Angell's Observations: Missouri State vs. Ball State
Observations from the College Football Stands
Before I get into my observations from this game, I have to take a moment to appreciate just how perfect this setting was. A beautiful blue sky, a slight chill in the breeze, temperatures in the mid 60s. It was crisp, it was cool, it was perfect football weather.
The truth is, these are the games I love. The bigger names are fun, but some of my happiest memories have been lesser-known games that don’t show up on ESPN. Each stadium has its own personality, and when you get a smaller-school game, you often get an overlooked atmosphere. Ball State isn’t a big name, but it’s a fun place to watch a game.
And now, let’s get to what I saw in this game, a 42-34 win for the Cardinals.
Ball State Misreads The Situation — And Nearly Pays For It
Tyler Schuster gave a full breakdown of Colorado’s poor coaching, but Ball State coach Mike Neu did not have a banner day. If he ever applies for a promotion, he’d better hope the interviewer does not find this game tape.
The Cardinals made several silly mistakes that come down to coaching, but the biggest came in the third quarter on Ball State’s second drive of the second half, with the game tied at 7. After getting a first down near midfield, the Cardinals’ next three plays picked up seven yards, bringing up a 4th-and-3 from the Missouri State 44.
Neu chose to go for it, for reasons I can’t explain. The play was disastrous, as Missouri State got into the backfield, sacked Kadin Semonza and took over just 47 yards from the end zone. Nine plays later, Missouri State had a 14-7 lead.
What made this call so poor was the way the game had been going to that point. Missouri State’s one touchdown came on a pick-six. The Bears had gained just 67 yards for the entire game. Their two second-half drives had been awful, racking up a combined minus-7 yards. Nothing suggested Missouri State could move the football.
The other problem: Neu already tried this once before, and Ball State got stuffed on 4th and 1.
To that point, Missouri State’s big strength was its dominant defense. The correct play was a good punt to force the Bears inside their own 10. Instead, Missouri State started just 47 yards from pay dirt. And the Cardinals had a game on their hands.
Amazingly, they weren’t done making bad decisions.
Flags And Miscues Save the Day for Ball State
Things almost got much worse for Ball State on the ensuing possession. Four plays into having the ball, Semonza appeared to throw his second pick-six of the game, an ill-advised pass that Joe Lemondre would have taken to the house.
The only problem? Defensive holding on Missouri State, which wiped out the play and gave the Cardinals another chance. Four plays later, Ball State finally converted a fourth down and ended up scoring on a 41-yard pass, tying the game at 14.
Missouri State finally made its first big error by fumbling the ensuing kickoff, which proved the break Ball State needed to go ahead and stay ahead. This is great news for FCS bettors, because the totals are going to reflect the 76-point total that happened here. But Missouri State’s defense is a lot better than that, and it’s going to keep FCS offenses in check this year. Track their totals accordingly.
Cardinals Completely Mismanage the Endgame
I said Ball State wasn’t done making bad decisions. But oh, my word, were the final three minutes abysmal from the Cardinals’ perspective.
First, there was…whatever the hell this was supposed to be.
Apparently, Ball State got caught in a timeout and only had one player on the field. I have no idea why he wasn’t part of the timeout, but Missouri State saw the play clock going and alertly called a play. The officials bailed out the Cardinals by judging 10 players offside and forcing the Bears to take the penalty they didn’t want.
That proved important. The penalty forced Missouri State to both take a more conventional route to the end zone and burn the two-minute warning, leaving the Bears with two timeouts down 35-27. Ball State then somehow forgot to put its hands team on the field and burns a timeout to get the right personnel on the field. OK, not great, but a small error. The Cardinals get the onside kick, so one first down and the game is over.
Except…on third down, Braedon Sloan breaks free. And he doesn’t stop until he’s in the end zone.
Wait a minute…WHAT?
If Sloan falls down past the sticks, the game is over. Missouri State was down to one timeout, and Ball State could have won with two kneeldowns. Instead, the Cardinals gave it right back to the Bears with a minute left and new life. Of course, Missouri State immediately drove right back down the field and scored to cut it back to eight and take another shot at the onside kick.
And this one nearly worked, except the Bears just missed and it landed out of bounds. Had they got it back, Ball State would have risked turning a 100% certainty of victory into a devastating loss.
After this win, Neu needs to take a long look in the mirror. If he keeps coaching the way he did Saturday, he’s going to cost his team a game or two. And given what coaches like Thomas Hammock did Saturday, Neu can’t afford to do that.
It’s a win for Ball State, but it’s not one to feel good about. The Cardinals were very fortunate to escape their own mistakes.