Tuesday, November 1
Kent, Ohio
7:00 PM ET
Ball State University
at
Kent State
Photo by: Ball State University Creative Services
Cardinals-Golden Flashes set for Tuesday night MACtion
October 31, 2022 | Football
Ball State travels to Kent State for midweek game
MUNCIE, Ind. – As the calendar flips to November, midweek MACtion makes its triumphant return to the national landscape of college football. Ball State kicks off the annual slate of games with a primetime matchup with Kent State Tuesday night under the lights at 7 p.m. ET.
The Cardinals and Golden Flashes each enter with identical records in Mid-American Conference play as they contend in their respective divisions. A win for either side could go a long way in determining who will compete for a conference championship.
"Everything is on the line for both of these programs," head coach Mike Neu said. "They're 2-2 in the MAC just like we're 2-2 in the MAC. They're in the East and we're in the West, but they're going to be hungry just like we're hungry. They played in the MAC championship game last year and were picked by a lot to win the East this year."
Ball State has won 16 of its last 20 matchups with Eastern Division foe Kent State. All four of those wins by the Golden Flashes, however, have come in the last nine duels. Kent State has won the last three times these teams have met at Dix Stadium and touts at 12-game home winning streak overall.
The last loss by the Golden Flashes on their home turf was in 2019 to Miami, also the same year that the Cardinals last visited Dix Stadium, which was a 41-38 shootout in favor of the home team.
The winner of this game has scored at least 30 points in nine of the last 10 cross-divisional matchups, dating back to 1996.
"Everything is right in front of us," Neu added. "Everything is on the other side of hard. We're right in the thick of things just like every team in the MAC is right now. Everybody's jam-packed right in the thick of everything. What the awesome thing is about the Mid-American Conference is in these midweek MACtion games, it can change every single week with every single game.
"We've just got to focus on us. I told every one of our guys that we've got everything that we want right in front of us, but we've got to make sure that we play our best football when it matters the most."
Tuesday night's game will be broadcast on the airwaves with Voice of the Cardinals Mick Tidrow, Haven Fields and Jack McMullen on the Ball State Gainbridge Radio Network, WLBC and SiriusXM 970. The game will be televised on ESPNU with Noah Reed and Rocky Boiman describing the action.
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Inside the Series: Kent State
Ball State and Kent State are slated to meet for the 30th time in series history Tuesday night in Ohio. The Cardinals tout a 21-8 advantage overall and 9-5 on the road in the series. However, the Golden Flashes have taken the last three decisions inside its home stadium.
Head coach Mike Neu is 5-1 against Kent State, including 4-0 as a player (1990-93) and 1-1 as a head coach (2018-19). In those six matchups, the Cardinals have scored 28 points in all but five, which was a 10-6 win in 1992.
Coach Neu on Kent State…
"They're great at home. They've done a great job at protecting their house. With Coach (Sean) Lewis and the 'Flash Fast' - the tempo in which they play offense with - they've got some explosive playmakers in their running back (Marquez) Cooper, wide receiver (Dante) Cephus and their quarterback Collin Schlee. Defensively, they've been a team that's delivered when they needed it the most. It's going to be a battle and a tough challenge to go on the road there, especially with a team that's done so well at home."
Defense Bringing the Juice
Ball State's defense has been impressive over its last three games and is on a roll heading into November. Since Oct. 8, the Cardinals have allowed just 19.0 points per game, which is tied for the second-lowest in the MAC during that span with Miami. Only Buffalo (13.7) has produced a better mark.
In the last three games, Ball State has recorded 21 tackles-for-loss, including 11 sacks, and allowed just 178.7 yards through the air. In the five previous games, the Cardinals had 22 tackles-for-loss and five sacks while allowed 230.6 passing yards per game.
The Race to 30
Since 2015, midweek #MACtion has had a good indicator in determining a winner. Over the last seven-plus years, the first team to score 30 points is 90-4 in league games played between Tuesday-Thursday, good for a 95.7 win percentage. In that span, there have only been 25 games (out of 119) that a winner has not scored at least 30 points. In fact, the last time a winner of a midweek #MACtion game to not score at least 30 points was Ball State in the 2021 regular season finale vs. Buffalo (20-3) that clinched a bowl berth for the second consecutive season.
The Cardinals and Golden Flashes each enter with identical records in Mid-American Conference play as they contend in their respective divisions. A win for either side could go a long way in determining who will compete for a conference championship.
"Everything is on the line for both of these programs," head coach Mike Neu said. "They're 2-2 in the MAC just like we're 2-2 in the MAC. They're in the East and we're in the West, but they're going to be hungry just like we're hungry. They played in the MAC championship game last year and were picked by a lot to win the East this year."
Ball State has won 16 of its last 20 matchups with Eastern Division foe Kent State. All four of those wins by the Golden Flashes, however, have come in the last nine duels. Kent State has won the last three times these teams have met at Dix Stadium and touts at 12-game home winning streak overall.
The last loss by the Golden Flashes on their home turf was in 2019 to Miami, also the same year that the Cardinals last visited Dix Stadium, which was a 41-38 shootout in favor of the home team.
The winner of this game has scored at least 30 points in nine of the last 10 cross-divisional matchups, dating back to 1996.
"Everything is right in front of us," Neu added. "Everything is on the other side of hard. We're right in the thick of things just like every team in the MAC is right now. Everybody's jam-packed right in the thick of everything. What the awesome thing is about the Mid-American Conference is in these midweek MACtion games, it can change every single week with every single game.
"We've just got to focus on us. I told every one of our guys that we've got everything that we want right in front of us, but we've got to make sure that we play our best football when it matters the most."
Tuesday night's game will be broadcast on the airwaves with Voice of the Cardinals Mick Tidrow, Haven Fields and Jack McMullen on the Ball State Gainbridge Radio Network, WLBC and SiriusXM 970. The game will be televised on ESPNU with Noah Reed and Rocky Boiman describing the action.
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Lotta ???????? for Tuesday night ??#WeFly x #1AAT pic.twitter.com/26qFtBSOqn
— Ball State Football (@BallStateFB) October 31, 2022
Inside the Series: Kent State
Ball State and Kent State are slated to meet for the 30th time in series history Tuesday night in Ohio. The Cardinals tout a 21-8 advantage overall and 9-5 on the road in the series. However, the Golden Flashes have taken the last three decisions inside its home stadium.
Head coach Mike Neu is 5-1 against Kent State, including 4-0 as a player (1990-93) and 1-1 as a head coach (2018-19). In those six matchups, the Cardinals have scored 28 points in all but five, which was a 10-6 win in 1992.
Coach Neu on Kent State…
"They're great at home. They've done a great job at protecting their house. With Coach (Sean) Lewis and the 'Flash Fast' - the tempo in which they play offense with - they've got some explosive playmakers in their running back (Marquez) Cooper, wide receiver (Dante) Cephus and their quarterback Collin Schlee. Defensively, they've been a team that's delivered when they needed it the most. It's going to be a battle and a tough challenge to go on the road there, especially with a team that's done so well at home."
Defense Bringing the Juice
Ball State's defense has been impressive over its last three games and is on a roll heading into November. Since Oct. 8, the Cardinals have allowed just 19.0 points per game, which is tied for the second-lowest in the MAC during that span with Miami. Only Buffalo (13.7) has produced a better mark.
In the last three games, Ball State has recorded 21 tackles-for-loss, including 11 sacks, and allowed just 178.7 yards through the air. In the five previous games, the Cardinals had 22 tackles-for-loss and five sacks while allowed 230.6 passing yards per game.
The Race to 30
Since 2015, midweek #MACtion has had a good indicator in determining a winner. Over the last seven-plus years, the first team to score 30 points is 90-4 in league games played between Tuesday-Thursday, good for a 95.7 win percentage. In that span, there have only been 25 games (out of 119) that a winner has not scored at least 30 points. In fact, the last time a winner of a midweek #MACtion game to not score at least 30 points was Ball State in the 2021 regular season finale vs. Buffalo (20-3) that clinched a bowl berth for the second consecutive season.
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