Ball State University Athletics
Saturday, October 17
Bowling Green, OH
12 p.m.
Ball State University
at
Bowling Green
Photo by: Sam Findley/Ball State Athletics
Cardinals Look to Build Momentum at Bowling Green
October 12, 2026 | Football
MUNCIE, Ind. -- Ball State football returns to Mid-American Conference play this week with a road game against Bowling Green on Saturday. Head coach Mike Uremovich, along with Ben Marsh and Keldric Luster, met with the media early this week to discuss the Cardinals' upcoming conference matchup.
Uremovich highlighted the challenge of facing a Bowling Green team that has won two straight games in MAC play.
"[Bowling Green] is a very disciplined football team, and they're playing their best football right now," Uremovich said. "I mean, obviously they've won two in a row, and they've got us at home. I've coached there before. It's always a really good environment."
The Cardinals will look to slow down Bowling Green's offense, which has found success running the football. Uremovich emphasized the importance of keeping the Falcons from getting into favorable situations on third down.
"That team is really good on offense because they run the football so well," Uremovich said. "When somebody runs the football as well as they do, then the pass game becomes a little bit easier with the play actions and the shots down the field."
Marsh echoed the importance of limiting Bowling Green's rushing attack and keeping quarterback Jay Kastantin contained.
"They like to run the ball, and the main focus this week is on what we're going to do to stop the run and continue to put better effort out on the field every week," Marsh said.
Offensively, Ball State looks to build on the progress it showed against Northwestern. Uremovich said the Cardinals need to turn productive drives into more points while avoiding penalties that can stall the offense.
"We've got to find ways to finish in the red zone, and part of that is not stopping ourselves on drives with pre-snap penalties or post-snap penalties," Uremovich said. "Then, the other part of it is that you don't want to have to go 12 plays every time. You've got to get some explosive plays that are going to put you in the end zone."
Luster remains confident in the direction of the offense and credited the coaching staff with simplifying the game plan and helping Ball State get the ball into the hands of its playmakers.
"I'm pretty confident and pretty positive about where we are as an offense," Luster said. "There's a lot of good things in the tape, and I feel like with the pace we're going offensively, as we continue to put a lot of good things on the tape, the outcome will be more in our favor in these upcoming games."
Ball State also contends with a Bowling Green defense that Uremovich noted ranks at the top of the MAC against the pass and features one of the conference's leading pass rushers in defensive end Myles Bradley. Luster said the Cardinals remain focused on their own execution.
"I'm really not too worried about it. I trust my offensive line," Luster said. "I have all the faith in the world in my offensive line. Like I said, I'm just worried about us. Once we fix us, we'll be fine."
Despite entering the second half of the schedule with a 1-5 record, Marsh said the Cardinals' record does not fully represent the progress he has seen from the team.
"I think we've continued to put better things on film each and every week, and we've continued to improve on both sides of the ball," Marsh said. "I don't think our record really reflects who we are as a team."
Luster expressed similar confidence but emphasized keeping the team's attention on its immediate goals rather than its previous results.
"I'm more than confident," Luster said. "I'm not too worried about what happened in the past or about the future. I'm only worried about today and how we can get better daily and allow us to come out with the win at the end of the week."
Ball State looks to build momentum in conference play as it travels to Bowling Green on Oct. 17, with kickoff slated for noon. Broadcast is available on ESPN+ and WLBC 104.1 FM.
Uremovich highlighted the challenge of facing a Bowling Green team that has won two straight games in MAC play.
"[Bowling Green] is a very disciplined football team, and they're playing their best football right now," Uremovich said. "I mean, obviously they've won two in a row, and they've got us at home. I've coached there before. It's always a really good environment."
The Cardinals will look to slow down Bowling Green's offense, which has found success running the football. Uremovich emphasized the importance of keeping the Falcons from getting into favorable situations on third down.
"That team is really good on offense because they run the football so well," Uremovich said. "When somebody runs the football as well as they do, then the pass game becomes a little bit easier with the play actions and the shots down the field."
Marsh echoed the importance of limiting Bowling Green's rushing attack and keeping quarterback Jay Kastantin contained.
"They like to run the ball, and the main focus this week is on what we're going to do to stop the run and continue to put better effort out on the field every week," Marsh said.
Offensively, Ball State looks to build on the progress it showed against Northwestern. Uremovich said the Cardinals need to turn productive drives into more points while avoiding penalties that can stall the offense.
"We've got to find ways to finish in the red zone, and part of that is not stopping ourselves on drives with pre-snap penalties or post-snap penalties," Uremovich said. "Then, the other part of it is that you don't want to have to go 12 plays every time. You've got to get some explosive plays that are going to put you in the end zone."
Luster remains confident in the direction of the offense and credited the coaching staff with simplifying the game plan and helping Ball State get the ball into the hands of its playmakers.
"I'm pretty confident and pretty positive about where we are as an offense," Luster said. "There's a lot of good things in the tape, and I feel like with the pace we're going offensively, as we continue to put a lot of good things on the tape, the outcome will be more in our favor in these upcoming games."
Ball State also contends with a Bowling Green defense that Uremovich noted ranks at the top of the MAC against the pass and features one of the conference's leading pass rushers in defensive end Myles Bradley. Luster said the Cardinals remain focused on their own execution.
"I'm really not too worried about it. I trust my offensive line," Luster said. "I have all the faith in the world in my offensive line. Like I said, I'm just worried about us. Once we fix us, we'll be fine."
Despite entering the second half of the schedule with a 1-5 record, Marsh said the Cardinals' record does not fully represent the progress he has seen from the team.
"I think we've continued to put better things on film each and every week, and we've continued to improve on both sides of the ball," Marsh said. "I don't think our record really reflects who we are as a team."
Luster expressed similar confidence but emphasized keeping the team's attention on its immediate goals rather than its previous results.
"I'm more than confident," Luster said. "I'm not too worried about what happened in the past or about the future. I'm only worried about today and how we can get better daily and allow us to come out with the win at the end of the week."
Ball State looks to build momentum in conference play as it travels to Bowling Green on Oct. 17, with kickoff slated for noon. Broadcast is available on ESPN+ and WLBC 104.1 FM.
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