Get to know: Ball State

Auburn football is set to play its 2025 home opener on Saturday, hosting the Ball State Cardinals at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Coming off a season-opening win against Baylor, Auburn enters this matchup with a 1-0 record and with the chance to build momentum and stay undefeated. The energy is high due to this being the first time Auburn fans will see this year’s team on their home turf, as the Tigers look to build on their strong performance from last week with hopes of a victory against Ball State.

Ball State University is located in Muncie, Indiana, and the team plays its home games at Scheumann Stadium. This football program’s origin dates back to 1924, joining the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in 1973. They are a member of the MAC’s West division at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level. The program holds an all-time record of 479-461-32, sitting just above a .500 winning percentage. In 100 years of play, Ball State has collected 11 conference championships and 4 division titles. Ball State has made 9 bowl appearances and struggled, putting up a 1-8 record in bowl games and winning only the Arizona Bowl against San Jose State in 2020.

The Cardinals are entering the 2025 season with a clean slate under new head coach Mike Uremovich, who was hired this past December after head coach Mike Neu was dismissed from his coaching duties towards the end of the 2024 season. Neu had a nine-year reign as Ball State’s head coach and coached the Cardinals until week 10 of the college football season, where Colin Johnson served as interim coach to finish off the season. Ball State struggled to find a groove last season, finishing 3-9 overall. They picked up victories against Missouri State, Northern Illinois, and Kent State, yet offensive struggles led them to suffer blowout losses to Miami (FL) and James Madison, as well as close losses to Miami (OH), WMU, and Buffalo. The team stood 11th in the MAC out of 12 teams last season, and this season hasn’t started much better for them as they enter Jordan-Hare 0-1 after a 31-0 loss to Purdue in their season-opener.

Returning redshirt senior Kiael Kelly is beginning the season as Ball State’s starting quarterback. He started the final six games of 2023 and led Ball State to a 3-3 record before he chose to enter the transfer portal. He ultimately came back to Ball State as a defensive back, yet ended up switching back to offense. He played as a quarterback, running back, slot, and outside receiver. However, he returns as the starting quarterback this season, bringing his playmaking ability to lead the Cardinals’ offense as they look to bounce back from a tough 2024 season and establish consistency. Against Purdue, Kelly threw for 87 yards and ran for 63 yards, the most of anyone on the Ball State roster.

In the game against Purdue, Ball State’s offense completely vanished. At halftime, the Cardinals were down 21-0. The Cardinals also missed opportunities to score; they missed a 45-yard field goal in the third quarter, a 29-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, and were 4-for-13 in third-down conversions. Despite this, they played a pretty clean game, with only three penalties, and did not commit a single turnover.

To challenge Auburn, Ball State will need to find ways to sustain its drives and capitalize on scoring opportunities. Auburn, coming off an electric win last Friday, looks to maintain the high momentum, while the Cardinals look to show improvement from their last game. The Cardinals' defense will have to closely watch Jackson Arnold, who put up 108 passing yards and 138 rushing yards last week. Saturday’s matchup will be an indicator of where Ball State stands early in the 2025 season and how competitive a team they will be.

Auburn and Ball State are set to kick off at 6:30 p.m. CST and will be televised on ESPNU.