The Falcons, looking to stay alive in the race to Detroit, face a struggling but battle-hardened Cardinals team.
The Bowling Green Falcons (6-4, 5-1 MAC) and Ball State Cardinals (3-7, 2-4 MAC) face off in a late season Saturday matchup. The Falcons look to keep their MAC Championship hopes alive, while Ball State looks to avoid a three game losing streak.
Game notes
- Time and Date: Saturday, November 23rd, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time
- Location: Scheumann Stadium in Muncie, Indiana
- Viewing options: The game will be available on ESPN+. A valid subscription is required for viewing. Michael Reghi (play-by-play) and Jerod Cherry (color) will provide commentary.
- Radio options: For Ball State, Mick Tidrow (play-by-play) and Chris Radican (color) will provide the call on WMUN 92.5 FM/1340 AM. For BGSU, Todd Walker (play-by-play) and John Gibson (color) will provide the call on Eagle FM 99.
- Gambling considerations: Bowling Green (-11.5), over/under 57 per DraftKings.
- All-time series: Bowling Green leads 22-9-1, with BG beating Ball State by a final score of 24-21 on Nov. 1, 2023.
What Happened Last Time?
The Falcons and Cardinals faced off in an early Midweek MACtion contest. Bowling Green went into the half leading 14-7. After Ball State tied the game at 14, Bowling Green would score ten in the fourth quarter to win 24-21. The Cardinals had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds, but Jackson Courville’s field goal attempt fell short. Ball State would lose bowl eligibility after that game.
Getting to know the Falcons
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The Falcons are coming off a convincing 31-13 win over Western Michigan. This is the first game in Muncie for the Falcons since 2015, and Bowling Green has won eight of the last ten matchups.
Connor Bazelak is currently at 2,198 passing yards, 13 touchdowns, and four interceptions. It’s evident he’s playing at a very high level. He’s making good decisions, with his early season penchant for throwing picks seeming to have gone away in the league season, with zero tossed in six straight games. The Cardinals allow an average of 289.1 pass yards/game— last in the MAC and amongst the worst in the NCAA. Bazelak has a chance to put up high numbers.
Terion Stewart has 100+ rushing yards in four games this season, a mark which should also concern Ball State fans, as the Cards allow an average of 173.1 rush yards/game (ninth in MAC). Stewart currently sits at 824 yards and six touchdowns on the season; a good performance against a flimsy rushing defense could set him up for a 1,000+ yard season with the postseason on the horizon.
All that is before mentioning Biletnikoff Award semi-finalist tight end Harold Fannin Jr., who has racked up 1,170 yards (second in NCAA overall, first amongst tight ends) and eight touchdowns.
The Falcon defense is on a roll as well coming into this matchup, forcing eight turnovers in their last four games. In the MAC, they rank first in passing defense (171.2 yards per game), and fourth in total yards allowed (334.7 yards per game). While they still allow 163.5 rushing yards per game (seventh in MAC), they’ve allowed an average of 128 rushing yards over the last three games.
Getting to know the Cardinals
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The Cardinals are coming off a heartbreaking 51-48 overtime loss to Buffalo, which took them out of bowl eligibility for a third-consecutive season. On top of that, head coach Mike Neu was relieved of his coaching duties afterwards, with offensive line coach Colin Johnson stepping in for the duration of the season.
Despite the adversity, redshirt freshman Kadin Semonza has been throwing well for the Cardinals. He has 2,356 passing yards and 20 touchdowns— though he does have 10 interceptions to pair with them. Semonza has cleaned up his game in league play, with just three picks in his last five games, but considering all of Ball State’s MAC games have been decided by a single score, it has more often than not resulted in a loss. Semonza will have to make the right throws against a Falcons defense which leads the MAC in passing defense, to give BSU a chance to pull off what would be a league-altering upset.
Braden Sloan leads the Cardinals with 539 rushing yards and four touchdowns. He’s a bright spot in an offense that averages 115.3 rushing yards per game (10th in MAC). Tight end Tanner Koziol is the engine which makes the offense work, racking up 724 yards and seven touchdowns on the season, ranking third in the NCAA amongst tight ends in receiving yards. Since Justin Bowick’s return to the offense a month ago after injury, the Cardinals have been able to find some verticality. The junior passcatcher has hauled in 319 yards and three touchdowns on just 15 receptions in the last two games, and will be a major key to the Cardinals gameplan.
Defensively, as mentioned previously, the Cardinals rank in the bottom third for pass and rush defense in the conference. If they want to play spoiler, the defense needs to have an huge day.
What Each Team Needs
Bowling Green cannot take this game lightly. If the Falcons are to have a shot at the MAC Championship, they must win this game.
Ball State will need to find a way to stay composed, and make that extra play. The Cardinals are 3-7 in one possession games. It all starts on defense.