FOOTBALL GAMEDAY: Ball State Visits Western Michigan in Week Two of MAC Play

Ball State (2-3, 1-0 MAC) at Western Michigan (3-3, 2-0 MAC)
Game 6 - at Western Michigan	Saturday, Oct. 11 at 3:30 p.m. ET Live Stats \| ESPN+
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TOGETHER - A Ball State Sports Link Documentary Series	Episode 1 \| Episode 2 \| Episode 3 \| Episode 4 \| Episode 5

MUNCIE, Ind. -- Ball State ventures to Kalamazoo, Michigan, this week, after upending defending Mid-American Conference champion Ohio, 20-14, in last week's MAC opener in Muncie. Ball State continues its 51st season in the MAC while meeting the Broncos for the 52nd time since the schools' first meeting in 1971.

-- The Cardinals fell behind 14-0 last week following Bobcats touchdowns in the first and second quarters, but a stellar defensive effort limited Ohio to just 95 yards of offense in the second half. Ball State scored 10 points in each of the third and fourth periods and took its first lead on a 43-yard, game-winning TD pass from Kiael Kelly to Qian Magwood with 57 seconds remaining.

-- Ball State defensive end Nathan Voorhis was stellar against Ohio, registering 3.5 sacks and another QB hurry. He had a team-high eight tackles while taking over the FBS lead in sacks, with eight through five games (1.60 per game). He was named the MAC's Defensive Player of the Week.

-- Voorhis ignited a Cardinals defense that limited Ohio to just 95 total yards in the second half. The Cardinals rallied to outgain Ohio 344-188 over the final three periods, helping to erase the 14-point deficit. He was named the MAC Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts.

-- Offensively, Ball State strung together six drives of eight plays or more, and for the first time this season had multiple drives of at least 10 plays. Four of six second-half possessions consumed at least nine plays for Ball State.

-- The Ball State offense has compiled more first downs and more total offense than its opponent in consecutive games, for the first time since the Kiael Kelly-led Ball State offense did the same against Kent State and Miami in the final two games of the 2023 campaign.

WHAT A WIN MEANS:
-- Ball State will start 2-0 in the MAC for the first time since a 3-0 start in 2019. With Buffalo idle this week, Ball State would move into a first-place tie with the Bulls.
-- Ball State will snap a three-game losing skid against the Broncos. Ball State's last wins in the series came in back-to-back years in 2020 and 2021.
-- Ball State will win consecutive games for the first time since beating Northern Illinois and Kent State in consecutive weeks in November 2023.

INSIDE THE SERIES: WESTERN MICHIGAN
-- Last season's 45-42 loss to the Broncos at home marked the fifth time in seven years that a contest between the two teams has been decided by five points or less.
-- The Cardinals and Broncos lit up the scoreboard for 87 combined points last season. Over the past decade, only 89-point games against Eastern Michigan (2016) and Central Michigan (2019) send more points to the scoreboard.
-- The Cardinals' (14) and Broncos' (21) combined 35 points in the first quarter last season were the most combined points in a first quarter of any Ball State game since at least 2000. The previous mark during that span was in 2015 (Texas A&M 28, Ball State 3).
-- Cardinals touchdowns against WMU last season included a pass by a running back to a tight end (Braedon Sloan to Christian Abney) and an offensive TD reception by a nose tackle (Drew Hughes).
-- Ball State secured its place in the 2020 MAC Championship game by defeating Western Michigan inside Scheumann Stadium, paving the way for the Cardinals' sixth conference title in program history.
-- The longest game in Ball State history was a 60-57, five-overtime win at Western Michigan in 2005.

LONG PASS PLAYS & YARDS COME VS. BRONCOS
-- Ball State's two longest pass plays since 2000 both have come against WMU:
   - 75 yards, Drew Plitt to Jalen McGaughey, Oct. 9, 2021 at WMU
   - 72 yards, Kadin Semonza to Braedon Sloan, Oct. 5, 2024 vs. WMU
-- Ball State's longest pass play in 2023, also came against Western Michigan on Layne Hatcher's 57-yard TD pass to Ahmad Edward.
-- Two of the Cardinals' last three 300-yard passing games both have come against Broncos -- Hatcher's 316 in 2023 and Semonza's 307 in 2024.

EVERY GAME TIGHT IN THE MAC
-- Counting last week's Ohio win, ten of Ball State's past 13 games in the MAC have been decided by six points or less. Ten of the last 13 have been decided by seven or less.
-- Six out of eight Ball State games in the Mid-American Conference last year were decided by six points or less -- five of those by three points or less.
-- The only games not decided by six points or less were the season's final two games following a coaching change.
-- It marked the first time in program history with six or more MAC games decided by 6 points or fewer.

LIMIT THE FLAGS
-- Ball State is the MAC's leader in fewest penalties (22), fewest penalty yards (178) and fewest penalty yards per game (35.00).
Buffalo leads the MAC in fewest penalties per game (4.33), with the Cardinals second (4.40)

VOORHIS LEADING DEFENSIVE LINE SURGE
-- Nathan Voorhis (pronounced VORR-is) has had a sack in four of Ball State's five games, and boasts six sacks in the Cardinals' two home games, alone.
-- His 3.5 sacks against Ohio set a career-high and his eight total sacks through five games (1.6 per game) are tops among all FBS players.

FBS Sacks Leaders
Player   Gms   Sacks   Yds   SPG
1.   Nathan Voorhis, Ball State   5   8.0   48   1.60
2.   Cashius Howell, Tex A&M   5   7.0   50   1.40
3.   John Henry Daley, Utah   5   6.5   58   1.30
4.   David Bailey, Texas Tech   5   5.5   52   1.10
5.   Vincent Anthony Jr., Duke   6   6.5   30   1.08
   Bryun Parham, UConn   6   6.5   47   1.08

CARDINALS' ALL-TIME SACKS LEADERS
-- Current sack leader Nathan Voorhis boasts 8.0 sacks on the year, already more than last year's leader, Riley Tolsma, who had 5.5.
-- Voorhis is already just the sixth Ball State player since 2000 to record at least eight sacks in a season. His current total of 8.0 matches the season total of All-MAC defender Sidney Houston in 2023.
-- Voorhis is on pace to challenge Ball State's all-time sack leaders. The stat has been an official NCAA statistic since 2000, placing Anthony Winbush as the Cardinals' "NCAA-recognized official" record-holder with 11.5 sacks in 2017.
-- Ball State has maintained sack statistics since 1978, however, with Kelly George (1982) and Craig Newburg (1981) both owning their place in the Cardinals' record book with 13 in those seasons.
-- Voorhis is one of 17 Ball State players ever to record at least eight sacks in a season -- though surely the first to do so in the season's first five games.

CARDINALS AND BRONCOS BOTH AMONG MAC & FBS SACK LEADERS
-- As a team, Ball State's 15 sacks trail only Western Michigan's 23 total sacks among MAC teams. The Broncos' 3.83 per-game average through six games ranked third in the country, while Ball State's 3.00 over five games is 13th.

INTO THE BACKFIELD
-- Against Auburn and New Hampshire, the Ball State defense generated exactly five sacks and eight TFL in consecutive games.
-- The Cardinals defense thrived in the New Hampshire backfield on Sept. 13, allowing just two offensive touchdowns and forcing four field goal attempts.
-- Despite allowing 42 points during a Sept. 6 visit to Auburn, the Cardinals got consistent pressure into the Tigers' backfield. Ball State managed eight tackles for loss that totaled 41 yards. The Cardinals recorded five sacks and forced four fumbles.
-- At Connecticut, the Cardinals didn't record a sack but they limited the Huskies to just 181 passing yards -- the fewest by an opposing offense this season.
-- In the MAC opener against Ohio, the Cardinals got four more sacks with six TFL. Nathan Voorhis was in on all four sacks and the Cardinals erased an early deficit by limiting the Bobcats to just 95 offensive yards after halftime.

MAGWOOD & KELLY CONNECT -- AGAIN
-- In each of the past two games, connections between Kiael Kelly and Qian Magwood have been explosive!
-- In last week's win, Kelly found Magwood for a 43-yard game-winning TD down the left sideline with 57 seconds remaining in the game.
-- Two of the three times that Kelly and Magwood connected on pass routes at UConn, they were both explosive.
-- On the final play of the first quarter, Kelly found Magwood on a screen pass. Magwood sprinted down the right sideline for 53 yards for what was the longest catch of Magwood's career and the longest pass of Kelly's.
-- One play later, to open the second quarter, Kelly handed to Magwood on a reverse, and ventured into his own route in the right flat. On the first pass of his career, Magwood found Kelly for a 19-yard TD, reaching the end zone for Ball State's first score.
-- Two consecutive plays covered 72 yards with career longs and career firsts for both of them.

MAGWOOD'S BEST GAMES
-- Magwood has had big plays in each of the Cardinals' past two games, and his 92 receiving yards on four receptions against Ohio were the second-best of his career, behind a 9-catch, 110-yard afternoon at Western Michigan two seasons ago.
-- His 32-yard zig-zagging, highlight-reel touchdown run at Waldo Stadium in 2023 was his longest career TD catch until last week's 43-yard game-winning score.

BETTER CALL SAUL
-- Transfer punter Adam Saul ranks seventh in the MAC and 57th nationally with a 42.3-yard punting average.
-- Saul owns four punts of at least 50 yards this year, including a 55-yard boot at UConn, a 62-yard kick against Ohio and his career-long 67-yarder at Purdue.
-- Eight of his 28 punts have landed inside the opponent's 20-yard line.
-- His 62-yarder against Ohio landed at the Bobcats' 1-yard line and on their first play from scrimmage after the punt, Ball State recorded a safety to pull within 14-12 in an eventual upset win.

STRONG IN RUN GAME IS UREMOVICH MANTRA
-- Since hired last December, head coach Mike Uremovich has preached a strong run game.
-- Ball State rushed 37 times for 176 yards at UConn, and 42 times for 172 yards against Ohio. The Cardinals have averaged 218.7 rushing yards over their past three games.
-- Ball State's 308 rushing yards against New Hampshire were the most Ball State rush yards since Nov. 23, 2019 when they ran for 330 at Kent State.
-- The Cardinals had 243 yards on just 15 carries at halftime against UNH. It was just the 15th 300-yard rushing game in Ball State's 101-year football history.

ALL-PURPOSE ASHLEY
-- Active in the run game, pass game and Ball State's primary kickoff returner, Qua Ashley is averaging 112.2 all-purpose yards per game to rank second in the Mid-American Conference and 31st nationally.
-- He is one of five MAC players averaging over 100 all-purpose yards per game.
-- Ashley boasts 316 rushing yards over five games, with 75 receiving. He owns 170 yards on kickoff returns.

ASHLEY THE FEATURE BACK
-- Qua Ashley carried a career-high 18 times at UConn for 86 yards. He has averaged 120 rushing yards over his past two games.
-- Ashley's 154 rushing yards against New Hampshire were the most by a Ball State back since Marquez Cooper had 162 vs. Central Michigan in 2023.
-- Ashley's 72-yard TD run against the Wildcatss was Ball State's longest run play since a 73-yard TD run by Walter Fletcher against Ohio in 2019.
-- Ashley's 72-yard TD run vs. UNH was the longest run of his career and the longest offensive play of Ball State's season.
-- It was the first 100-yard rushing game of Ashley's career.
-- Ashley also leads the club with 14 receptions, ahead of Eric Weatherly's 11.

MORE RUSHING: 100 x 2
-- Qua Ashley (154) and Kiael Kelly (101) both rushed for 100+ yards against New Hampshire.
-- The last time two Ball State players had 100+ rushing yards in the same game was in Kelly's last home start: Kelly and Marquez Cooper and both had 136 yards vs Miami (Nov 25, 2023). Kelly's 136 rushing yards in that game are a career high.

KELLY PASSING HIGHS
-- Kiael (pronounced ky-ELL) Kelly has had the two best passing games of his career in Ball State's last two games.
-- He had career highs with 17 completions and 209 passing yards at UConn two weeks ago, in addition to catching the first touchdown pass of his career.
-- He had similar numbers against Ohio, with 17 completions again, and a career-high 33 pass attempts. His 185 passing yards were the second best of his career.
-- Kelly's 53-yard strike to Qian Magwood, one play before his 19-yard TD reception from Magwood, was the longest throw of his career.
-- In the midst of a 100-yard rushing game against New Hampshire two games ago, Kelly also tossed two passing TDs for the first time in his career.
-- He has accounted for (passed or scored) at least two touchdowns in each of the Cardinals' past three games.

KELLY AS QB1
-- Kiael Kelly has appeared in 29 career games and been a starter in 14 games overall (twice at WR, once as utility QB).
-- But in the 11 games in which he has started as Ball State's primary QB, Kelly has amassed 903 rushing yards on 186 carries, for an average of 82.1 yards per game.
-- He has rushed for 90+ yards in six of his 11 starts as QB1, including games this year against New Hampshire and Ohio.
-- Ball State finished 3-3 after Kelly took the quarterback reins in Week 7 of the 2023 season.
-- With Kelly at the helm in 2023, Ball State averaged 235.3 rush yards over its last six games.

RUSH AND PASS FOR 100
-- Against New Hampshire, Kiael Kelly became the first Ball State player with 100 yards rushing (101) and passing (105) since 2000.
-- Since at least 1995, it was just the third time a Ball State player has rushed and passed for over 100 yards in the same game.
-- He was four rushing yards shy of repeating the feat against Ohio (96 rushing, 185 passing).

CAREER RUSHING BY A CARDINALS QB
-- Kiael Kelly is always a threat to gain yards with his legs, and he enters the Ohio game 449 yards shy of the Cardinals' career record for rushing yards by a quarterback. He is currently third in career rush yards by a QB.
-- He tallied 83 yards in one game as a reserve in 2022. He rushed for 724 yards during a six-game stint as starter in 2023, and he compiled 91 lining up as a QB or wildcat last season.
-- Those 724 yards over just six games in 2023 stand as a Ball State single-season record for a quarterback.
-- He boasts 1,164 career rush yards overall through five games of the 2025 season.

Ball State Career Rushing Yards by a Quarterback
Player   Yards   Carries
1.   Art Yaroch, 1973-76   1,613   421
2.   Riley Neal, 2015-18   1,363   325
3.   Kiael Kelly, 2022-present   1,164   261
4.   Dave Wilson, 1976-79   693   320
5.   Talmadge Hill, 2000-03   582   309

GAMES WITH 100 RUSHING YARDS BY A QB
-- Kiael Kelly is just the second quarterback in Ball State history to rush for at least 100 yards in two different games. The other, Art Yaroch (pronounced yuh-ROW), quarterbacked the Cardinals from 1973-76 -- in Ball State's first season in the MAC in 1975, and in their first league championship season a year later.

Career Games w/ 100+ Rush Yds by a Ball State QB
Player   100+ Games
1.   Art Yaroch, 1973-76   4
2.   Kiael Kelly, 2022-present   2

SIX TIGHT ENDS
-- Likely the Cardinals' deepest position, five primary tight ends see regular action for Ball State -- Kameron Anthony, Drew Cassens, Koby Gross, Maximus Webster and Tate Hoover. Another, veteran Jackson Constantine who has played at LB, DL, OL and now TE, is a regular on special teams units.
- All six have played in all five games.
-- In fact, at UConn, all six had played within the game's first two offensive series. Constantine played on the Cardinals' kickoff team and when Ball State took over on offense, Anthony, Cassens and Hoover all lined up on the first play. Gross and Webster were quick substitutions during a 3-and-out offensive series.
-- Anthony is a highly regarded redshirt freshman who caught his first career pass against New Hampshire, for a 10-yard touchdown. He is the largest target of all of them.
-- Cassens is a transfer from Butler where he played with Uremovich in 2024. He also logged two seasons at Northern Illinois.
-- Gross is a transfer from Florida A&M who hails from San Ramon, California. He was All-SWAC for the Rattlers before arriving at Ball State.
-- Webster, is the fastest of the tight end crew, and with good hands is a staple in the pass game.
-- Hoover, a junior college transfer from Kansas, has started in three games and also is active on special teams.
-- So far this year, Gross has four catches, with two apiece by Anthony and Webster. Cassens also has a reception.

CONSECUTIVE GAMES WITH A RECEPTION
-- Wide receiver Eric Weatherly has caught a pass in 28 consecutive games, counting 23 over every game with Bucknell the past two seasons.
Only 11 receivers in the country have caught passes in more consecutive games.

BY THE NUMBERS
4-3 - Kiael Kelly's record in the MAC as QB1. He was 3-3 during a six-game stretch in 2023, and 1-0 to begin the 2025 campaign.
8 - FBS-leading sacks by Nathan Voorhis, through five games, are the most by a Cardinal since Sidney Houston had eight in the 2023 season.
15 - Ball State's sack total ranks 13th nationally with 3.0 per game. WMU leads the MAC and is third in FBS with 3.83 per game (23 in 6 games).
200 - Kiael Kelly (1,164) is exactly 200 yards from replacing Riley Neal (1,363) in second place among career rushing leaders by a Ball State QB.

FOOTBALL GAMEDAY: Ball State Visits Western Michigan in Week Two of MAC Play

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Players Mentioned

Christian Abney

Kameron Anthony

Qua Ashley

Drew Cassens

Jackson Constantine

Koby Gross

Tate Hoover

Drew Hughes

Kiael Kelly

Qian Magwood

Adam Saul

Kadin Semonza

Braedon Sloan

Riley Tolsma

Nathan Voorhis

Eric Weatherly

Maximus Webster