Cardinals Hope to Even MAC Record Satuday In Front of Community & Family Day Crowd at Scheumann Stadium

Ball State (1-3, 0-1 MAC) vs. Western Michigan (1-3, 0-0 MAC)
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MUNCIE, Ind. -- Community and Family Weekend is the theme for this week's Cardinals football game at Scheumann Stadium when Ball State hosts Mid-American Conference rival Western Michigan. Saturday's game is sponsored by Hillcroft Services.

** Both teams enter the contest at 1-3. The Cardinals got a season-opening win over Missouri State and the Broncos downed Bethune-Cookman two weeks ago. Each team also has endured a pair of blowout defeats against top teams - Ball State at No. 10 Miami plus last week's loss at James Madison; WMU at Wisconsin and No. 2 Ohio State.

** While WMU comes to Muncie for its MAC opener, Ball State seeks its first MAC victory following a heartbreaking, gut-wrenching road defeat at Central Michigan two weeks ago. Ball State engineered a five-play, 97-yard two-minute drill touchdown to take a 34-30 lead, but a victory was snatched from the Cardinals' hands in the final seconds.

** The Cardinals continue to be led on offense by redshirt freshman quarterback Kadin Semonza and junior tight end Tanner Koziol. It was that duo that connected for the late touchdown at CMU, and Koziol has shared a career-high nine catches in each of the past two weeks. Semonza has completed over 68 percent of his passes this season (96 of 140), for 826 yards and eight touchdowns. Koziol boasts 29 grabs for 289 yards and three of those TDs.

** Hoping to get the run game more involved this week, FCS transfer Braedon Sloan has netted 282 yards on 59 carries this season, in addition to 111 yards on 14 catches. Aside from a 13-yard day at No. 10 Miami, Sloan has approached or exceeded the 100-yard mark in each game: 103 vs. Missouri State, 94 at CMU and 72 at JMU.

** The 100th anniversary of Ball State's first season in 1924 coincides with the 100th season on the field, given that the Cardinals didn't field a team in 1943 due to World War II. Season-long celebrations of the 100th season will be displayed at Scheumann Stadium this season. Similarly, it is the program's 50th season in the MAC -- formally joining the league in 1973 and playing its first football games in 1975.

WHAT A WIN MEANS:
** The Cardinals will snap a two-game skid against Western Michigan.
** The fifth winningest coach in Ball State football history, Mike Neu will capture his 39th victory as head coach of his alma mater to move within one victory of tying Dwight Wallace (40) with the fourth-most wins in Cardinals history.

BY THE NUMBERS:
2 - True freshman linebacker Sam Feeney made his defensive debut last week and produced a pair of sacks.

8 of 9 - The Cardinals have scored on 8 of 9 trips into the Red Zone, with touchdowns on seven of those drives (6 passing, 1 rushing).

9 - Career-high catches for Tanner Koziol in each of the past two weeks. He caught all nine passes thrown to him at JMU.

33:58 - The Cardinals rank sixth nationally while possessing the ball nearly 34 minutes per game.

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Cardinals Hope to Even MAC Record Satuday In Front of Community & Family Day Crowd at Scheumann Stadium

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Players Mentioned

Sam Feeney

Tanner Koziol

Kadin Semonza

Braedon Sloan