Cardinals, Hoosiers Battle Saturday at Lucas Oil in Matchup of Veteran Teams

Game 1
Ball State vs. Indiana (Ruoff Kickoff Classic)
Date: Saturday, Aug. 29
Kickoff: 12:02 p.m.
Television: CBS Sports Network
Listen: WLBC 104.1 FM | Live Stats | Social: @BallStateFB, @BallStateSports
Game Notes: Ball State | Indiana
Game Day Information: Tickets | Lucas Oil Stadium Info

Riley Miller caught a touchdown pass at Lucas Oil Stadium seven years ago. It was the first touchdown of his high school varsity career, and it helped the Yorktown Tigers to a victory over Hoosier Heritage Conference rival Greenfield-Central.

Miller will run out onto the same Lucas Oil turf this Saturday for the first time since that game, kicking off his final season of college football with his hometown Ball State Cardinals.

"It feels like forever ago," Miller said, "but it was really cool to run out of the tunnel, see the graphics on the big screens and play in an environment you don't get to experience in high school very often. The touchdown was like a naked rollout play. I had a little comeback to the pylon, and Riley (Neal) put it on the money. It's kind of a cool memory."

The fifth-year senior is hoping to create some new memories this time around. He couldn't make the 2011 BSU-IU matchup at Lucas Oil -- the first college game at the venue -- because of his own football obligations as a high school freshman. But he remembers the sense of pride Ball State's win over the Hoosiers created in the community.

If he could find the end zone again this time around, it would boost the Cardinals' bid for another signature in-state win. It would also continue quite a streak for the under-recruited Miller, who came to Ball State as a walk-on despite leading the state of Indiana in receiving. He quickly earned respect and eventually a scholarship and then broke out in a big way last year.

Miller emerged as one of the top receivers in the MAC and ended the 2018 season with touchdowns in each of the final six games. He and his teammates are hoping the experience they gained in recent years leads to a breakthrough 2019 campaign.

Saturday's matchup features two veteran squads looking to bounce back from challenging finishes to the 2018 season. Both return 20 starters, including specialists, which ranks among the top numbers of any team in the country.

Ball State features the most experience it has had in head coach Mike Neu's four years with the program. On offense, there are four juniors or seniors up front, a 1,000-yard rusher in Caleb Huntley and a plethora of receivers led by all-conference performers Justin Hall and Miller. Drew Plitt, now in his fourth year of college, will direct the offense full-time after showing flashes of what he can do in a backup role over three starts at the end of last season.

On the defensive side, the Cardinals have been forced to play a lot of young players, especially in the secondary, over the past couple of seasons. Guys like Bryce Cosby, Brett Anderson II and Amechi Uzodinma II were thrown into the fire as true freshmen but gained valuable experience and are ready to team up with a veteran defensive line and deep linebacker group in 2019.

They will face an Indiana offense guided by redshirt freshman quarterback Michael Penix Jr., a dual threat who beat out returning starter Peyton Ramsey for the job. Penix has plenty of weapons around him, including 1,000-yard rusher Stevie Scott III and top receiver Nick Westbrook.

"Both teams have a lot of similarities," Neu said. "Sure, they're in the Big Ten and we're in the MAC. But you read their storylines about their football team, and they also return a lot of experience and a lot of depth. There are a lot of similarities in terms of what the makeup of both teams is all about. It's going to come down to execution, embracing the moment, embracing the stage."

Saturday's contest is Ball State's home game and part of a three-game series with Indiana that started last year in Bloomington and will conclude back there next year. The Hoosiers won last year's matchup 38-10 for their second victory in a row over a BSU program that had won the previous three matchups.

Cardinals, Hoosiers Battle Saturday at Lucas Oil in Matchup of Veteran Teams

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Players Mentioned

Brett Anderson II

Bryce Cosby

Justin Hall

Caleb Huntley

Riley Miller

Drew Plitt

Amechi Uzodinma II