Sometimes your best just isn’t enough, a lesson Ball State learned the hard way on Saturday.
The Ball State Cardinals (1-1), fresh off their home-opening win over FCS Missouri State, traveled to Miami to take on the #10 Hurricanes (3-0) on Saturday night.
After a two-and-a-half hour weather delay, and an additional 60 minutes of game clock, the Miami record book would be rewritten several times over, and the Cardinals would find themselves boat-raced in South Beach, going back home to Muncie with a 62-0 drumming on their minds.
As the score would indicate, it was not a close contest, with the visiting Cardinals punting the ball back to the home-standing Hurricanes on every drive save for two: a turnover-on-downs with 2:09 remaining in the first half when Kadin Semonza and Cam Pickett couldn’t connect on fourth-and-three, and a Semonza interception to Elijah Alston on the very next Cardinals possession to give Miami a scoring opportunity before halftime.
The Hurricanes posted their largest-ever shutout of an FBS-level opponent (62-0), and the most offensive yards gained in program history (750) in the victory. The game also secured the team’s best start through three games, as Miami has scored 159 points thus far in 2024.
Kadin Semonza finished 16-of-26 for 111 yards and an interception on the day for Ball State, with Aiden Leffler and Kiael Kelly also taking snaps in the game, Tanner Koziol led the Cards in receiving, with five of the 11 receptions for 39 yards. Running back Braedon Sloan was the team’s leader in scrimmage yards, with 41 receiving yards and 13 rushing yards.
Brian Cooey found himself busy, with 10 punts averaging 44.1 yards, with a long boot of 56 yards and three punts landing inside the 20.
Three Cardinals tied for the tackle lead, with defensive backs DD Snyder, Jalon Jones and Elijah Davis each collecting six stops. Danny Royster and Brandon Berger each had a tackle-for-loss, while Khalib Gilmore had three QB hurries and Blair Schonhorst had a forced fumble.
Cam Ward, a potential Heisman candidate, balled out with a 19-of-28 passing effort, accumulating 346 yardfs and five touchdowns with no interceptions through the air. Back-up Emory Williams also found success, finishing 11-of-12 for 161 yards and a touchdown strike.
Ajay Allen had 104 yards on just seven carries to lead the Hurricanes, scoring on his second touch of the game on a 56-yarder to open the fourth quarter. Jordan Lyle led the team in carries (11) and finished with 71 rushing yards and a touchdown. Mark Fletcher Jr. also highlighted with 53 yards on six carries.
Jacolby George led all receivers with six receptions for 109 yards, scoring once in the third quarter. Xavier Restrepo (three rec., 47 yards) nabbed two touchdowns to lead the Miami effort, while Chris Johnson Jr., Elijah Arroyo and Elija Lofton also scored in the contest.
It was a short night at the office defensively for the Hurricanes, with senior linebacker Francisco Mauigoa topping the tackle charts with six tackles while contributing a tackle-for-loss and a team-leading two pass break-ups. Defensive lineman Simeon Barrow led the team in sacks and tackles-for-loss (1.5) on four total tackles. Fellow D-lineman Elijah Alston nabbed the team’s lone interception, with the unit combining for six QB hurries.
Ball State will now turn to the start of their conference season, as they get set to take on Central Michigan at Kelly/Shorts Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 21st at 1 p.m. Eastern time.
Miami [FL], meanwhile, gets set to cap off their non-conference season against American Athletic Conference foe UCF for a Saturday night tilt. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Eastern time.