Ball State heads to Northern Illinois to battle for Bronze Stalk Trophy

MUNCIE, Ind. - Ball State and Northern Illinois are set to kick off a key matchup in the Mid-American Conference Wednesday night in DeKalb, Ill. at 6 p.m. CT/7 p.m. ET.

Not only is it a battle for the Bronze Stalk Trophy, but the winner will be in the driver's seat for a spot in the conference title game with two games remaining.

"This is a big opportunity going to DeKalb to face Northern Illinois," Cardinals head coach Mike Neu said. "First place in the MAC West is on the line. We're playing against a very good football team. Coach (Thomas) Hammock has done a tremendous job turning that program around. They're doing a lot of things well in all three phases right now. It's going to be a great challenge for us. Our guys are fired up. Everybody knows what's at stake."

Wednesday will be the fourth road conference game out of five for Ball State. The Cardinals are one of just four teams in the country to play four road league games in a span of five games overall in the 2021 season, joined by fellow MAC opponent Kent State, as well as NC State and Virginia Tech.

Ball State comes into the matchup at 5-4 overall (3-2 MAC), while Northern Illinois sits at 6-3 overall (4-1 MAC).

While the game is set to feature the top two teams on the western side of the league standings and a duel for a rivalry trophy, the Cardinals are keeping things in perspective.

"What's at stake is an opportunity for us to stay in the winners' bracket," Neu added. "Secondly, you can talk about pressure all you want, but pressure is when you're not prepared. Just like if you're preparing for an exam, if you don't prepare as hard as you possibly can then go in to take the exam, it's a bad feeling in your gut knowing that you're not where you need to be preparation-wise. It's the same in football. If you do a great job studying your opponent – we've got a lot of game tape available – then you'll be confident, you won't be feeling any kind of pressure and won't put any added pressure on yourself.

"Now it's about going out and just doing your job to the best of your ability and being bought into that. The game of football is a beautiful sport, but there's 22 players on the field for one play and the team that can get 11 guys doing their jobs, you've got a better chance for execution. We've got to keep it simple like that. When you're not prepared, there's pressure. Our guys know that and have played a lot of football. You get what you work for."

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, Nick Traub and Jack McMullen breaking down the action. The game will also be available on ESPN2 with Clay Matvick and Rocky Boiman on the call.

Inside the Series: Northern Illinois

Ball State and Northern Illinois are slated to meet on the gridiron for the 48th time in series history Wednesday night in DeKalb. The Cardinals have won the last two games by a combined 13 points. The win in 2019 snapped a 10-game winning streak by Huskies that dated back to the 2009 season.

Ball State and Northern Illinois have played for the Bronze Stalk trophy since 2008. Designed by nationally-recognized sculptor and DeKalb artist Renee Bemis, the trophy depicts several cornstalks in tribute to the prevalence of maize around the respective home states of the rivals.

Each teams holds the advantage on the other's home field with Ball State leads 13-11-1 at Northern Illinois, while the Huskies lead 13-9 in games played in Muncie. The Cardinals at one point won 15 of 16 in the series between 1974-98, which included nine straight victories on the road.

Coach Neu on Northern Illinois…
"That team plays hard. They've won the one-possession games – those ones that are close and you figure out a way to win at the end. Coach Hammock has done a great job at managing the game and going for it on fourth down where they have converted several times. He's done a great job in the late-game situations in the fourth quarter. They've gone out and they've executed. We're preparing ourselves for a battle, mentally and physically."

Get the Ball to Hall

Fifth-year WR Justin Hall has shown his ability all over the field this season. Nine games into the 2021 season, Hall is averaging 136.9 all-purpose yards per game, good for 16th-most in the country and second in the Mid-American Conference (Lew Nichols, Central Michigan, 143.7). Hall is second in the country in average all-purpose yards among players who have logged at least one yard through rushing, receiving, punt return and kickoff return only to Michigan State's Jayden Reed (137.8).

Hall has 579 receiving yards, 380 kickoff return yards, 176 rushing yards and 97 punt return yards, good for a total of 1,232 total all-purpose yards.

In addition, Hall is one of just seven players nationally to score a touchdown via rush, receiving and kickoff return this season, joining Devon Achane (Texas A&M), Rasheen Ali (Marshall), Calvin Austin III (Memphis), Jase McClellan (Alabama), Jayden Reed (Michigan State) and Chris Tyree (Notre Dame).

Cosby is No Joke

Fifth-year S Bryce Cosby is the only player in the country to log multiple games of at least 10 tackles, 1.0 sack and one forced fumble on the year, and he did it in back-to-back games at Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan. He is sixth among all active players with 359 career tackles.

Ball State heads to Northern Illinois to battle for Bronze Stalk Trophy

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Players Mentioned

Bryce Cosby

Justin Hall