# 2023 Ball State Cardinals football team

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. They finished the season 4–8 and 3–5 in conference play
The Ball State Cardinals football team drew an average home attendance of 10,771 in 2023.

## 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.
East :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Ohio | 63 (9) |
| 2 | Miami | 52 (2) |
| 3 | Buffalo | 51 (1) |
| 4 | Bowling Green | 35 |
| 5 | Akron | 26 |
| 6 | Kent State | 19 |
West :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 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) :
| Rank | Team | Votes |
| 1 | Toledo | 7 |
| 2 | Ohio | 4 |
| 3 | Buffalo | 1 |

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | 12:00 p.m. | at Kentucky* | Kroger FieldLexington, KY | SECN | L 14–44 | 58,286 |
| September 9 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 1 Georgia* | Sanford StadiumAthens, GA | SECN | L 3–45 | 92,746 |
| September 16 | 2:00 p.m. | Indiana State* | Scheumann StadiumMuncie, IN (Blue Key Victory Bell) | ESPN+ | W 45–7 | 15,054 |
| September 23 | 2:00 p.m. | Georgia Southern* | Scheumann StadiumMuncie, IN | ESPN+ | L 3–40 | 10,118 |
| September 30 | 3:30 p.m. | at Western Michigan | Waldo StadiumKalamazoo, MI | ESPN+ | L 24–42 | 21,880 |
| October 7 | 3:30 p.m. | at Eastern Michigan | Rynearson StadiumYpsilanti, MI | ESPN+ | L 10–24 | 18,696 |
| October 14 | 2:00 p.m. | Toledo | Scheumann StadiumMuncie, IN | ESPN+ | L 6–13 | 7,675 |
| October 21 | 3:30 p.m. | Central Michigan | Scheumann StadiumMuncie, IN | ESPN+ | W 24–17 | 15,171 |
| November 1 | 7:30 p.m. | at Bowling Green | Doyt Perry StadiumBowling Green, OH | ESPN2 | L 21–24 | 6,091 |
| November 7 | 7:00 p.m. | at Northern Illinois | Huskie StadiumDeKalb, IL (Bronze Stalk Trophy) | CBSSN | W 20–17 | 6,282 |
| November 18 | 2:00 p.m. | Kent State | Scheumann StadiumMuncie, IN | ESPN+ | W 34–3 | 8,554 |
| November 25 | 12:00 p.m. | Miami (OH) | Scheumann StadiumMuncie, IN (Red Bird Rivalry) | CBSSN | L 15–17 | 8,054 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||

## Game summaries
### at Kentucky

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Ball State | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| Kentucky | 3 | 20 | 14 | 7 | 44 |
at Kroger Field • Lexington, KY
* Date: Saturday, September 2, 2023
* Game time: 12:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: -
* Game attendance: 58,286
* TV: SEC Network
| 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 |
| Ball State | Rushing | Marquez Cooper | 15 carries, 33 yards |
| Ball State | Receiving | Ty Robinson | 5 receptions, 90 yards, TD |
| Kentucky | Passing | Devin Leary | 18/31, 241 yards, TD, INT |
| Kentucky | Rushing | Ray Davis | 14 carries, 112 yards, 2 TD |
| Kentucky | Receiving | Dane Key | 5 receptions, 96 yards, TD |

### at No. 1 Georgia

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Ball State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| No. 1 Georgia | 0 | 31 | 14 | 0 | 45 |
at Sanford Stadium • Athens, Georgia
* Date: Saturday, September 9, 2023
* Game time: 12:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: -
* Game attendance: 92,756
* Referee: Jason McArthur
* TV announcers (SEC Network): Taylor Zarzour (play-by-play), Matt Stinchcomb (color) and Alyssa Lang (sideline)
| 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 |
| Ball State | Rushing | Charlie Spegal | 4 carries, 32 yards |
| Ball State | Receiving | Ahmad Edwards | 4 receptions, 47 yards |
| Georgia | Passing | Carson Beck | 23/30, 283 yards, 2 TD, INT |
| Georgia | Rushing | Roderick Robinson II | 6 carries, 38 yards, TD |
| Georgia | Receiving | Arian Smith | 2 receptions, 50 yards |

### Indiana State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Indiana State | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Ball State | 0 | 10 | 7 | 28 | 45 |
at Scheumann Stadium • Muncie, IN
* Date: Saturday, September 16, 2023
* Game time: 2:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: -
* Game attendance: 15,054
* TV: ESPN+
| 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 |
| Indiana State | Rushing | Tee Hodge | 9 carries, 46 yards |
| Indiana State | Receiving | Harry Van Dyne | 3 receptions, 80 yards |
| Ball State | Passing | Kadin Semonza | 17/22, 137 yards, 2 TD |
| Ball State | Rushing | Marquez Cooper | 22 carries, 177 yards, TD |
| Ball State | Receiving | Tanner Koziol | 7 receptions, 60 yards, TD |

### Georgia Southern

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Georgia Southern | 14 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 40 |
| Ball State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
at Scheumann Stadium • Muncie, IN
* Date: Saturday, September 23, 2023
* Game time: 2:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: -
* Game attendance: 10,118
* TV: ESPN+
| 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 | Davis Brin | 34/46, 344 yards, 4 TD |
| Georgia Southern | Rushing | OJ Arnold | 9 carries, 90 yards |
| Georgia Southern | Receiving | Khaleb Hood | 7 receptions, 107 yards, TD |
| Ball State | Passing | Kadin Semonza | 11/23, 123 yards, 2 INT |
| Ball State | Rushing | Marquez Cooper | 9 carries, 16 yards |
| Ball State | Receiving | Rico Barfield | 2 receptions, 50 yards |

### at Western Michigan

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Ball State | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
| Western Michigan | 7 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 42 |
at Waldo Stadium • Kalamazoo, MI
* Date: Saturday, September 30, 2023
* Game time: 3:30 p.m. EST
* Game weather: -
* Game attendance: 21,880
* TV: ESPN+
| 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 |
| Ball State | Rushing | Marquez Cooper | 15 carries, 82 yards |
| Ball State | Receiving | Qian Magwood | 9 receptions, 110 yards, TD |
| Western Michigan | Passing | Treyson Bourguet | 24/39, 328 yards, 3 TD |
| Western Michigan | Rushing | Zahir Abdus-Salaam | 8 carries, 53 yards, 2 TD |
| Western Michigan | Receiving | Anthony Sambucci | 5 receptions, 73 yards, 3 TD |

### at Bowling Green

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Ball State | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| Bowling Green | 7 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 24 |
at Doyt Perry Stadium • Bowling Green, OH
* Date: Wednesday, November 1, 2023
* Game time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Cloudy, 37 °F (3 °C) • Wind: SW 7 mph (11 km/h)
* Game attendance: 6,091
* Referee: Matt Packowski
* TV announcers (ESPN2): Mike Corey, Rocky Boiman
| Statistics | Ball State | Bowling Green |
| First downs | 16 | 13 |
| Plays–yards | 283 | 281 |
| Rushes–yards | 49–217-3 | 34–104 |
| Passing yards | 66 | 177 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 9–19–0 | 15-23-0 |
| Time of possession | 33:34 | 26:26 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Ball State | Passing | Kiael Kelly | 9/19, 66 yards |
| Ball State | Rushing | Marquez Cooper/Kiael Kelly | 25 carries, 90 yards, 1 TD/ 25 carries, 90 yards, 2 TDS |
| Ball State | Receiving | Ahmad Edwards | 3 receptions, 25 yards |
| Bowling Green | Passing | Connor Bazelak | 13/21, 128 yards, 2 TDS |
| Bowling Green | Rushing | Terion Stewart | 15 carries, 92 yards, 1 TD |
| Bowling Green | Receiving | Harold Fannin Jr. | 5 receptions, 92 yards, 1 TD |