by Ball State football has one more non-Mid-American Conference (MAC) game in 2025 as the Cardinals take on UConn Saturday, Sept. 20, at 3:30 p.m.
While the Cardinals have played the Huskies in the past — and lead the series 4-0 — this installment is a bit different as some of the Red and White’s representatives will be facing their old squad.
“I spent a lot of time thinking about it in the offseason,” senior defensive end Nathan Voorhis said. “I’ve had this game circled for a long time, but once the season starts, it’s kind of like you gotta take it game by game. Right now, I’m preparing for this game like I did for Purdue, Auburn, New Hampshire, all the same.”
Voorhis played 21 games for UConn in 2022 and 2023 before transferring to Bryant in 2024 and then to Ball State. Redshirt senior linebacker Alfred Chea also transferred to the Cardinals from the Huskies, where he had played since 2020.
Chea said he has the same mindset as his Cardinal teammate.
“It’s just another game,” Chea said. “It’s regular, and I’m looking at it as just another opponent.”
Ball State is coming off the 34-29 victory over New Hampshire in the Cardinals’ home opener. First-year Ball State head coach Mike Uremovich said the team met Sunday to go over the errors that were made in the win. On Monday, he praised their next opponent and believes they will need to be at their best.
“I decided to go play for a good football team. Coach [Jim] Mora has done a great job in this program,” Uremovich said. “They’re 9-4 last year and they’re 1-2 this year, but they could be 3-0 with two overtime losses … They’re a good challenge for us to go back on the road.”
As Uremovich said, the Huskies are coming off two straight overtime losses to Syracuse (27-20) and Delaware (44-41). UConn senior QB1 Joe Fagnano is in his seventh season of college football and is 70-for-106 on the season with 865 passing yards and five touchdowns. He averages just over eight yards per pass.
One of Fagnano’s top targets is senior receiver Skyler Bell. In three games, he has 22 catches for 332 yards and two touchdowns. In the win over New Hampshire, Ball State had seven pass breakups and will try to repeat this against a successful UConn pass game.
Ball State defensive backs coach Ray Smith has preached about getting to the ball, inciting violence and making the tackle when on the field.
“Those are our three main things going into each game, and [against New Hampshire], we really kind of took pride in that,” redshirt junior defensive back Roman Pearson said. “We knew we were gonna have opportunities with the quarterback. We planned to make big plays on the football, and we did that.”
The Huskies’ ground game is led by junior running back Cam Edwards. In 50 carries, he’s pounded for 306 yards and three touchdowns. The UConn offense as a whole has scored 126 points, while Ball State has scored 37.
The Huskies also doubled the Cardinals in offensive yards with 1,575 to 684 in the first three weeks of the season.
“We can’t make mistakes,” Smith said. “We just need to be clean with everything and kind of just roll from there.”
However, while the statistics are in favor of the Huskies, the Cardinals have one goal, regardless of the opponent or their numbers: to keep getting better. With the MAC season just two weeks away, this will be the final game for Ball State to see where they stand before the hunt for a conference title begins.
“I want to see us go and play well on the road. It’s another opportunity to go on the road in a different environment and play, and it’s a really good football team,” Uremovich said. “I’m telling you, they played two overtime games. They’re two plays away from being 3-0 … So it’ll be a good challenge for us.
“It’s really more about us executing, performing and doing what we need to do in all three phases.”
Contact Zach Carter via email at zachary.carter@bsu.edu, zachcarter039@gmail.com or via X @ZachCarter85.
