# 2016 Ball State Cardinals football team

The 2016 Ball State Cardinals football team represented Ball State University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Mike Neu and played their home games at Scheumann Stadium. They were a member of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 4–8, 1–7 in MAC play to finish in last place in the West Division.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | 7:00 pm | at Georgia State* | Georgia DomeAtlanta, GA | ASN/ESPN3 | W 31–21 | 12,233 |
| September 10 | 4:00 pm | at Indiana* | Memorial StadiumBloomington, IN | ESPNews | L 20–30 | 41,374 |
| September 17 | 3:00 pm | Eastern Kentucky* | Scheumann StadiumMuncie, IN | ESPN3 | W 41–14 | 10,902 |
| September 24 | 6:00 pm | at Florida Atlantic* | FAU StadiumBoca Raton, FL | CUSA.tv | W 31–27 | 13,846 |
| October 1 | 3:30 pm | Northern Illinois | Scheumann StadiumMuncie, IN (Bronze Stalk Trophy) | ASN | L 24–31 | 7,249 |
| October 8 | 3:00 pm | at Central Michigan | Kelly/Shorts StadiumMount Pleasant, MI | ASN | L 21–24 | 20,044 |
| October 15 | 3:30 pm | at Buffalo | UB StadiumAmherst, NY | ESPN3 | W 31–21 | 16,092 |
| October 22 | 3:00 pm | Akron | Scheumann StadiumMuncie, IN | ESPN3 | L 25–35 | 10,739 |
| November 1 | 8:00 pm | No. 17 Western Michigan | Scheumann StadiumMuncie, IN | ESPN2 | L 20–52 | 5,614 |
| November 8 | 7:30 pm | Eastern Michigan | Scheumann StadiumMuncie, IN | CBSSN | L 41–48 | 4,442 |
| November 16 | 7:00 pm | at Toledo | Glass BowlToledo, OH | ESPN2 | L 19–37 | 16,826 |
| November 22 | 7:00 pm | at Miami (OH) | Yager StadiumOxford, OH | ESPN3 | L 20–21 | 13,824 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||
    Schedule Source:

## Game summaries
### At Georgia State

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

### At Indiana

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 3 | 17 | 20 |
| Hoosiers | 10 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 30 |

### Eastern Kentucky

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Colonels | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 14 |
| Cardinals | 14 | 13 | 7 | 7 | 41 |

### At Florida Atlantic

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 0 | 17 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
| Owls | 14 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 27 |

### Northern Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Huskies | 10 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 31 |
| Cardinals | 10 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 24 |

### At Central Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| Chippewas | 3 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 24 |

### At Buffalo

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 7 | 0 | 14 | 10 | 31 |
| Bulls | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |

### Akron

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Zips | 0 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 35 |
| Cardinals | 7 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 25 |

### Western Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #17 Broncos | 21 | 7 | 14 | 10 | 52 |
| Cardinals | 7 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 20 |

### Eastern Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eagles | 3 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 48 |
| Cardinals | 21 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 41 |

### At Toledo

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 0 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 19 |
| Rockets | 14 | 6 | 17 | 0 | 37 |

### At Miami (OH)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 7 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 20 |
| RedHawks | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 |