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American college football season
Ball State Cardinals' current wordmark since 2011
The 2020 Ball State Cardinals football team represented
Ball State University during the
2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season . The Cardinals were led by fifth-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 .
In a season impacted by the
COVID-19 pandemic , the Cardinals played to a 5–1 record in a limited regular-season schedule. The team then defeated
Buffalo in the conference championship game. The season ended with a victory over
San Jose State in the
Arizona Bowl for the first
bowl game victory in program history.
[2]
Schedule
Ball State had games scheduled against
Indiana ,
Maine , and
Michigan , which were canceled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic .
[3]
[4] On July 28, it was announced that Ball State had added
Iowa State to the schedule.
[5] Soon after, the MAC decided to cancel its season, followed by the same announcements from the
Big Ten Conference ,
Pac-12 Conference , and
Mountain West Conference .
On September 25, the
Mid-American Conference changed course, playing a six-week scheduled football season starting the week of November 4.
[6]
Schedule Source:
[8]
Game summaries
Miami
Red Bird Rivalry
1
2 3 4 Total
Cardinals
7
7 7 10
31
• RedHawks
0
10 14 14
38
Date: November 4, 2020Location:
Yager Stadium
Oxford, OH Game start: 7:02 p.m.
EST Elapsed time: 3 hours and 42 minutesGame weather: Temperature: 58 °F (14 °C) • Weather: Clear Skies • Wind: 4 miles per hour (6.4 km/h), SWReferee: J. ValentineTV announcers (
CBSSN ):
John Sadak (play–by–play),
Ross Tucker (analyst)
[9]
Eastern Michigan
Ball State vs. Eastern Michigan
1
2 3 4 Total
Eagles
14
7 3 7
31
• Cardinals
7
6 8 17
38
Date: November 11, 2020Location:
Scheumann Stadium
Muncie, IN Game start: 7:02 p.m.
EST Elapsed time: 3 hours and 39 minutesGame attendance: 1,183Game weather: 38 °F (3 °C) • Weather: Clear • Wind: 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h), NReferee: Greg Sujack
[10] TV announcers (CBSSN):
Ben Holden (play–by–play),
Ross Tucker (analyst)
[11]
Northern Illinois
Bronze Stalk Trophy
1
2 3 4 Total
Huskies
7
7 0 11
25
• Cardinals
0
14 6 11
31
Date: November 18, 2020Location:
Scheumann Stadium
Muncie, IN Game start: 7:02 p.m.
EST Elapsed time: 3 hours and 22 minutesGame attendance: 859Game weather: 45 °F (7 °C) • Weather: Clear • Wind: 12 miles per hour (19 km/h)Referee: Ron Hudson
[12] TV announcers (ESPNews):
Clay Matvick (play–by–play),
Rocky Boiman (analyst)
[13]
Toledo
Ball State vs. Toledo
1
2 3 4 Total
• Cardinals
14
3 7 3
27
Rockets
0
3 6 15
24
Date: November 28, 2020Location:
Glass Bowl
Toledo, OH Game start: 12:05 p.m.
EST Elapsed time: 3 hours and 43 minutesGame attendance: 0Game weather: 41 °F (5 °C) • Weather: Sunny skies • Wind: 9 miles per hour (14 km/h) WReferee: Bryan Banks
[14] TV announcers (ESPN3):
Michael Reghi (play–by–play),
Devin Gardner (analyst)
[15]
Central Michigan
Ball State vs. Central Michigan
1
2 3 4 Total
• Cardinals
10
14 14 7
45
Chippewas
0
7 7 6
20
Date: December 5, 2020Location:
Kelly/Shorts Stadium
Mount Pleasant, MI Game start: 2:02 p.m.
EST Elapsed time: 3 hours and 13 minutesGame attendance: 0Game weather: 34 °F (1 °C) • Weather: Sunny • Wind: 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h) WReferee: Tom Stapleton
[16] TV announcers (ESPNU): Clay Matvick, Rocky Boiman
[17]
Western Michigan
Ball State vs. Western Michigan
1
2 3 4 Total
Broncos
3
17 7 0
27
• Cardinals
6
7 0 17
30
Date: December 12, 2020Location:
Scheumann Stadium
Muncie, IN Game start: 12:05 p.m.
EST Elapsed time: 3 hours and 33 minutesGame attendance: 823Game weather: 57 °F (14 °C) • Weather: Mostly sunny • Wind: 20 miles per hour (32 km/h) SWReferee: Ron Hudson
[18] TV announcers (ESPN+): Joel Godett,
Jay Walker
[19]
Buffalo (MAC Championship Game)
Ball State vs. Buffalo MAC Championship Game
1
2 3 4 Total
• Cardinals
7
28 3 0
38
Bulls
14
7 7 0
28
San Jose State (Arizona Bowl)
Ball State vs. San Jose State Arizona Bowl
1
2 3 4 Total
• Cardinals
27
0 7 0
34
No. 22 Spartans
0
0 13 0
13
References
^ Wells, Adam (September 25, 2020).
"MAC Approves 6-Game College Football Schedule Beginning November 4" . Bleacher Report . Retrieved September 25, 2020 .
^
"Cardinals Finish Memorable 2020 With Arizona Bowl Win" . ballstatesports.com . December 31, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020 .
^ Myerberg, Paul.
"Big Ten football reduces season schedule to only conference games, maybe setting stage for others to follow" . USA TODAY . Retrieved July 10, 2020 .
^ Singelais, Mark (July 16, 2020).
"Reports: CAA football won't play this fall" . Times Union . Retrieved July 17, 2020 .
^
"Iowa State replaces Iowa with Ball State on schedule as Big 12 aims to play 12-game season in 2020" . CBSSPORTS.com . Retrieved July 28, 2020 .
^
"Mid-American Conference Announces Resumption of Football" . ballstatesports.com . Ball State University Athletics. Retrieved September 25, 2020 .
^
"Game 1 Preview: Cardinals Set to Defend Red Bird Rivalry Trophy at Miami" . ballstatesports.com . Ball State University Athletics. Retrieved November 7, 2020 .
^
"2020 Ball State Football Schedule" . FBSchedules.com . Retrieved October 21, 2020 .
^
"Game Notes (11/4/20 at Miami)" (PDF) . ballstatesports.com . Ball State University Athletics. Retrieved November 7, 2020 .
^
"EMU vs. Ball State scoring summary" (PDF) . ballstatesports.com . Ball State Athletics. Retrieved November 15, 2020 .
^
"Game Notes (11/11/20 Eastern Michigan)" (PDF) . ballstatesports.com . Ball State University Athletics. Retrieved November 10, 2020 .
^
"NIU vs. Ball State scoring summary" (PDF) . ballstatesports.com . Ball State Athletics. Retrieved November 21, 2020 .
^
"Game Notes (11/18/20 Northern Illinois)" (PDF) . ballstatesports.com . Ball State University Athletics. Retrieved November 21, 2020 .
^
"Football vs Toledo box score" . ballstatesports.com . Ball State University Athletics. Retrieved February 13, 2021 .
^
"Game Notes (11/28/20 Northern Illinois)" (PDF) . ballstatesports.com . Ball State University Athletics. Retrieved November 27, 2020 .
^
"Football vs Central Michigan box score" . ballstatesports.com . Ball State University Athletics. Retrieved February 13, 2021 .
^
"Game Notes (12/5/20 Central Michigan)" (PDF) . ballstatesports.com . Ball State University Athletics. Retrieved January 13, 2021 .
^
"Football vs Western Michigan box score" . ballstatesports.com . Ball State University Athletics. Retrieved February 13, 2021 .
^
"Western Michigan preview" (PDF) . ballstatesports.com . Ball State University Athletics. Retrieved February 13, 2021 .
^
"Buffalo summary" . ballstatesports.com . Ball State University Athletics. Retrieved February 14, 2021 .
^
"Arizona Bowl box score" . ballstatesports.com . Ball State University Athletics. Retrieved February 14, 2021 .
^
"BSU Arizona Bowl notes" (PDF) . ballstatesports.com . Ball State University Athletics. Retrieved February 14, 2021 .
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