Cardinals head to Kalamazoo for MAC West showdown

MUNCIE, Ind. – The two winningest teams in the Mid-American Conference since the beginning of last season are set to tangle Saturday afternoon in Kalamazoo, Mich. when Ball State plays at Western Michigan.

The last three meetings between the two programs have been decided by a total of eight points, with the home team earning each result. Ball State (2-3, 0-1) has won two of those duels, picking up a 42-41 win in 2018 and a 30-27, come-from-behind win a year ago inside Scheumann Stadium.

Western Michigan (4-1, 1-0) is coming off a 24-17 win at Buffalo and has picked up significant out-of-conference wins at Pittsburgh and vs. San Jose State.

"It's obviously a big game this week," Ball State head coach Mike Neu said. "Western Michigan is playing good football right now and has won four in a row. They went on the road last week to kick off MAC play and got a big win at Buffalo. They came from behind in the fourth quarter and had a great finish there.

"I obviously have a lot of respect for Coach (Tim) Lester and the job that he's done there at his alma mater. We've had some battles with them – the last three years especially. It will be a great challenge for us going on the road."

While it will a differently style of attack, there are a few similarities between what the Cardinals faced last week in Army and what they'll encounter in Western Michigan.

The Broncos are third in the country in time of possession per game (37:27) behind only Army and Air Force. They also are careful with the football having not turned the ball over in four consecutive games. Western Michigan boasts the seventh-best third-down conversion rate in the country on defense, allowing offenses to get a first down 27.6 percent of the time.

Ball State knows how important getting a win like this on the road against a good team would be, not only to its confidence, but also its place in the league standings.

"It's the MAC West," Neu added. "They got a big win last week and this will be their first game in the MAC West. Obviously, we lost to our first West opponent in Toledo. It's huge and it speaks for itself. Our players all know that without having to address it in a meeting or anything like that. Everybody knows what's at stake.

"It's no different than every single week what our attitude and what our mindset was a year ago. Every week is a championship game. Our guys know that what we put on the practice field, having a great week of preparation, being right mentally the second you walk in the door in the morning, making sure you're locked in during the meetings and on the practice field, that'll determine the level of play that we put on the field on Saturday."

The game will be carried on 104.1 WLBC, online at BallStateSports.com and on the Varsity Network app with the Ball State Radio Network trio of Joel Godett, Rich Spisak and Jack McMullen breaking down the action. The game will also be available on ESPNU with John Schriffen and Rene Ingoglia on the call.

Inside the Series: Western Michigan

Ball State and Western Michigan are set to square off for the 48th time in series history Saturday in Kalamazoo. The Broncos have won five of the last seven duels, but the Cardinals have taken two of the previous three. After rattling off three consecutive wins in Kalamazoo from 2005-09, Ball State is just 1-4 on the road in the series, earning a victory in 2013.

Coach Neu on Western Michigan...
"There's a similar type of theme from a week ago. Army is No. 1 in the country in time of possession and Western Michigan is No. 2 at just over 37 minutes. You've got to make sure you do a great job of sustaining your drives and putting points on the board. Even though it's a different type of scheme than what you saw a week ago, they have a scan procedure where they look to the sideline, go to the ball, chew up a lot of the play clock and utilize it before they snap the ball. It's important on our end to be able to execute no different than it was a week ago. You've got to maximize your possessions. You've got to sustain drives, but you've got to put the ball into the end zone."

On This Date

The Cardinals are 6-6 on Oct. 9 in program history, earning wins in 1937, 1948, 1954, 1965, 1971 and 1993. Oct. 9 carries some significance, not only to Ball State, but to head coach Mike Neu. On this date in 1993, Neu posted a single-game record for most passing yards by a Cardinals QB with 469 in a 31-30 win against Toledo. Neu went 28-of-40 on the day.

Pearce-ing Start

In his first career start against Army, ILB Cole Pearce had a career-best (and team-high) 14 tackles, nine of which were solo. He had just nine tackles on the season entering the game and 10 in his career prior to the game. The Mason, Ohio native earned a scholarship the next day (Sunday, Oct. 3) in a team meeting.

Tavion's Party in the Backfield

Through five games this season, redshirt sophomore DL Tavion Woodard has 5.0 sacks, reaching the QB at least once in the first four games. He is one of just three players nationally to record at least 1.0 sack in four games, Adam Anderson (Georgia) and Sam Williams (Ole Miss). Woodard made his first career start in the MAC opener vs. Toledo on Sept. 25.

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Players Mentioned

Cole Pearce

Tavion Woodard