wide receiver Justin Bowick back on the field for Ball State this week.
With Thailand Baldwin out, Neu said to expect Willizhuan Yates and Eric McClain to get more playing time as Baldwin is continuously evaluated. Stemler said he has seen Yates intercept passes in practice, but to see Yates intercept a pass on his third-ever snap in college football was awesome.
“We have their back no matter what,” Stemler said about the younger players. “We know nobody’s perfect, you’re going to mess up, just keep playing hard”
The kickoff against the Commodores is set for 7 p.m. Oct. 19.
Contact Elijah Poe via email at @elijah.poe@bsu.edu or on X @ElijahPoe4.
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