Cardinals Take Momentum Into Redbird Rivalry Battle with Miami on Saturday

Ball State (4-7, 3-4 MAC) vs. Miami (9-2, 6-1 MAC)
Game 12 - vs. Miami	Saturday, Nov. 25 at 12:00 p.m. Live Stats \| CBS Sports Network
Notes	Ball State \| Miami \| Media Center
Social Media	X (Twitter) \| Instagram

MUNCIE, Ind. – Winners of three of their last four games, the Ball State Cardinals welcome the Miami Redhawks to Scheumann Stadium for the 2023 regular season finale. Riding momentum from a last-second win at Northern Illinois and a blowout win over Kent State, Ball State has sights set on three straight wins and an even mark in the Mid-American Conference. Saturday's home game is sponsored by the Greg Hubler Automotive Complex.

** After an 0-3 start in the Mid-American Conference, Ball State has an opportunity to finish as high as second place in the MAC's West Division. Currently knotted in a four-way tie for third place with all three of the MAC's Michigan schools, each of those four is but one game behind Northern Illinois (4-3) in second place. Unbeaten Toledo (7-0) leads the MAC West.

** The Cardinals seek their fourth MAC win in the final week of their MAC schedule. Since Kiael Kelly was inserted as the starting quarterback for Week 3 of the MAC season vs. Toledo, Ball State is 3-2 while falling to only Toledo and Bowling Green by a combined 10 points.

** Saturday's game pairs two of the MAC's stingiest run defenses, with Ball State ranking second in the MAC with 117.5 rushing yards allowed per game and the Redhawks allowing just 118.5 to rank third. Ohio leads the league with a paltry 101.4 rush yards allowed.

** Marquez Cooper ran 25 times for 140 yards against Kent State last week. With 907 yards on the season, he is 93 yards from reaching the 1,000-yard mark for a third straight season.

** The Cardinals' defensive unit was dominant with five sacks and 10 TFL against Kent State. The Ball State "D" has allowed 16.3 points per game over the past six games.

WHAT A WIN MEANS:
** The Cardinals will rise to 5-7 overall and 4-2 at Scheumann Stadium.
** Ball State will finish with four wins in its last five games to land at .500 (4-4) in the MAC.
** Mike Neu will capture his 39th victory as head coach of his alma mater to move past Ray Louthen (1962-67) and Bill Lynch (1995-02) with the fifth-most career coaching wins at Ball State. Neu was Lynch's QB during the 1990-92 seasons as QB coach and offensive coordinator.

BY THE NUMBERS:
** 44 & 48: True freshman Jackson Courville connected on a pair of career-long field goals in the win vs. Kent State.

** 45: Vaughn Pemberton's fourth quarter carry vs. Kent State was the longest run by Ball State this year.

** 93: Rushing yards needed by Marquez Cooper in order to reach his third straight season with 1,000 rush yards.

** 227: Ball State's average rushing yards over the past five games: 173, 243, 236, 186, 300. NIU leads the MAC in all league games with 211.6.

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Cardinals Take Momentum Into Redbird Rivalry Battle with Miami on Saturday

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Players Mentioned

Marquez Cooper

Jackson Courville

Kiael Kelly

Vaughn Pemberton