Mike Neu jokingly thanked his wife, Charmin, for dealing with his restless night/early morning after Ball State football’s 27-21 loss to Miami (OH) last Tuesday. The ninth-year head coach couldn’t fall asleep until 5:30 a.m., racked with “What ifs?” from every scenario the Cardinals faced during the three hours and 16 minutes he just spent on the sidelines.
“Some of it is adrenaline,” Neu said. “You get 1,000 thoughts rolling through your head. You’re replaying the game in your mind 1,000 times … I’m beating myself up.”
Ball State had a chance to win the Red Bird rivalry against the RedHawks for the first time since 2019 with less than two minutes remaining. The week prior, the Cardinals’ offense put together two plays for 41 yards in eight seconds to set up sophomore kicker Jackson Courville for a game-winning 52-yard field goal.
Last Tuesday, Ball State drove 41 yards on two plays again, this time in 12 seconds. Once the Cardinals faced first down from the Miami 34-yard line, the RedHawks snuffed out four straight passing plays to turn Ball State over on downs.
Neu predicted his lack of sleep soon after the Miami loss because Wednesday wasn’t his first restless morning following a one-possession defeat to a conference foe. Not just Neu, but Ball State as a whole is familiar with the situation it now faces.
Since winning the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in 2020, the Cardinals have gone into the final stretch of the last three seasons leading up to 2024 needing wins more than ever.
In 2021, Ball State won its final game of the regular season to barely clinch bowl eligibility. With three games left in the 2022 season, the Cardinals needed just one more win to punch a ticket to their third-straight bowl game before losing the final three contests of the campaign.
Last year, Ball State started the season 1-6 and needed to win its last five games to have a chance at bowl eligibility. It didn’t happen.
Sitting with a 3-6 record with three games to go in the 2024 season, the Cardinals must emerge from their final three games victorious to finish with the six-win criteria essential to earning bowl eligibility.
“When you get to the last month of the season, you gotta play your best football,” Neu said. “Not to go back, but we haven't done that [in the past].”
Neu said he watched numerous fourth quarters from MAC games earlier this decade, analyzing what worked best and worst for Ball State. He knows each year, each team and each scenario is different, but his biggest goal is to not repeat the season-end result the Cardinals have experienced the past two seasons.
If Ball State finishes without bowl eligibility, players like linebacker Keionte Newson will miss the chance to play in a 13th game that isn’t guaranteed when the season begins. For the senior “True Cardinal 1,” losing any of the Cardinals’ last three games is not an option.
“If we don't get the opportunity to go to a bowl game – which we will get the opportunity to go to the bowl game – I want to make sure that I'm having fun and enjoying these last moments,” Newson said.
Neu only finished with less than six wins once during his five years playing for the Cardinals, but he remembered how vital it was for him to make his senior season count. The former Ball State quarterback didn’t want to take his final year suiting up in the red and white for granted, so he successfully led Ball State to a MAC Championship and bowl game appearance.
That’s why Neu made it clear right after Ball State’s loss to Miami and during his weekly press conference that his message to the 100+ players in the locker room will not change despite the tall task they face between now and Nov. 29.
“Make sure you still have that little kid in you that enjoys playing the game, and don't put unfair expectations on yourself where it's just totally miserable every day,” Neu said. “This is the time of your life.”
Newson has said all season that he is not prepared for his journey as a Cardinal to end prematurely. However, he has never shied away from expressing his frustration when Ball State comes out of any game with a loss.
With the exception of Ball State’s 7-1 MAC Championship run in Newson’s freshman season, the team has a combined 15-21 record through the first nine games of each season since.
“I always wish the situation was a little bit better and a little bit more clear,” Newson said. “ … I wake up every morning thinking that I'm gonna come out on top, regardless of who we play. If we go play the New York Giants tomorrow I'm expecting us to win, but anything can happen.”
The MAC has proven to be unpredictable, which gives Newson and others within Ball State football a sense of optimism heading into three straight games against conference foes with winning records. While the Cardinals square off against the top two teams in the MAC (Ohio and Bowling Green) in back-to-back games to end the season, first Ball State sets its attention toward another midweek MACtion contest against sixth place Buffalo (5-4, 3-2 MAC).
Led by former Ball State head coach Pete Lembo, the Bulls look similar to the Cardinals in most statistical categories despite boasting a win against Toledo, a program Ball State has not defeated since 2020. Buffalo ranks five spots ahead of the Cardinals in conference rushing offense, but Ball State slots seven places in front of the Bulls in its passing attack.
While the Cardinals have seen success relying on redshirt freshman Kadin Semonza to carry the brunt of the offensive workload, Miami (OH) proved last Tuesday that Ball State needs to have a balanced game plan to succeed.
The Cardinals only rushed 23 times compared to 36 passes, and redshirt junior wide receiver led all runners with seven carries. He outpaced starting senior running back Braedon Sloan by four attempts, despite Sloan gaining one more yard.
Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Cam Pickett was also a part of Ball State’s ground game, even crossing the end zone for a successful two-point conversion in the third quarter against the RedHawks. This season has been Pickett’s first seeing the field after taking a redshirt in 2022 and missing all of 2023 with an injury, and throughout his first five MAC games he has learned just how important having a consistent offense is toward winning close games.
“There’s a lot of guys who want it,” Pickett said. “ … We’re just making sure that we don’t get complacent when we get a lead.”
In terms of team defense, Buffalo has only forced two more total turnovers than the Cardinals, but the separator lies in scoring and total yardage allowed. The Bulls have allowed 10 fewer points per game and nearly 500 fewer yards than Ball State.
That’s why FanDuel Sportsbook opened with Buffalo as a 4.5-point favorite six days ahead of Tuesday, Nov. 12’s contest pitting the Bulls against Ball State on their home turf at 7 p.m. on CBS.
Contact Kyle Smedley via email at kmsmedley213@gmail.com or via X @KyleSmedley_.
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