by MUNCIE, Ind. — A chance to be the first Ball State football roster to go undefeated at home since 2013.
That’s what was on the line as the Cardinals hosted Mid-American Conference (MAC) foe Eastern Michigan Saturday afternoon. But in their final home game, the outcome was not as planned as Ball State fell to the Eagles 24-15.
“Disappointed with the outcome of the game, disappointed in our coaching staff, disappointed in our players and disappointed in our lack of discipline,” Ball State head coach Mike Uremovich said. “For the first time this year, I felt like we didn’t play Ball State football.”
But the thing that bothered the first-year Cardinals’ head coach the most was where the loss fell: senior day. He said this group deserved more from the program.
“For what they’ve done, they deserve to get a win today and leave this thing undefeated at home. But just because you work doesn’t mean that’s going to happen for you, and that’s the beauty of football,” Uremovich said. “I told them all week that that’s a better football team than their record, and they showed that today.
“But these seniors have been unbelievable. I want to finish it the right way and get these last couple games won, and get them one more football game … They deserve to be in a bowl game for what they’ve done, the way that they act and the way they have led.”
Senior linebacker Joey Stemler said exactly what his coach voiced following his final game in Muncie. Ball State’s defense allowed 380 yards — 229 passing and 151 rushing.
“Guys were trying to do other people’s jobs,” Stemler said. “We didn’t play very sound, and as the leader of the defense, it starts with me. I didn’t do my job to the fullest … We just didn’t play the Ball State way.”
It wasn’t just the Cardinal (4-6, 3-3 MAC) defense that struggled. The offense visited the red zone four times, but came up with only three field goals, failing to score a touchdown in a game for the fourth time this season.
They finished the game by winning the rushing yards battle with 163 yards, but only recorded 62 through the air.
“There was no discipline on either side of the ball, and that shows we are nowhere near where people say we are,” Uremovich said. “Whatever is on that film is what you are as a player and as a coach. It starts with me, obviously, but today was a disappointing performance in every aspect of the program.”
The only performance that seemed positive was redshirt senior kicker DC Pippin, who was three-for-three on field goals — 42, 25, and 38-yard kicks.
But Uremovich has said in the past that the only thing that wins football games is touchdowns, and today’s result could be seen as proof of that. Ball State redshirt senior QB1 Kiael Kelly was 13-for-22 with an interception in his final game at Scheumann Stadium.
Eastern Michigan (4-7, 3-4 MAC) graduate student QB1 Noah Kim finished 18-for-29 and had a touchdown pass. His passes averaged 12.7 yards per play. He did throw two interceptions, thanks to Ball State redshirt senior defensive backs Michael Graveley Jr. and Muheem McCargo.
Yet, Ball State didn’t do anything with those opportunities. That was due to multiple issues throughout the day.
“We had a play that ran down to the four-yard line, and it got called back because we weren’t lined up properly,” Uremovich said. “We had personal fouls that are selfish and completely undisciplined football, which we won’t play here … When you’re not good on offense, you can’t shoot yourself in the foot, and we did that today.”
Though the result was not one the Cardinals wanted, Stemler looked back on his run playing in Muncie. He sai
“You don’t think the time is going to fly by,” he said. “It’s over before you know it … We never question anything, and we are always going to follow Coach U to the end of the road.”
Now with two road games left — Ball State is 0-5 away from home — Uremovich said the goal is to turn this around. And that starts tomorrow.
Their next game will be Saturday, Nov. 15, as they head to Toledo for a 2 p.m. kick.
“Sometimes it takes something like. We’ll let everyone see it tomorrow, and we’ll watch as a team and staff,” Uremovich said. “We all have to be held accountable, and it begins with me, the plays that I called and the way we performed on the film. The film does not lie.”
Contact Zach Carter via email at zachary.carter@bsu.edu, zachcarter039@gmail.com or via X @ZachCarter85.
