Ball State to travel to Central Michigan for 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff Saturday
Ball State kicked off the month of October in style with a thrilling 21-point comeback against Northern Illinois last Saturday at Scheumann Stadium.
However, for the Cardinals and their "One At A Time" mentality, it's onto the next game, and it's a big matchup with Mid-American Conference West foe Central Michigan.
"It was a great win for us to be able to get the Bronze Stalk back, but that win is over with," head coach Mike Neu said. "We put the trophy in the trophy case and moved on full speed ahead. We play a good football team this week in Central Michigan, and we've got to go on the road. I have a lot of respect for the job that Coach (Jim) McElwain has done there. This is a good football team; I don't care what their record says."
The Chippewas are 1-4 on the season and 0-1 in the MAC, but have played challenging road games against Oklahoma State, Penn State and Toledo.
Ball State, which sits at 2-3 overall and 1-1 in the MAC, is the only team in the league to have played two conference games up this point in the season but will experience a MAC road game for the first time this campaign Saturday at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
Saturday's matchup features playmaking ability all over the field. Quarterbacks John Paddock and Daniel Richardson have combined for nearly 3,000 yards through the air and 22 touchdowns. On the ground, two of the conference's top running backs are set to take center stage in Carson Steele and Lew Nichols III. The duo has amassed over 800 yards with 10 trips into the end zone.
Defensively, the Cardinals boast three of the MAC's top 10 passes defended leaders in Nic Jones (seven), Jordan Riley (six) and Amechi Uzodinma II (four), while the Chippewas have three of the league's top 10 in terms of tackles-for-loss in Thomas Incoom (6.0), John Wesley Whiteside (6.0) and Michael Heldman (4.5).
Kickoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on the airwaves with Voice of the Cardinals Mick Tidrow, Haven Fields and Jack McMullen on the Ball State Gainbridge Radio Network and WLBC. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Jim Barbar and Adam Breneman describing the action.
Inside the Series: Central Michigan
Ball State and Central Michigan are scheduled to face off for the 55th time in series history Saturday afternoon in Mount Pleasant. The Chippewas lead the all-time series, 27-26-1. The Cardinals have won eight of the last 14 overall. However, the two teams have split the last four duels.
Home field has not necessarily been an advantage for each program as the road team has won 28 of 54 meetings all-time. In fact, each team holds a winning record on the opposition's home turf. Ball State's best stretch in the series came between 1987-2003 when the Cardinals won 13 of 17 against the Chippewas.
Coach Neu on Central Michigan…
"Last year, it was an ugly day here at Scheumann Stadium. You have to give them credit. They executed at a high level last year. It speaks to who they are and what Coach McElwain has done with their program. We've got to stop 'Big Lew.' Lew Nichols was one of the top backs in this conference and one of the top backs in the country a year ago, and he had a great game against us here last year, well over 200 yards. It all starts with us being able to contain him. They're going to give it to him. He's a tough, nasty, hard-nosed, physical runner that, oh by the way, has really good speed. Daniel Richardson has done a heck of a job as a quarterback in this conference. He's got big-play ability and spreads the ball around to his playmakers. Defensively, they wreak havoc. They're one of the top teams in playing their opponents' backfield in tackles-for-loss."
Player(s) of the Week
Safety Jaquan Amos and quarterback John Paddock were named the MAC West Players of the Week last week. Amos had a season-high 12 tackles and an interception to lead Ball State to a come-from-behind win vs. NIU and reclaim the Bronze Stalk trophy. Paddock led the way offensively after throwing 40-of-58 for 403 yards and three touchdowns. It's the most yards thrown by a Cardinal since Drew Plitt had 439 vs. Fordham on Sept. 7, 2019, and the eighth-most passing yards in program history.
Big Uglies Playing Nasty
Ball State's success on offense has no doubt been a big credit to its offensive line play. Through five games, the Cardinals have allowed only two sacks and six tackles-for-loss, both of which are among the best in all of college football. In addition, Ball State is one of just two programs in the country (Georgia Southern) to surrender just two sacks and 15 or fewer tackles-for-loss, despite having three different starting lineup combinations.
Original source can be found here.
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