# 2018 Ball State Cardinals football team

The 2018 Ball State Cardinals football team represented Ball State University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Mike Neu and played their home games at Scheumann Stadium in Muncie, Indiana as members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 4–8, 3–5 in MAC play to finish in fifth place in the West Division.

## Preseason
### Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released
| Award | Player | Position | Year |
| Rimington Trophy | Andrew Poenitsch | C | JR |
| Maxwell Award | James Gilbert | RB | JR |
| Fred Biletnikoff Award | Justin Hall | WR | SO |
| John Mackey Award | Nolan Givan | TE | SO |
| Paul Hornung Award | Malik Dunner | RB/KR | JR |
| Wuerffel Trophy | Riley Neal | QB | SR |

### Preseason media poll

The MAC released their preseason media poll on July 24, 2018, with the Cardinals predicted to finish in last place in the West Division.
West Division :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Northern Illinois | 133 (15) |
| 2 | Toledo | 125 (7) |
| 3 | Western Michigan | 87 (1) |
| 4 | Eastern Michigan | 67 |
| 5 | Central Michigan | 58 (1) |
| 6 | Ball State | 34 |

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 30 | 7:00 p.m. | Central Connecticut* | Scheumann StadiumMuncie, IN | ESPN+ | W 42–6 | 9,801 |
| September 8 | 3:30 p.m. | at No. 8 Notre Dame* | Notre Dame StadiumSouth Bend, IN | NBC | L 16–24 | 77,622 |
| September 15 | 12:00 p.m. | at Indiana* | Memorial StadiumBloomington, IN | BTN | L 10–38 | 40,240 |
| September 22 | 3:00 p.m. | Western Kentucky* | Scheumann StadiumMuncie, IN | ESPN3 | L 20–28 | 15,873 |
| September 29 | 3:00 p.m. | Kent State | Scheumann StadiumMuncie, IN | ESPN+ | W 52–24 | 9,367 |
| October 6 | 3:00 p.m. | Northern Illinois | Scheumann StadiumMuncie, IN (Bronze Stalk Trophy) | ESPN3 | L 16–24 | 7,159 |
| October 13 | 3:00 p.m. | at Central Michigan | Kelly/Shorts StadiumMount Pleasant, MI | ESPN3 | W 24–23 | 10,255 |
| October 20 | 3:00 p.m. | Eastern Michigan | Scheumann StadiumMuncie, IN | ESPN+ | L 20–42 | 14,022 |
| October 25 | 7:00 p.m. | at Ohio | Peden StadiumAthens, OH | CBSSN | L 14–52 | 13,774 |
| October 31 | 7:30 p.m. | at Toledo | Glass BowlToledo, OH | ESPN2 | L 13–45 | 15,214 |
| November 13 | 6:00 p.m. | Western Michigan | Scheumann StadiumMuncie, IN | ESPN2 | W 42–41 $^{OT}$ | 5,503 |
| November 20 | 7:00 p.m. | at Miami (OH) | Yager StadiumOxford, OH | ESPNU/ESPN+ | L 21–42 | 17,639 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||
Source:

## Game summaries
### Central Connecticut

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Blue Devils | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Cardinals | 7 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 42 |

### At Notre Dame

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 3 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 16 |
| No. 8 Fighting Irish | 7 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 24 |

### At Indiana

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| Hoosiers | 3 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 38 |
at Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, Indiana
* Date: September 15, 2018
* Game time: 12:00 p.m.
* Game weather: Sunny, 84 °F (29 °C)
* Game attendance: 40,240
* Referee: Ron Snodgrass
* TV announcers (BTN): Chris Denari (play-by-play), Bobby Carpenter (analyst)
* Sources:
| Statistics | BALL | IU |
| First downs | 18 | 26 |
| Total yards | 347 | 457 |
| Rushes/yards | 39–204 | 44–255 |
| Passing yards | 143 | 202 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 14–28–1 | 24–32–0 |
| Time of possession | 27:17 | 32:43 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Ball State | Passing | Riley Neal | 12/24, 115 yards |
| Ball State | Rushing | James Gilbert | 16 carries, 89 yards, TD |
| Ball State | Receiving | Corey Lacanaria | 4 receptions, 40 yards |
| Indiana | Passing | Peyton Ramsey | 20/27, 173 yards |
| Indiana | Rushing | Stevie Scott III | 18 carries, 114 yards, 2 TD |
| Indiana | Receiving | Luke Timian | 5 receptions, 56 yards |

### Western Kentucky

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hilltoppers | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 28 |
| Cardinals | 7 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 20 |

### Kent State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Flashes | 7 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
| Cardinals | 21 | 14 | 7 | 10 | 52 |

### Northern Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Huskies | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 24 |
| Cardinals | 0 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 16 |

### At Central Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 0 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 24 |
| Chippewas | 3 | 17 | 0 | 3 | 23 |

### Eastern Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eagles | 7 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 42 |
| Cardinals | 0 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 20 |

### At Ohio

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Bobcats | 0 | 31 | 21 | 0 | 52 |

### At Toledo

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 0 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 13 |
| Rockets | 21 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 45 |

### Western Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Broncos | 7 | 10 | 3 | 15 | 6 | 41 |
| Cardinals | 7 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 42 |

### At Miami (OH)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 14 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| RedHawks | 7 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 42 |