by MUNCIE, Ind. — Following Ball State football’s first home game and victory of 2025, first-year head coach Mike Uremovich broke multiple smiles in his post-game press conference.
“These guys have a finite window of time to play college football, and it’s hard to win, and every time they can win, I’m excited for them,” Uremovich said. “As far as me and the coaches, they’re going to have to drag me off the field. I’ll probably die on the field. I’m never going to retire.
“Not that it’s not a big deal for us to get a win, and I’m excited about it, but it’s all for the players. Watching them in the locker room and watching them get excited because they put so much into it, and for them to be able to experience the product of that hard work itself from your watch, that’s my reward.”
But it wasn’t just Uremovich who was happy with the performance and the 34-29 win over New Hampshire. The players echoed his remarks following the Family Weekend triumph.
Redshirt junior running back Qua Ashley — who made his debut in front of the Muncie crowd today — had the most rushing yards for a Ball State player since 2023 with 154 yards. He also had two rushing touchdowns, 33 receiving yards and a touchdown catch.
It was a big day for the new Cardinal.
“I’m not going to say star of the show, but I mean, it’s pretty fun,” Ashley said. “I did my job, and the [offensive] line did their job. We all rallied together as a team to get a team win. So it’s pretty fun as a team.”
The contest did not start the way the Red and Black intended, as they went three-and-out on their opening drive. Attempting a punt, the kick was blocked and the Wildcats returned it for a touchdown, taking a 7-0 lead one minute and seven seconds into the game.
The special teams unit saw multiple issues throughout the day, which included penalties, a fumble on a punt return and a high snap that broke up an extra point attempt.
“They had more than a couple [errors]. They had several,” Uremovich said. “We had a personal foul that was dumb on a kickoff at the end of the [first] half that gave them an opportunity to get a field goal [attempt] up. We’ll fix those tomorrow.”
Yet, Ball State didn’t surrender to those costly mistakes. After the initial New Hampshire score, the Cardinals found a rhythm on both ends of the ball. While Ashley was polishing off his highlight reel, redshirt senior QB1 Kiael Kelly also contributed to Ball State’s ground game, recording 102 yards and a touchdown.
Through the air, Kelly went 9-for-15 with 105 yards, two touchdown throws and an interception. He’s the first Cardinal since 2000 to have over 100 yards rushing and passing. He also crossed the 1,000-yard mark in the win and is third in program history in rushing yards.
Ball State’s defensive unit also had some big-time stats. Though the Wildcats’ offense at times showed why they are the No. 24 team at the FCS level — with 308 passing and 132 rushing yards — the Cardinals had their moments throughout the afternoon. The Red and Black had seven pass breakups, nine tackles for loss, and four sacks.
They did this without redshirt senior Joey Stemler, who was ejected in the second quarter following an unnecessary roughness penalty that was ruled for targeting.
Redshirt senior linebacker Jack Beebe led the team with nine total tackles and had four solo. He said it was the next man up.
“[Guys] stepped up great today, and played a good game … We feel like we’re pretty deep at linebacker,” Beebe said. “So as bad as it was to lose him, we felt like we could just keep on rolling.”
The unit also had multiple big-time stops, which forced New Hampshire to attempt field goals. The Wildcats were two-for-four on the day when it came to kicking the ball through the uprights. The Cardinals didn’t give up a touchdown in the second half.
“I know they’re going to play hard the whole game, and obviously, we fell behind again to start the game. Sometimes, people can’t respond to that,” Ueremovich said. “We went back down the field and scored, and I was happy with the way that they maintained their composure … Play football. You can’t make up for the previous play, and you can’t do anything about something in the fourth quarter. So we’re still learning.”
Ball State will next play UConn Saturday, Sept. 20. The game is set to begin at 3:30.
Contact Zach Carter via email at zachary.carter@bsu.edu, zachcarter039@gmail.com or via X @ZachCarter85.
