by Though it feels like it began just yesterday, Ball State football’s non-Mid-American Conference (MAC) schedule is over. The Cardinals finished the four-game stretch 1-3, and await their first MAC contest Oct. 4 as Ohio makes a stop at Scheumann Stadium Saturday, Oct. 4
But until that time comes, the Cardinals will have a bye week to prepare. Their first four games revealed a range of outcomes, with some positive and others negative.
Here are my three biggest notes from what we’ve seen so far.
Ball State’s offense needs to be more diverse
I doubt first-year Ball State head coach Mike Uremovich has used much of his playbook against non-MAC opponents, and that’s probably for good reason.
The Cardinals have heavily relied on the run game so far, and while that has worked, they will need to throw the football at some point. But I don’t mean screen passes or four-yard chunk plays.
In total, the Cardinals have 1,088 offensive yards, which is ninth out of 13 teams in the MAC. Their 491 passing yards are second-to-last in the conference. Through his first three games, redshirt sophomore QB1 Kiael Kelly only threw the pigskin 47 times, completing 29 of those.
In their last game — a 31-25 loss to UConn — Kelly was able to use his arm more, finishing the day 17-for-24 with 209 passing yards.
This allowed the Cardinals to capitalize in certain moments and made Ball State’s run game more impactful to throw the Huskies off rhythm. This needs to be the new normal for the conference season, as the rest of the MAC knows Kelly and redshirt junior running back Qua Ashley can run wild.
But the 12 other conference opponents might have issues with the Cardinals’ pass game due to limited film from the season. This is where Uremovich can mix and match the offense to will the Red and White to success.
Easy Cardinal mistakes have to be limited
With this being a program with an almost entirely new staff and so many new players, there are certain to be growing pains. That’s why the 2025 non-MAC season, in my opinion, was so important for Ball State.
But four games into the season, we still saw the Cardinals make easy mistakes, and some of them were not gameplay. In Ball State’s home win over New Hampshire Saturday, Sept. 13, senior linebacker Joey Stemler was ejected in the second quarter for a late hit that was ruled targeting.
While the situation itself and when the whistle was blown can all be questioned, one thing is for certain: that can’t happen going forward.
Yet, in the Cardinals’ loss to the Huskies, redshirt senior linebacker Jack Beebe committed a roughing the passer penalty on third down inside Ball State’s 10-yard line. This gave UConn a fresh set of downs, which was used to score a touchdown, arguably a score that decided the game.
That type of mistake cannot be made in MACtion. With many conference games coming down to who makes the fewest mistakes, and for Ball State, errors like the two mentioned will not help them in tight scenarios.
My thoughts on the Cardinals’ early MAC schedule
Ball State doesn’t get an easy opponent in its first conference game of the season.
The Ohio Bobcats currently sit in fifth place in the conference after their first four games, in which they finished 2-2. They are No. 2 in the MAC for total offense (1,658 yards), passing yards (889) and rushing yards (769).
The Cardinals don’t crack the top five in any of those categories. This will be a big game for the Red and White as we will see if they can handle a top MAC offense. On the flip side, both defenses are very similar stat-wise.
Then Ball State will play Western Michigan, which is just one of four MAC teams that have already played a conference game — the Broncos topped Toledo 14-13 Saturday, Sept. 20. I think both of these contests will prove what this MAC season could look like for Ball State, and they may answer me and Cardinal fans alike.
But time will tell, and we have 11 days before we receive those answers. It’s also 11 days for Ball State to tie up any loose ends before the main event arrives.
Contact Zach Carter via email at zachary.carter@bsu.edu, zachcarter039@gmail.com or via X @ZachCarter85.
