“I firmly believe in our team. I firmly believe in the confidence of our team. I don't think anybody's lost any kind of belief.”

Less than 48 hours after Ball State football’s 37-34 loss to Central Michigan, the Cardinals’ head coach reiterated exactly what he made clear last Saturday. Neu knows where the Cardinals went wrong against the Chippewas. He knows allowing a touchdown with just 53 seconds left on the clock is unacceptable.

Rather than calling Ball State’s 1-2 start a personnel issue, Neu chalked the defense’s struggles down to the fact that football is quite literally a game of inches. He said it just takes one man to be slightly out of position for a defense to allow a game-winning drive similar to the one the Cardinals gave up against Central Michigan.

Which is exactly why he does not believe Ball State’s offense left too much time on the clock when redshirt freshman quarterback Kadin Semonza found junior tight end Tanner Koziol for a 16-yard touchdown pass as the clock read 0:53 in the fourth quarter.

“You're trying to score points,” Neu said. “You're trying to win a game, and at that time, your mindset is scoring.”

Semonza said he’s making that touchdown pass in a two-minute drill situation every time, if it’s open. Koziol agreed, citing the 2015 NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) as inspiration for his four-yard dive into the end zone, hurdling a Chippewa defender in the process.

“That just comes from growing up watching football, watching a lot of Cam Newton and seeing him dive over the line of scrimmage,” Koziol said. “Those are the plays that run through your head while playing on the field.”

The real issue against Central Michigan was not the Cardinals’ offense, it was their defense. No one felt stronger about that Monday than Thailand Baldwin.

The redshirt junior defensive back is typically lively and energetic, and while a smile was still ever present Monday afternoon, Baldwin was dead serious about Ball State’s need for improvement when it comes to securing tackles.

“Tackling is just getting the man on the ground,” Baldwin said. “Do you want it more than the other person? It frustrates the life out of me, because on defense, that's our number one job.”

As a result of the Cardinal defense’s numerous missed tackles against Central Michigan, not only did the Chippewas come out the victors, but they compiled 527 total offensive yards. It was the most total yards allowed to a Mid-American Conference (MAC) opponent since Nov. 17, 2021.

Baldwin compared Central Michigan’s sub-40-second touchdown drive at the end of Saturday’s tilt to a video game, saying the Cardinals’ defense made scoring “too easy” for their opponent.

“You just wonder, ‘How do we let a game like that slip?’” Baldwin said. “It was tough, but this bus ride was different for us.”

Win or lose, most of Ball State’s coaches are normally studying game film on the trip back to Muncie after an away game. Players don’t often get the same access, waiting until the next day to watch the game they just competed in.

Baldwin’s bus ride after the loss at Central Michigan was different because he asked to get a head start on watching film, wanting to review exactly what went wrong before he even got back to his Muncie residence.

The problem he identified was the same one he already knew while on the gridiron in Mount Pleasant. And yet, he was able to quickly shift his focus and frustration toward Ball State’s next
opponent.

“When I woke up [Monday] morning, I was like, ‘We play on Saturday,’” Baldwin said. “The thing I hate about football is we can't play every day. Basketball, you can play on Sunday then play again on Monday. Football, we gotta wait a whole week.”

In their fourth game of the season, the Cardinals travel to Harrisonburg, Virginia, to face one of the best Group of 5 programs in the country. James Madison is 3-0 so far this season, and the Dukes are riding high off their 70-50 win against the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC)’s North Carolina last Saturday.

At Chapel Hill, James Madison’s defense forced five turnovers, which led to a record-breaking seven total touchdowns from redshirt sophomore Alonza Barnett III. The Dukes’ offense put up 611 total yards, 388 of which came through the air.

While Barnett III isn’t in Heisman conversations like Ball State’s week two opponent Cam Ward (Miami, FL) is, the James Madison QB1 should be one of the best gunslingers the Cardinals defense faces this season. Which makes it all the more important for Ball State’s defensive unit to respond to a poor performance against Central Michigan by trying to match the Dukes’ prowess for forcing turnovers.

“In order to have a chance to win, that has to be at the top of the list every week,” Neu said. “If you just look at the situational charts, whether it's on third down, whether it's in the red zone, you look at [turnovers], and I can tell you most times what the outcome of the game is.”

The Cardinals kickoff against James Madison at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28.

Contact Kyle Smedley via email at kmsmedley213@gmail.com or via X @KyleSmedley_.

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