‘Turn the page:’ Ball State football looking to bounce back against Central Michigan

As Ball State football walked off the field of Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, the Cardinals left the 305 with one of the worst losses in program history.

The 62-0 final score was the first time Ball State had been shut out since 2011.

Head coach Mike Neu said at the end of the day, a more physical Miami team simply outmatched the Cardinals. He said that Ball State’s confidence is intact.

“Most important for us, I told our guys yesterday we got to turn the page and get back to work,” Neu said. “No lingering effects from the other night, it is all about Central Michigan now.”

Neu said the Cardinals leadership council is taking the loss the same way, owning defeat with zero excuses and focusing on what they can control going forward.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Kadin Semonza has now played against the University of Miami, the University of Kentucky and the University of Georgia. Even though the total scoring differential was 151-17, he still has confidence in the Cardinals.

“Me and our guys, we can compete with anybody,” Semonza said. “I know the score doesn’t show that. But, we did not play our best game in any of those games.”

Graduate student defensive lineman Riley Tolsma echoed Semonza and said regardless of Miami having some of the best athletes he’s ever gone against, he believes the Cardinals still stand a chance.

Regardless of beliefs, the Cardinals have to forget about the shutout and move forward to their first Mid-American Conference (MAC) game of the season. But in moving forward, Ball State football must address the past.

Senior Keionte Newson said communication was a struggle last week, and Neu said that has to get cleaned up going forward. He specifically pointed out getting lined up, adjusting to formations, shifts and more.

“We got to make sure we are putting our guys in a position to execute what we know they can execute,” Neu said. “…We can’t give up explosive plays that are uncontested.”

Tolsma said the communication errors led to “lapses” which resulted in the Hurricanes being able to make those bigger chunk plays.

Ball State had 20 rushing attempts against the Hurricanes, Neu said that is something fans can see change against Central Michigan.

“We have to be balanced,” Neu said. “…That is the number one goal as we go into this week and the number one goal every week is that we have to establish the run.”

Semonza said focusing on execution needs to start with all 11 players focusing on their roles on the field. He said the Cardinals need consistency going forward.

“It did not go how we wanted,” Semonza said. “We are going to find out a lot about this team this week in seeing how we bounce back.”

The contest against Central Michigan will be the first MAC game of the season for both squads.

“Both teams are going to be hungry and we are going to be wanting to fight back to prove ourselves and in what we feel strongly we are capable of,” Neu said.

Neu said he is expecting a close game as it has been in years past. Both games in 2022 and 2023 were won by one possession. =

Neu said the Cardinals are familiar with Central Michigan’s players since they returned so many athletes.

One familiar Chippewa is redshirt junior quarterback Joe Labas since the Cardinals recruited him. This is the first year Labas has been in Mount Pleasant, last year he was at the University of Iowa.

Labas is passing at a 56.82 percent completion rate and has tossed five touchdowns. Labas has six interceptions, five of which were against Florida International University (FIU).

“They are going to try and be balanced in what they do in terms of run-pass,” Neu said.

Defensively, Neu said there is still a lot of familiarity with the experienced Chippewa front. He pointed out senior linebacker Justin Whiteside and senior defensive back Donte Kent as keys in the Central Michigan defense.

“Make no mistake about it, they are going to be ready to play,” Neu said. “They are going to turn their attention and focus to the first conference game they are playing at home.”

Tolsma will play in his first MAC game of his career on Saturday. He said he is expecting a hard-fought game that will be a grind.

“I look at it as we’re 0-0 in MAC play,” Tolsma said about turning the page. “The season is just starting again. Obviously, non-conference games are important but the whole MAC schedule is ahead of us.”

Tolsma said having more tape of older Central Michigan players will be an advantage this week.

“[You can find] more to see where to get an advantage off of,” Tolsma said. “Where they are weak, where they are strong. Anything that you can get any sort of an edge.”

Semonza said it is tough to move on after a lopsided loss, but at the end of the day, it is all part of the game.

“Conference [games] are the most important games we play,” Semonza said.

Contact Elijah Poe via email at elijah.poe@bsu.edu or on X @ElijahPoe4.