FOOTBALL GAMEDAY: Cardinals Entertain Family Weekend Crowd in First Home Game Under Uremovich

Ball State (0-2, 0-0 MAC) vs. New Hampshire (2-0, 0-0 CAA)
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MUNCIE, Ind. -- Ball State steps away from the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference this week while hosting FCS power New Hampshire in an annual Family Weekend date to welcome students and families to Scheumann Stadium. The Wildcats are ranked No. 23/24 in national FCS polls. Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m., with tailgate lots open at 10:00. It is the first of five home dates for the Cardinals this season.

-- Ball State Athletics has implemented a clear bag policy this season to help expedite stadium entry for fans. Also new for the 2025 home schedule is a Barnes & Noble Spirit Shop located just inside Gate 1, and a host of new food trucks that will line the perimeter of Scheumann Stadium, offering more food options and shorter wait lines. Also new this year, Apple Pay and Samsung Pay digital options make it easier for fans to purchase their favorite items while cheering on the Cardinals.

-- While the Cardinals' offense was sluggish at Auburn last week, the defense played well despite the 42 points on the scoreboard. The defense had success reaching the Auburn backfield and came away with five sacks and eight tackles for loss. The Cardinals forced four fumbles and missed on a pair of interception opportunities. Michael Gravely Jr., led the attack with seven tackles and a forced fumble. Caden Johnson and Drew Hughes each recorded the first sacks of their career. Nathan Voorhis had a first-quarter strip-sack, and Joey Stemler and Scott Hudson each added sacks as Ball State's defense forced 41 yards in losses for the Tigers. Redshirt junior Dejuan Echoles Jr., forced two fumbles on a pair of tackles for loss.

-- The Cardinals' offense managed six first downs at Auburn. While QB Kiael Kelly was sacked six times and limited on the ground, redshirt junior Eric Weatherly caught five passes for 42 yards to lead Ball State. Dating to his redshirt freshman campaign at Bucknell, Weatherly has caught passes in 25 consecutive games. Entering the 10th start of his career, Kelly boasts 940 career rushing yards, third in school history by a quarterback and just 60 yards from 1,000.

-- Nominated for MAC special teams player of the week and the Ray Guy Award punter of the week, transfer punter Adam Saul booted 10 times last week for a 46.7-yard average. Eight of ten punts covered at least 40 yards, including career-long kicks of 59 and 67.

WHAT A WIN MEANS:
-- Ball State will avenge a 2009 loss to the Wildcats, and win its home opener for the 15th time in the past 16 seasons.
-- Mike Uremovich will log his first victory as Ball State's head coach.

INSIDE THE SERIES: NEW HAMPSHIRE
-- Nearly 16 years ago to the day (Sept. 12, 2009), New Hampshire invaded Scheumann Stadium in the only meeting between the teams. The Wildcats came to Muncie and beat the Cardinals, 23-16.
-- The Wildcats built a 16-6 halftime advantage in 2009, with kicker Ian McCarvey scoring Ball State's first nine points, before a late TD pass from Kelly Page to Seth White.
-- Ball State's career leader in points by a kicker, McCarvey kicked the longest field goals of his career with a 48-yarder to open the scoring on the Cardinals' first possession. He added a 47-yarder moments later for an early 6-0 Ball State lead.

HOME OPENERS
-- Ball State has won its home opener in 14 of the last 15 seasons. The only blemish during that span was a 37-30 setback to Western Michigan in 2022 that doubled as a MAC league opener.

INTO THE BACKFIELD
-- Despite allowing 42 points during last week's 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.

WIDE-RANGING NEW ROSTER
-- The Cardinals have welcomed 53 new players since Mike Uremovich took over as head coach last December, and 33 of those have come from other college programs -- 30 four-year transfers and three junior-college transfers.
-- In addition to the sweeping number of newcomers, Uremovich's staff has utilized a broad search geographically, too. From a preliminary training camp depth chart, 22 offensive and defensive starters came from hometowns in 13 different states -- California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Texas.

QB1: THE LAST TIME AT SCHEUMANN
-- Prior to last week's opener at Purdue, the last time Kiael (pronounced ky-ELL) Kelly started at quarterback was the final game of the 2023 season, a 17-15 home defeat to Miami (Ohio). It capped a six-game stretch in which Kelly finished the 2023 season with a 3-3 record as QB1.
-- In that game, he and RB Marquez Cooper both rushed for 136 yards. It was a career rushing high for the QB from Tampa, Florida, and the third-best single-game rushing effort by a Ball State quarterback.

CAREER RUSHING BY A CARDINALS QB
-- Kiael Kelly is always a threat to gain yards with his legs, and he enters the New Hampshire game 673 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 940 rush yards overall through two weeks of the 2025 season. He is 60 yards from 1,000 in his career -- through just nine starts.

BY THE NUMBERS
4 - The Cardinals forced four fumbles last Saturday at Auburn, and the Tigers put the ball on the turf five times overall.
5 - Ball State managed five sacks, among eight tackles for loss, last week at Auburn. The Cardinals had four sacks by halftime.
14 - Ball State has won its home opener in 14 of the past 15 seasons.
940 - Career rushing yards for QB Kiael Kelly - third-most by a quarterback in Ball State history.

FOOTBALL GAMEDAY: Cardinals Entertain Family Weekend Crowd in First Home Game Under Uremovich

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Players Mentioned

Michael Gravely Jr.

Scott Hudson

Drew Hughes

Caden Johnson

Kiael Kelly

Adam Saul

Joey Stemler

Nathan Voorhis

Eric Weatherly