Rynearson Stadium -- Ypsilanti, MI
ESPN+
Are the Ball State Cardinals back on track?
This Saturday's matchup with Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti will address that question, but the Cardinals are coming off a huge road win at Western Michigan last Saturday.
Eastern Michigan, meanwhile, bounced back from a close loss at Northern Illinois to edge Miami in a defensive battle.
The Eagles and Cardinals have met 62 times in their respective histories, with BSU leading the all-time series, 36-24-2. The two schools first met in 1936, and have faced off annually since 1973. EMU has won three of the last five meetings. Last season, it was Ball State that came out on top, earning a 38-31 win in Muncie, Nov. 11. Caleb Huntley had a career-high 204 yards rushing and three touchdowns, including a one-yard score with six seconds to play, and Ball State rallied from a 14-point deficit to pull out the victory.
Here's more on the two teams . . .
BALL STATE (3-3, 1-1 MAC)
>> BSU is riding a two-game winning streak, with wins over Army (28-16) and Western Michigan (45-20). A Week Four loss to Toledo (22-12) is the Cardinals only conference loss.
>> Visiting Ball State trailed Western Michigan 20-17 in the third quarter, but BSU exploded four 28-straight points. The Cardinals are averaging 23.5 ppg on the season (8th MAC).
>> Ball State had just one more yard of total offense (376-375) and five less first downs (18-23), however BSU forced four turnovers while playing turnover-free football.
>> Senior QB Drew Plitt completed 15-of-25 passes, good for 310 yards and four TDs. Less than one minute into the game, Plitt hit Jalen McGaughy on a 75-yard score. Plitt's other TD tosses were for 21-, 33-, and 24 yards.
>> Yo'Heinz Tyler led Cardinal receivers with five catches totaling 93 yards and two scores.
>> Carson Steel led BSU rushers with 10 carries for 41 yards. The Cardinals averaged 2.3 yards per carry overall. Justin Hall's two rushes included a five-yard run to go with a 33-yard touchdown reception.
>> Brett Anderson II closed scoring against WMU with an 18-yard fumble return.
>> Through five games this season, redshirt sophomore DL Tavion Woodard has 5.0 sacks, reaching the QB at least once in the first four games. He is one of just three players nationally to record at least 1.0 sack in four games.
>> Ball State has three of the top 15 tacklers in the Mid-American Conference in ILB Jaylin Thomas, ILB Clayton Coll and S Bryce Cosby. Thomas is tied for fourth in the league with 42 tackles, while Coll is tied for seventh with 40 stops and Cosby is tied for 11th with 34 tackles.
>> Ball State head coach Mike Neu enters his sixth season in charge of his alma mater. He currently stands as the third-longest-tenured coach in the MAC behind only Eastern Michigan’s Chris Creighton (eight) and Miami’s Chuck Martin (eight). Toledo’s Jason Candle is also in his sixh season.
>> Ball State ranks ninth in passing offense (214.8 ypg) and 11th in rushing (104.3 ypg).
>> The Cardinals have converted 8-of-10 field goal tries.
EASTERN MICHIGAN (4-2, 1-1 MAC)
>> The Eagles defense stepped up against Miami, stopping the RedHawks repeatedly to force five field goal attempts. The RedHawks made three, falling one short of EMU in the cross division matchup. It was Eastern Michigan's third win in the last four games.
>> Miami had a statistical edge in total yards (385-257), (19-16), passing yards (259-206) and rushing yards (126-51). The Eagles averaged just 1.5 ypc. However, Miami drew seven penalties for 61 yards, with a couple coming at critical times.
>> The EMU defense recorded three sacks and 17 quarterback hurries. Seven of the latter were by Turan Rush. Miami's last possession ended with a pass deflection by the defensive line.
>> After Miami took a 6-0 lead, EMU scored the game's only touchdown on a 16-yard Ben Bryant pass to Bryson Cannon. Chad Ryland later added two field goals (47, 33 yards). The 13-6 lead was just enough to withstand two more MU field goals.
The last time Eastern’s defense kept an opponent out of the end zone was during the 2008 campaign, when the Eagles routed Indiana State, 52-0.
>> A victory Saturday would push EMU’s record to 5-2 for the first time since the 2016 season and just the third time since the 1995 season. Additionally, a win over BSU would give Eastern its first win over a defending MAC Champion since it took down Bowling Green on the road, 28-25, Oct. 1, 2016.
>> EMU has forced eight turnovers in 2021, and has scored points off of each (5 touchdowns, 3 field goals). That trend continued versus Miami (3 points off a recovered fumble). EMU has scored 44 points off those turnovers, once as a direct result of
the play (98-yard interception-for-touchdown at Wisconsin), and seven times in its subsequent offensive possession.
>> : EMU has been one of the most disciplined teams in the country thus far in 2021. The Eagles rank third in the nation in terms of fewest penalties per game (3.8). Additionally, the team ranks seventh nationally in both fewest total penalties (23) and second in fewest penalty yards per game (31.8). EMU ranks fifth nationally in total penalty yards (191).
>> EMU currently ranks inside the nation’s top-25. As a unit, the EMU kick off unit allowed just 15.2 yards of return this season, which is the 12th-best total of any team in the nation. As a punting unit, EMU’s 43.7 net yards per punt ranks 11th nationally.
>> With its win over Miami, Oct. 9, Eastern Michigan is now 3-0 at home in 2021. The Eagles have not started 3-0 at home since the 2011 season. The Eagles finished that season 5-0 inside Rynearson Stadium.
>> EMU’s defense has been impressive on third down this season, allowingonversions on just 39 percent (31-of-80) of opponent’s attempts. That trend continued against Miami, Oct. 9, which finished just 5-of-16 in its third down attempts. EMU has been equally as good on fourth down, holding opponents to just 59 percent conversion (10-of-17) a significant drop from last season, when opponents converted 87 percent (13-of-15)
fourth down tries.
>> Eastern Michigan’s offense is the second-best scoring unit in the MidAmerican Conference. Averaging a league-leading 29.3 points per game, EMU has put up 176 total points on 23 touchdowns, five field goals, and 23 extra points. EMU has scored one less touchdown than the best team in the conference (Buffalo – 24). In total, 12 different Eagles have found the pay dirt in 2021, including five players who have scored multiple touchdowns. Sophomore Samson Evans leads all Eagles with six touchdowns, while freshman Darius Boone Jr. and senior Jawon Hamilton each have three. Evans is fifth among all players in the MAC with 36 points in 2021.