About two hours and 15 minutes before Ball State’s final home game of the season against Bowling Green, every player and coach in the program participated in the Cardinal Walk, a decades-long pregame tradition for every game football played in Muncie.
It was guaranteed to be the last time 16 of those players or staff would participate, as they were walking toward a senior day celebration at Scheumann Stadium. While redshirt junior Vaughn Pemberton still has a year of eligibility remaining, the Cardinal Walk was still special to him.
Once most players he walked alongside cleared off the path, Pemberton veered toward his family and picked up his son, Braxton. Less than one-year old, Braxton was swaddled in many layers so the 40-degree temperature would have a minimized effect on him.
Pemberton gave his son a hug, handed him back to his family and continued on his way toward Scheumann Stadium while Pemberton’s support system left the area to find warmth at Vaughn’s apartment.
That’s where Braxton, Pemberton’s girlfriend and his parents watched the running back pull in a 51-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter of the Cardinals’ tilt against the Falcons. Pemberton finished the contest with 70 receiving yards on three receptions and 29 rushing yards on five attempts, both of which were team highs in Ball State’s 38-13 loss.
“The way I present myself is a reflection of him and my girlfriend and my parents,” Pemberton said. “ … I love my life right now. I'm about to go home to see my son, and I'm gonna forget all about this loss.”
Pemberton was not flashy in his celebration, simply crossing his arms triumphantly while he struck a pose. The score was his third of the season and just the sixth of his four seasons as a Cardinal due to missing much of the 2023 campaign with injury.
The Lake Forrest, Illinois, native spoke at length earlier in the season about how much his return to consistent playing time in 2024 has meant to him, citing Braxton and his girlfriend as his most prominent motivators during rehabilitation. Despite Saturday afternoon not being the final time he will play a home game in his collegiate career, Pemberton tried to soak in the day just as much as his senior teammates.
“I never take it for granted – ever,” Pemberton said. “No practice, no game, no single rep – ever. You never know when it's gonna be your last one.”
Bowling Green’s defeat of Ball State was defensive lineman Riley Tolsma’s last game in Muncie, as the graduate student was honored prior to kickoff while being joined by family from Hamilton, Michigan. He led the Cardinals’ defense with two sacks, and boiled down Ball State’s blowout loss to the strength of its opponent more than anything.
“Bowling Green’s offense just doesn't make mistakes,” Tolsma said. “We made a couple mistakes, and they just didn’t make as many.”
However, the Cardinals and Falcons surrendered the same amount of turnovers (one). The largest separator between the two Mid-American Conference (MAC) rivals came down to third and fourth down efficiency.
Bowling Green was successful in both of its attempted fourth down conversions, and even converted 41 percent of its third down tries. Ball State, on the other hand, went 0-for-2 on fourth down conversions and was only successful 33 percent of the time on third down.
The Falcons also dominated time of possession, holding the ball on offense for nearly 35 minutes compared to the Cardinals’ 25. Because of this discrepancy, Bowling Green earned 108 more yards and 25 more points than Ball State.
“We couldn't capitalize enough to put the game [in a spot] where they were stressed,” Johnson said. “ … The players got to make plays, and we got to put them in the best position to make those plays.”
Perhaps the turning point in the contest came with five minutes remaining in the first half when true freshman defensive back Willizhuan Yates forced Bowling Green junior running back Terion Stewart to fumble, which was recovered by Ball State defensive back DD Snyder at the Falcons’ 25-yard line. Trailing 7-0 at the time, this was the Cardinals’ best opportunity yet to score.
However, on the first play of the drive, redshirt freshman quarterback Kadin Semonza handed the ball to redshirt sophomore wide receiver Cam Pickett, who then attempted a pass toward the end zone which was intercepted by senior defensive back Jordan Oladokun.
Bowling Green proceeded to march down the field for a field goal to extend its lead to 10-0. Sure, Pemberton’s long touchdown reception came before halftime, but Ball State blew one of its three red zone opportunities in a huge way early on. Semonza hit redshirt junior wide receiver Qian Magwood for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter on the Cardinals’ only successful red zone trip, but by then it was too little too late.
Johnson, Tolsma and Pemberton each expressed the difficulty of their long walk back to the Ball State locker room once time expired and the Cardinals fell to 3-8 (2-5) on the season while the Falcons moved to 7-4 (6-1).
“It is more impactful when you have that relationship with people than if you're just putting on the jersey with random people,” Tolsma said. “ … We've put in all this work, and the season just didn't turn out how we wanted it to.”
After spending four seasons at Hillsdale College, Tolsma decided to spend his final collegiate season with Ball State by transferring into the program in December 2023. In that short time, the Michigan native said he has made it a point to make lifelong connections with his Cardinal teammates, but Tolsma made the jump from Division II to Division I mostly because of the Cardinals’ coaching staff.
The same coaching staff that changed in a huge way just a week ago when former nine-year head coach Mike Neu was fired Nov. 16. Even after former offensive line coach/running game coordinator Colin Johnson was named the interim head coach the same day, Tolsma said not much changed in the past week under Johnson’s leadership compared to Neu’s.
Johnson, a Ball State football alum and the first Black head coach in program history, said Tolsma’s observation was what he hoped for with just two games left in the season at the time of the coaching change.
“I was asked to lead this program; I was not asked to change this program,” Johnson said. “ … The players are the players, and the coaches are the coaches. There's no magic pill to this.”
Now there is just one contest remaining for the Cardinals as they head to Athens, Ohio, for a Noon kickoff against the Bobcats (8-3, 6-1 MAC) on Friday, Nov. 29. Aspirations of a bowl appearance or a shot at the MAC Championship are long gone for Ball State, but Pemberton’s approach to moving on from the result of any previous game or play could benefit the rest of the Cardinals in their quest to play spoiler against a conference rival on Black Friday.
A Ball State win could have major implications toward the conference title game field as Ohio is one of three MAC teams with a 6-1 conference record along with the Falcons and Miami (OH).
Contact Kyle Smedley via email at kmsmedley213@gmail.com or via X @KyleSmedley_.
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