Cardinals Earn Historic Final Ranking of No. 23 in Both AP, Coaches Poll

MUNCIE, Ind. -- The Ball State football team is ranked No. 23 in the final AP Top 25 and the final Amway Coaches Poll, both released following last night's conclusion to the 2020 college football season.

It is the first time the Cardinals have finished a season in the national rankings at the FBS level and the first time they have been ranked since December 2008.

The Mid-American Conference had two teams ranked in the final polls for the first time since 2003. Buffalo, the team Ball State defeated in the league's championship game, checked in at No. 25 in both polls.

Ball State finished the season with back-to-back wins over ranked opponents, defeating the Bulls when they were No. 23 in the AP Top 25 and then knocking off AP No. 19 San Jose State in the Offerpad Arizona Bowl on New Year's Eve. SJSU is No. 24 in both final polls.

Ball State is one of three teams from the state of Indiana in the final rankings, along with Notre Dame (No. 5 AP/No. 5 Coaches) and Indiana (No. 12 AP/No. 13 Coaches).

Coach Mike Neu's Cardinals finished 7-1 overall, winning their first-ever bowl game, their first MAC championship since 1996 and their first MAC West Division title since 2008. BSU's seven-game winning streak at season's end is tied for the fourth-longest active streak in the FBS.

The team recently announced it expects the return of 16 of its 22 seniors, as the NCAA has granted a blanket additional year of eligibility based on the hardships presented this season by COVID-19.

Cardinals Earn Historic Final Ranking of No. 23 in Both AP, Coaches Poll

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