FOOTBALL GAMEDAY: Cardinals Visit SEC Stadium for Fourth Time in Four Seasons

Ball State (0-1, 0-0 MAC) at Auburn (1-0, 0-0 SEC)
Game 2 - at Auburn	Saturday, Sept. 6 at 7:30 p.m. ET (6:30 p.m. CT) Live Stats \| ESPNU
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MUNCIE, Ind. -- Ball State makes a return visit to the Southeastern Conference this week, playing at an SEC stadium for the 11th time in history and the fourth time at Auburn. In recent years, the Cardinals opened the 2022 campaign at Tennessee; then played their first two games of 2023 at Kentucky and Georgia. Ball State skipped the SEC last year while playing a Week 2 road game at Miami. The Cardinals previously played at Auburn in 2001, 2005 and 2009.

-- Ball State's 53 newcomers dropped a disappointing 31-0 decision at Purdue in last week's opening game, and the first game of the Mike Uremovich coaching era. But the defeat was not without a few positives after four consecutive punts to begin the game and facing an early 21-0 deficit. "Purdue didn't beat Ball State," Uremovich stated. "Ball State beat Ball State because we weren't being fundamentally sound. Those are things we can fix, and we will fix them."

-- Offensive stars included redshirt senior QB Kiael Kelly who rushed for a team-high 63 yards on a career-high 22 carries, and transfer running back Qua Ashley who ran for 45 yards on 10 carries. Entering the ninth start of his career, Kelly boasts 961 career rushing yards, third in school history by a quarterback and just 39 yards from 1,000.

-- After punts on its first four offensive series -- three on 3-and-out possessions, Ball State punted just once the rest of the way and allowed its defense some needed time off the field. While Adam Saul booted five times for a 40.8-yard average, the Cardinals moved into scoring position twice in the second half but missed on 45- and 29-yard field goal attempts.

-- The defensive unit got a team-high five tackles from senior linebacker Joey Stemler, and four apiece from senior transfers Alfred Chea and Nathan Voorhis. Voorhis registered his first sack of the season, among five Ball State tackles for loss. The Cardinals limited Purdue to 93 rushing yards as Ball State's rushing game "out-averaged" the Boilermakers, 3.2 yards per carry to 3.1.

WHAT A WIN MEANS:
-- Ball State will beat an SEC opponent for the first time in 14 tries.
-- Mike Uremovich will log his first victory as Ball State's head coach.

INSIDE THE SERIES: AUBURN
-- In what will be the fourth game Ball State has played at Auburn, it is the most games the Cardinals have ever played against any SEC opponent.
-- Jordan-Hare Stadium hosts the Cardinals for the fourth time on Saturday. It is also the most visits by any MAC opponent at Auburn. (Akron has visited Auburn twice.)
-- The Week 2 matchup at Auburn is fitting this season. In 2001, the Cardinals and Tigers met in the season opener. In 2005, they met in Week 3 and in 2009, it was in Week 4.

VS. SEC
-- Ball State faced SEC opponents in consecutive
weeks to begin the 2023 campaign, and the Cardinals return to SEC country again this week.
-- The Cardinals are seeking their first win against an SEC opponent. Ball State is 0-13 against teams currently in the SEC and 0-10 against SEC foes at the time of the game (Auburn
0-3; Kentucky 0-2; Florida 0-1; Georgia 0-1; Missouri 0-3 while in Big XII; South Carolina 0-1; Tennessee 0-1; Texas A&M 0-1).

FIRST TWO WEEKS
-- For the second time in three seasons, Ball State opens its season with a pair of games against Power-4 conferences. The Cardinals opened the 2023 campaign at Kentucky and Georgia.

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 OUT
-- 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 Auburn game 652 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 961 rush yards overall after tallying 63 at Purdue last week. He is 39 yards from 1,000 in his career -- through just eight starts.

CONSECUTIVE GAMES WITH A RECEPTION
-- Wide receiver Eric Weatherly has caught a pass in 24 consecutive games, counting 23 over every game with Bucknell the past two seasons.
Only 14 receivers in the country have caught passes in more consecutive games - including Auburn's Eric Singleton.

BY THE NUMBERS
1 - Ball State returns one rushing TD from its 2024 roster: Kiael Kelly's 9-yard, opening-drive score at Vanderbilt came in a wildcat formation.
33 - Total transfers on the Cardinals' roster. Among 30 four-year transfers and three junior college transfers, 11 are seniors.
54 - Mike Uremovich's full-time coaching staff at Ball State accounts for 54 career appearances in FBS bowl games.
961 - Career rushing yards for QB Kiael Kelly - third-most by a quarterback in Ball State history.

FOOTBALL GAMEDAY: Cardinals Visit SEC Stadium for Fourth Time in Four Seasons

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Players Mentioned

Qua Ashley

Alfred Chea

Kiael Kelly

Adam Saul

Joey Stemler

Nathan Voorhis

Eric Weatherly