2023 Ball State Cardinals football team explained

Year:	2023
Team:	Ball State Cardinals
Sport:	football
Conference:	Mid-American Conference
Division:	West Division
Short Conf:	MAC
Record:	4–8
Conf Record:	3–5
Head Coach:	Mike Neu
Hc Year:	8th
Off Coach:	Kevin Lynch
Oc Year:	4th
Cooff Coach1:	Jared Elliott
Cooc1 Year:	1st
Off Scheme:	Multiple
Def Coach:	Tyler Stockton
Dc Year:	5th
Def Scheme:	3–4
Stadium:	Scheumann Stadium

The 2023 Ball State Cardinals football team represented Ball State University during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cardinals were led by eighth-year head coach Mike Neu and played their home games at Scheumann Stadium in Muncie, Indiana. They competed as members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference.^{[1] [2]} They finished the season 4–8 and 3–5 in conference play^[3]

Preseason

Preseason polls

Coaches Poll

On July 20, the MAC announced the preseason coaches poll. Ball State was picked to finish fifth in the West.^[4]

East
1	Ohio	63 (9)
2	Miami	52 (2)
3	Buffalo	51 (1)
4	Bowling Green	35
5	Akron	26
6	Kent State	19

West
1	Toledo	66 (11)
2	Eastern Michigan	55 (1)
3	Northern Illinois	38
4	Central Michigan	37
5	Ball State	27
6	Western Michigan	23

Coaches poll (MAC Championship)
1	Toledo	7
2	Ohio	4
3	Buffalo	1

Schedule

^{[5] [6]}

Game summaries

at Kentucky

See also: 2023 Kentucky Wildcats football team.

Statistics	BALL	UK
First downs	18	17
Total yards	71–295	51–354
Rushing yards	41–72	20–113
Passing yards	223	241
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	22–30–0	18–31–1
Time of possession	38:16	21:44

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Ball State	Passing	Kadin Semonza	15/21, 165 yards, TD
Rushing		15 carries, 33 yards
Receiving	Ty Robinson	5 receptions, 90 yards, TD
Kentucky	Passing		18/31, 241 yards, TD, INT
Rushing		14 carries, 112 yards, 2 TD
Receiving		5 receptions, 96 yards, TD

at No. 1 Georgia

See also: 2023 Georgia Bulldogs football team.

Statistics	BALL	UGA
First downs	13	22
Total yards	65–224	61–386
Rushing yards	28–77	28–99
Passing yards	147	287
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	18–37–3	24–33–1
Time of possession	31:28	28:32

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Ball State	Passing	Layne Hatcher	10/16, 82 yards
Rushing	Charlie Spegal	4 carries, 32 yards
Receiving	Ahmad Edwards	4 receptions, 47 yards
Georgia	Passing		23/30, 283 yards, 2 TD, INT
Rushing		6 carries, 38 yards, TD
Receiving		2 receptions, 50 yards

Indiana State

See also: 2023 Indiana State Sycamores football team and Blue Key Victory Bell.

Statistics	ISU	BALL
First downs	12	26
Total yards	53–261	66–425
Rushing yards	32–104	42–288
Passing yards	157	137
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	9–21–1	18–24–0
Time of possession	26:59	33:01

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Indiana State	Passing	Elijah Owens	9/21, 157 yards, TD, INT
Rushing	Tee Hodge	9 carries, 46 yards
Receiving	Harry Van Dyne	3 receptions, 80 yards
Ball State	Passing	Kadin Semonza	17/22, 137 yards, 2 TD
Rushing	Marquez Cooper	22 carries, 177 yards, TD
Receiving	Tanner Koziol	7 receptions, 60 yards, TD

Georgia Southern

See also: 2023 Georgia Southern Eagles football team.

Statistics	GASO	BALL
First downs	25	10
Total yards	77–530	55–197
Rushing yards	27–167	28–37
Passing yards	363	160
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	36–50–0	14–29–2
Time of possession	30:41	29:19

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Georgia Southern	Passing		34/46, 344 yards, 4 TD
Rushing	OJ Arnold	9 carries, 90 yards
Receiving	Khaleb Hood	7 receptions, 107 yards, TD
Ball State	Passing	Kadin Semonza	11/23, 123 yards, 2 INT
Rushing	Marquez Cooper	9 carries, 16 yards
Receiving	Rico Barfield	2 receptions, 50 yards

at Western Michigan

See also: 2023 Western Michigan Broncos football team.

Statistics	BALL	WMU
First downs	19	26
Total yards	63–364	75–461
Rushing yards	26–48	36–133
Passing yards	316	328
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	26–37–0	24–39–0
Time of possession	29:37	30:23

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Ball State	Passing	Layne Hatcher	26/37, 316 yards, 3 TD
Rushing	Marquez Cooper	15 carries, 82 yards
Receiving	Qian Magwood	9 receptions, 110 yards, TD
Western Michigan	Passing		24/39, 328 yards, 3 TD
Rushing	Zahir Abdus-Salaam	8 carries, 53 yards, 2 TD
Receiving	Anthony Sambucci	5 receptions, 73 yards, 3 TD

at Eastern Michigan

See also: 2023 Eastern Michigan Eagles football team.

Toledo

See also: 2023 Toledo Rockets football team.

Central Michigan

See also: 2023 Central Michigan Chippewas football team.

at Bowling Green

See also: 2023 Bowling Green Falcons football team.

at Northern Illinois

See also: 2023 Northern Illinois Huskies football team.

Kent State

See also: 2023 Kent State Golden Flashes football team.

Miami (OH)

See also: 2023 Miami RedHawks football team.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Scheumann Stadium. Ball State Athletics.
2. Web site: Mike Neu. Sports Reference.
3. Web site: MAC College Football Standings - 2023. December 8, 2023. espn.com. ESPN.
4. Web site: MAC football preseason poll: Toledo picked to win conference championship; BGSU tabbed to finish fourth in MAC East. July 20, 2023. August 11, 2023. wtol.com. WTOL 11.
5. Web site: 2023 Ball State Football Schedule . FBSchedules.com . February 25, 2023.
6. Web site: Ball State Cardinals Schedule 2023. ESPN.