Ball State football falls to 1-3 after losing 63-7 to James Madison University. 

The 63 points scored by the Dukes marks the second time in four games the Cardinals have let up more than 60 points. 

Here are three takeaways from the road loss. 

Poor defensive start. 

James Madison scored every possession they had the ball in the first quarter. While the Dukes were playing well, big plays were aided by poor defensive play from the Cardinals. 

Ball State let up 69 rushing yards on only seven attempts in the first frame and mirrored their loss just a week ago against Central Michigan. 

Cardinal defensive back Thailand Baldwin preached that Ball State needed to improve tackling, but the Cardinals struggled with multiple missed tackles in the first quarter and throughout the game. 

James Madison redshirt sophomore quarterback Alonza Barnett III had a successful first frame against the Ball State defense. He was 10-for-17 with 107 yards through the air for two touchdowns.

The Dukes had 22 points on the scoreboard and only ran 24 plays. That means Ball State was all but non-existent in stopping James Madison in any way. 

Although the defense is almost entirely new, it is easy to see the Cardinals are struggling to put it together. 

By the final whistle, Barnett III was 20-28 with 280 yards and had five touchdowns. The Dukes got whatever they wanted offensively for the entirety of the game. 

Offense starts hot, but stalls.

The Ball State offense was coming off of an impressive performance last week even though it was a loss. 

Today, the Cardinals picked up where they left off and scored on their second possession. 

Redshirt freshman quarterback Kadin Semonza found junior tight end Tanner Koziol from 15 yards out to first put Ball State was on the board. 

The scoring drive as a whole was effective and spread the ball around with an equal amount of passing a rushing. 

After the score, Ball State’s offensive momentum all but ran out. 

Semonza had two interceptions in the first half. The first interception was tipped off of tight end Christian Abney into the Dukes' hands. 

The second interception was a 50/50 ball picked off with unreal athleticism by sophomore DJ Barksdale. The James Madison nickel tipped the ball up and stayed on his feet to bring in the ball with one hand. Semonza’s third interception was a pick-six on the third play of the second half. 

The redshirt freshman finished 22-for-35 with 168 yards and one touchdown. 

The first scoring drive for Ball State was near perfect, but the Cardinals failed to march down the field for the rest of the game. 

1-3 four weeks in. 

Ball State will have to go 5-3 in their remaining eight games to make a bowl game at the end of the season. 

The Cardinals still have one more buy game left on the schedule on Oct. 19 when they travel to face Vanderbilt. On paper that is a loss, not saying it will be, but on paper, it looks like a loss. 

Omitting Vanderbilt, the Cardinals will have to go 5-2 to make a bowl game. Ball State will also have to win five games against Mid-American Conference (MAC) opponents. 

In a conference that is notorious for being a toss-up, the Cardinals face an uphill battle if they want to see a postseason.

Contact Elijah Poe via email at elijah.poe@bsu.edu or on X @ElijahPoe4.

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