Scheumann Stadium -- Muncie, IN
ESPNY
ABOUT THE TWO TEAMS . . .
Ball State (5-5, 3-3 MAC) and Central Michigan (6-4, 4-2 MAC) are scheduled to face off for the 54th time in series history Wednesday night inside Scheumann Stadium. The all-time series is tied 26-26-1. The Cardinals have won eight of the last 13 overall, including two of the last three.
BALL STATE CARDINALS (5-5, 3-3 MAC)
>> The Cardinals have lost two of their last three, including a 30-29 heartbreaker at Northern Illinois last week. Jacob Lewis gave put BSU in front on a 48-yard field goal with 1:42 remaining. However, the Huskies once again came back to pull out a win. John Richardson's 32-yard field goal as time expired was the difference.
>> Ball State's run game produced 246 yards and two scores. Carson Steele led the way with 21 crries for 109 yards. Justin Hall carried seven times for 79 yards and two TDs. He also registered three catches for 34 yards and another score.
>> RB Carson Steele has rushed for at least 100 yards in three of his last four games. Over that span, the freshman has compiled 450 yards on 77 carries, good for 5.8 yards per carry
>> Ten games into the 2021 season, WR Justin Hall is averaging 136.1 all-purpose yards per game, good for 15th-most in the country. With 129 all-purpose yards (and two touchdowns) at Northern Illinois, Hall broke the program record for career all-purpose yards previously held by Dante Love (2005-08). He now has 5,352 yards in his illustrious career. In addition, Hall needs just one more game catching a pass to tie Central Michigan’s Bryan Anderson (2006-09) for the most consecutive games catching a pass with 54.
CENTRAL MICHIGAN CHIPPEWAS (6-4, 4-2 MAC)
>> CMU is coming off a 54-30 home victory over Kent State that came a week after a 42-30 win at Western Michigan. Lew Nichols III, who on Monday was named the MAC West Offensive Player of the Week after a remarkable performance in the win over Kent State. Nichols carried 43 times for 215 yards and four touchdowns. All three totals were career highs. His 43 carries tie for the fourth most in program history.
>> The Chippewas combined to score 96 points in their last two games. That is the highest output in back-to-back games since McElwain took over in 2019, and it’s the highest since 2007.
>> Last year, the Cardinals got a victory in Mount Pleasant, 45-20, on their way to winning a MAC Championship.
>> >> Nichols ranks second in the nation in allpurpose yards with 1,541. The redshirt freshman has 35 receptions for 244 yards this season. He leads the MAC in total all-purpose yards and allpurpose yards per game (154.1)
>> CMU leads the Mid-American Conference in passing offense with 282.9 yards per game.
Central Michigan only averaged 202.3 yards passing per game last season.
>> Central Michigan features one of the best receiving duos in the nation in junior Kalil
Pimpleton and JaCorey Sullivan, a senior. Both earned First Team All-MAC honors in 2019 while Pimpleton was also named a first-team all-leaguer as a punt returner. Pimpleton earned second-team honors last season at wide receiver. The pair have combined to catch 230 passes
for 2,960 yards and 17 touchdowns over the past three seasons.
>> Explosive plays have been a big part of Central Michigan’s success the past 3 years. In CMU victories, the Chippewas have had 36 scoring plays that covered at least 25 yards.
>> The Chippewas have been strong with their third-down defense this season, allowing opponents to convert just 49 of 146 opportunities (34%). That is second in the MAC and ranks 22nd in the nation. Last year, CMU allowed opposing teams to convert 45% (40-89) of their third-down opportunities.