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2018 Ball State Cardinals football
Conference Mid-American Conference
DivisionWest Division
Record4–8 (3–5 MAC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinator Joey Lynch (5th season)
Defensive coordinator David Elson (2nd season)
Home stadium Scheumann Stadium
Seasons
←  2017
2019 →
2018 Mid-American Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
Buffalo x   7 1     10 4  
Miami (OH)   6 2     6 6  
Ohio   6 2     9 4  
Akron   2 6     4 8  
Bowling Green   2 6     3 9  
Kent State   1 7     2 10  
West Division
Northern Illinois x$   6 2     8 6  
Western Michigan   5 3     7 6  
Eastern Michigan   5 3     7 6  
Toledo   5 3     7 6  
Ball State   3 5     4 8  
Central Michigan   0 8     1 11  
Championship: Northern Illinois 30, Buffalo 29
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions

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 [1] Andrew Poenitsch C JR
Maxwell Award [2] James Gilbert RB JR
Fred Biletnikoff Award [3] Justin Hall WR SO
John Mackey Award [4] Nolan Givan TE SO
Paul Hornung Award [5] Malik Dunner RB/KR JR
Wuerffel Trophy [6] 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. [7]

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

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
August 307:00 p.m. Central Connecticut* ESPN+W 42–69,801
September 83:30 p.m.at No. 8 Notre Dame* NBCL 16–2477,622
September 1512:00 p.m.at Indiana* BTNL 10–3840,240
September 223:00 p.m. Western Kentucky*
  • Scheumann Stadium
  • Muncie, IN
ESPN3L 20–2815,873
September 293:00 p.m. Kent State
  • Scheumann Stadium
  • Muncie, IN
ESPN+W 52–249,367
October 63:00 p.m. Northern Illinois
ESPN3L 16–247,159
October 133:00 p.m.at Central MichiganESPN3W 24–2310,255
October 203:00 p.m. Eastern Michigandagger
  • Scheumann Stadium
  • Muncie, IN
ESPN+L 20–4214,022
October 257:00 p.m.at Ohio CBSSNL 14–5213,774
October 317:30 p.m.at Toledo ESPN2L 13–4515,214
November 136:00 p.m. Western Michigan
  • Scheumann Stadium
  • Muncie, IN
ESPN2W 42–41 OT5,503
November 207:00 p.m.at Miami (OH) ESPNU/ESPN+L 21–4217,639
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

Source: [8]

Roster

2018 Ball State Cardinals football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
OL 55 Chris Beech  So
OL 68 T. J. Beltavski  So
WR 37 RJ Benkelman Fr
OL 62 Curtis Blackwell So
RB 4 Malik Dunner Jr
WR 83 Luke Endsley So
WR 25 Jaylen Flemmons Fr
QB 15 Riley Neal  Jr
WR 14 Khalil Newton So
TE 43 Wes Obermeier Fr
QB 18 John Paddock Fr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
OLB 51 Christian Albright So
S 10 Lamar Anderson Jr
S 23 Brett Anderson II So
OLB 44 Brock Burns  Fr
DB 41 Vince Campbell Fr
OLB 98 Mitchell Carter Fr
CB 36 Hunter Causey Fr
DE 56 Shannon Hall Jr
DE 90 Sean Hammonds Jr.  Jr
S 20 Myles Hannah  Fr
OLB 54 Sam Helm  Fr
OLB 58 Davion Tyson Fr
ILB 57 Trey Uetrecht Fr
DL 96 Tre Underwood So
CB 25 Amechi Uzodinma II Fr
S 31 Romero Wade  Jr
CB 7 Marc Walton Sr
ILB 2 Jacob White  Jr
OLB 11 Ray Wilborn Jr
OLB 13 Jordan Williams  Fr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K 22 Morgan Hagee Sr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Roster

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

1 2 3 4 Total
Cardinals 3 0 7 0 10
Hoosiers 3 21 7 7 38

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 4OT Total
Broncos 7 10 3 156 41
Cardinals 7 14 7 77 42

At Miami (OH)

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

References

  1. ^ "Rimington Trophy Press Release". May 30, 2018. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  2. ^ "2018 Maxwell Award Watch List". July 16, 2018. Archived from the original on July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  3. ^ "2018 Biletnikoff Award Watch List". July 19, 2018. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  4. ^ "2018 John Mackey Award Preseason Watch List Released" (PDF). July 20, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  5. ^ "43 PLAYERS NAMED TO 2018 PAUL HORNUNG AWARD WATCH LIST". July 26, 2018. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  6. ^ "Wuerffel Trophy Unveils 2018 Watch List". July 26, 2018. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  7. ^ "NIU & Ohio Picked as Divisional Winners in 2018 MAC Football Media Preseason Poll".
  8. ^ 2018 Ball State Cardinals football schedule. ballstatesports.com. Accessed February 27, 2018.