Cardinals Regroup and Take On Kent State in Road Battle This Saturday

Ball State (1-4, 0-2 MAC) at Kent State (0-5, 0-1 MAC)
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MUNCIE, Ind. -- Ball State seeks its first conference victory this week while traveling to Kent State and continuing play in the Mid-American Conference. The Cardinals enter their third game in the MAC after falling in three-point shootouts against both Central Michigan and Western Michigan.

** Ball State has absorbed a pair of gut-wrenching defeats in the MAC so far. The Cardinals engineered a five-play, 97-yard two-minute drill touchdown to take a 34-30 lead at Central Michigan, but a victory was snatched from the Cardinals' hands in the final seconds. Last Saturday against Western Michigan, Ball State led 35-31 through three quarters but an interception contributed to consecutive WMU fourth-quarter TDs and a 45-35 deficit.

** The Cardinals continue to be led on offense by redshirt freshman quarterback Kadin Semonza and junior tight end Tanner Koziol. Semonza completed 21 of 35 passes last week for 307 yards, the first 300-yard passing game of his young career. Koziol, meanwhile, caught exactly nine passes, a career-high, for the third straight week. His 102 receiving yards marked the second time in three weeks (112 at CMU) he has gone over 100 receiving yards.

** FCS transfer Braedon Sloan has netted 347 yards on 77 carries this season, in addition to 201 yards on 17 catches. Aside from a 13-yard day at No. 10 Miami, the versatile Sloan has approached or exceeded the 100-yard mark in all-purpose yards in each game: 155 vs. Western Michigan, 103 vs. Missouri State, 94 at CMU and 72 at JMU. His two highlights against WMU were a 72-yard reception which was Ball State's longest offensive play of the season; and a 22-yard TD pass to Christian Abney that was the first pass attempt of his career.

** 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 four-game losing skid and earn its first MAC victory.
** 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:
9 & 7.6: Tanner Koziol is 8th in FBS rankings with 7.6 catches per game. His nine grabs each of the past three weeks match a career high.

133.5: Braedon Sloan's all-purpose yards per game in the MAC are currently seventh in the league (159 rush, 108 rec, 267 total yards).

10 of 11: The Cardinals have scored on 10 of 11 trips into the Red Zone, with touchdowns on nine of those drives (7 passing, 2 rushing).

32:40: The Cardinals rank 15th nationally while possessing the ball nearly 33 minutes per game.

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Cardinals Regroup and Take On Kent State in Road Battle This Saturday

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Players Mentioned

Christian Abney

Tanner Koziol

Kadin Semonza

Braedon Sloan