Saturday, December 12
Muncie, Ind.
Noon ET
Ball State University
vs
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Western Michigan
Game 6 Preview: Cardinals Looking to ‘Finish that Deal,’ Get to Detroit
December 10, 2020 | Football
BSU-WMU winner will earn West Division title, spot in MAC Championship Game
Game 6
Ball State (4-1, 4-1 MAC) vs. Western Michigan (4-1, 4-1 MAC)
Saturday, Dec. 12 (12:05 p.m. kickoff)
Muncie, Ind. (Scheumann Stadium)
Watch: ESPN+ | Listen: 104.1 WLBC | Live Stats
Social: @BallStateFB, @BallStateSports, #ChirpChirp, #WeFly, #DOB, #MACtion
Game Notes: Ball State | Western Michigan | Game Week Press Conference
Per Mid-American Conference COVID-19 regulations, no general public attendance or tailgating will be permitted this season. Attendance is permitted only for limited guests of players, coaches and band and spirit team members, up to 500 students, and suite holders in a limited capacity.
Senior Day
Ball State will honor 22 seniors in a Senior Day ceremony prior to Saturday's game. They are DL Chris Agyemang, OLB Christian Albright, SAF Brett Anderson II, OL Curtis Blackwell, SAF Bryce Cosby, WR Antwan Davis, OLB Anthony Ekpe, LS Joseph Greenwood, WR Justin Hall, RB Caleb Huntley, WR Isaac James-Gray, DL James Jennette III, TE Dylan Koch, WR Hassan Littles, CB Antonio Phillips, QB Drew Plitt, FB Cody Rudy, OL Kaleb Slaven, P Nathan Snyder, ILB Jaylin Thomas, OL Anthony Todd and SAF J.T. Wahee.
MUNCIE, Ind. -- Don't get head coach Mike Neu wrong … or any of his players.
The winning has been great. The joy in celebrating with your brothers in the locker room. The pride of singing that fight song and representing your school. The congratulatory messages you receive after each win.
Four of them in a row to be exact. It's the kind of streak the BSU program hasn't experienced in seven years. So don't get Neu and his guys wrong. They aren't taking any of it for granted. But they are laser focused on the next challenge.
Perhaps a younger team might get lost in the winning, become complacent, feel like they no longer need to give their best effort in every aspect. Not this group. Much has been made of the 22-member senior class that will be honored Saturday and the role they have played in turning this program around. They aren't close to being satisfied.
"These guys are on a mission, and nobody is feeling like we've accomplished anything yet," Neu said. "We're just in a position here to have one more opportunity here at home to get the job done, and our focus is to finish that deal."
The one more opportunity this week is a de facto MAC West Division Championship game. The winner heads to Detroit for a chance at the league title. It's a destination the Cardinals have not been shy about pursuing this year. You can see it in everything they do. "Detroit or bust."
Western Michigan is the last team standing in their way of getting there. And the Broncos are a reminder of just how far this program has come.
Senior safety Bryce Cosby remembers it well. The first MAC game ever for this Ball State senior class, back when they were wet-behind-the-ears freshmen. It was Sept. 30, 2017 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and it didn't go well. Final score: 55-3 in favor of the Broncos. The Cardinals went on to finish 0-8 in the league that year, but brighter days were ahead.
In fact, just one year later, Ball State recorded one of the signature wins of the Neu era, stopping WMU on a 2-point conversion in overtime for a 42-41 victory in Muncie. Last year's meeting back in Kalamazoo was another tight one, going down to the final minute before the Broncos prevailed 35-31.
"You could say as a group of freshmen, we were pretty naive to what conference play was all about, how serious it was, how competitive these games are within the conference," Cosby said. "Coming into this game, the biggest thing is more and more experience across the board. We've played in this conference for a long time, and we've had some battles with Western Michigan these past couple years. So it should be a good one."
A good one for sure. Ball State's defense, playing its best football of the season and getting better each week, faces the challenge of defending the nation's sixth-highest scoring team. Western Michigan is led by Kaleb Eleby, the nation's leader in passing efficiency, and D'Wayne Eskridge, the second-leading receiver in the country.
The Cardinals are clicking on offense, too. Redshirt senior quarterback Drew Plitt has thrown for 670 yards and accounted for eight total touchdowns over the past two weeks, distributing the ball to a bevy of talented receivers.
While Ball State was running away with a 45-20 victory last week at Central Michigan, WMU was suffering its first loss of the season, 53-42 against Eastern Michigan. The winner of Saturday's duel will get Buffalo in next week's MAC Championship Game.
The last time Ball State played in a game this meaningful to close the season was in 2008. That one was also against Western Michigan. BSU won 45-22 to famously cap a 12-0 regular season and get to the title game.
This 2020 team is not short on belief that it can get there, too.
"I just think you sense the confidence, more than anything else," Neu said. "Guys know that we're capable of getting it done. And so you can see the confidence just growing weekly. You can see it growing on a daily basis."
Ball State (4-1, 4-1 MAC) vs. Western Michigan (4-1, 4-1 MAC)
Saturday, Dec. 12 (12:05 p.m. kickoff)
Muncie, Ind. (Scheumann Stadium)
Watch: ESPN+ | Listen: 104.1 WLBC | Live Stats
Social: @BallStateFB, @BallStateSports, #ChirpChirp, #WeFly, #DOB, #MACtion
Game Notes: Ball State | Western Michigan | Game Week Press Conference
Per Mid-American Conference COVID-19 regulations, no general public attendance or tailgating will be permitted this season. Attendance is permitted only for limited guests of players, coaches and band and spirit team members, up to 500 students, and suite holders in a limited capacity.
Senior Day
Ball State will honor 22 seniors in a Senior Day ceremony prior to Saturday's game. They are DL Chris Agyemang, OLB Christian Albright, SAF Brett Anderson II, OL Curtis Blackwell, SAF Bryce Cosby, WR Antwan Davis, OLB Anthony Ekpe, LS Joseph Greenwood, WR Justin Hall, RB Caleb Huntley, WR Isaac James-Gray, DL James Jennette III, TE Dylan Koch, WR Hassan Littles, CB Antonio Phillips, QB Drew Plitt, FB Cody Rudy, OL Kaleb Slaven, P Nathan Snyder, ILB Jaylin Thomas, OL Anthony Todd and SAF J.T. Wahee.
MUNCIE, Ind. -- Don't get head coach Mike Neu wrong … or any of his players.
The winning has been great. The joy in celebrating with your brothers in the locker room. The pride of singing that fight song and representing your school. The congratulatory messages you receive after each win.
Four of them in a row to be exact. It's the kind of streak the BSU program hasn't experienced in seven years. So don't get Neu and his guys wrong. They aren't taking any of it for granted. But they are laser focused on the next challenge.
Perhaps a younger team might get lost in the winning, become complacent, feel like they no longer need to give their best effort in every aspect. Not this group. Much has been made of the 22-member senior class that will be honored Saturday and the role they have played in turning this program around. They aren't close to being satisfied.
"These guys are on a mission, and nobody is feeling like we've accomplished anything yet," Neu said. "We're just in a position here to have one more opportunity here at home to get the job done, and our focus is to finish that deal."
The one more opportunity this week is a de facto MAC West Division Championship game. The winner heads to Detroit for a chance at the league title. It's a destination the Cardinals have not been shy about pursuing this year. You can see it in everything they do. "Detroit or bust."
Western Michigan is the last team standing in their way of getting there. And the Broncos are a reminder of just how far this program has come.
Senior safety Bryce Cosby remembers it well. The first MAC game ever for this Ball State senior class, back when they were wet-behind-the-ears freshmen. It was Sept. 30, 2017 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and it didn't go well. Final score: 55-3 in favor of the Broncos. The Cardinals went on to finish 0-8 in the league that year, but brighter days were ahead.
In fact, just one year later, Ball State recorded one of the signature wins of the Neu era, stopping WMU on a 2-point conversion in overtime for a 42-41 victory in Muncie. Last year's meeting back in Kalamazoo was another tight one, going down to the final minute before the Broncos prevailed 35-31.
"You could say as a group of freshmen, we were pretty naive to what conference play was all about, how serious it was, how competitive these games are within the conference," Cosby said. "Coming into this game, the biggest thing is more and more experience across the board. We've played in this conference for a long time, and we've had some battles with Western Michigan these past couple years. So it should be a good one."
A good one for sure. Ball State's defense, playing its best football of the season and getting better each week, faces the challenge of defending the nation's sixth-highest scoring team. Western Michigan is led by Kaleb Eleby, the nation's leader in passing efficiency, and D'Wayne Eskridge, the second-leading receiver in the country.
The Cardinals are clicking on offense, too. Redshirt senior quarterback Drew Plitt has thrown for 670 yards and accounted for eight total touchdowns over the past two weeks, distributing the ball to a bevy of talented receivers.
While Ball State was running away with a 45-20 victory last week at Central Michigan, WMU was suffering its first loss of the season, 53-42 against Eastern Michigan. The winner of Saturday's duel will get Buffalo in next week's MAC Championship Game.
The last time Ball State played in a game this meaningful to close the season was in 2008. That one was also against Western Michigan. BSU won 45-22 to famously cap a 12-0 regular season and get to the title game.
This 2020 team is not short on belief that it can get there, too.
"I just think you sense the confidence, more than anything else," Neu said. "Guys know that we're capable of getting it done. And so you can see the confidence just growing weekly. You can see it growing on a daily basis."
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Players Mentioned
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