Ball State University
Kentucky
Cardinals Begin 2023 Campaign at Kentucky on Saturday
August 29, 2023 | Football
| Ball State (0-0; 0-0 MAC) at Kentucky | |
| Game 1 - at Kentucky (0-0; 0-0 SEC) | Saturday, Sept. 2 at Noon Live Stats | SEC Network |
| Notes | Ball State | Kentucky |
| Social Media | X (Twitter)Â | Instagram |
Ball State kicks off the 2023 campaign at Kentucky to open a two-week grind against Southeastern Conference foes - UK on Saturday, and next week at defending national champion Georgia.
* Saturday's game marks the second straight season that Ball State has opened the season in an SEC stadium, falling last year at Tennessee, 59-10, to the Volunteers. Since opening at South Carolina in 1998, it is the fifth time the Cardinals have begun a season on SEC soil (Florida '00, Auburn '01, Tennessee '22).
* Ball State faces SEC opponents in consecutive weeks for just the second time in its history. The Cardinals opened the 2001 season on Sept. 1 at Auburn, then fell to Kentucky, 28-20, the only other time these teams have met on the gridiron.
* The Cardinals enter the 2023 campaign having appeared in bowl games in two of the past three seasons, falling one game short last season in an effort to reach a third straight bowl game for the first time in program history.Â
 *The Cardinals enter 2023 with its greatest strengths entrenched in its offensive and defensive fronts. There exists a balance of youth and experience, representing some of the deepest units Ball State has seen in its interior lines in several years.
    - Of the 112 players on last year's roster, 82 were classified as underclassmen, then ranked as the 18th-highest in college football. Ball State's roster makeup of 73.2 percent underclassmen ranked as the seventh-highest in the FBS.   Â
    - Aside from wide receiver and secondary rooms hit hard with losses (WRs lost 5 of 6 letterwinners; DBs lost 4 of 6), 31 of 57 letterwinners return from last year's roster. The bulk of those losses (12 of 26) were comprised of receivers (5), defensive backs (4) and specialists (3). What's that mean? The O-Line, D-Line and Linebacking units are deep and experienced.
* The Cardinals expect to feature a former Alabama redshirt, Layne Hatcher, as their starting quarterback. Between stints at Arkansas State and Texas State, Hatcher opens his fifth college season among active FBS career leaders in passing yards (5th, 10,080) and touchdowns (3rd, 84).
