Ohio (3-2 overall, 1-0 Mid-American Conference) will look to continue its two-game winning streak this Saturday against Ball State (1-3 overall).
This will be not only the first road MAC game for Ohio, but it will be Ball State’s first MAC game, as well as the first MAC game for new head coach Mike Uremovich.
The Bobcats look to improve on both sides of the ball after their first MAC game against Bowling Green last weekend. The defense had five sacks and forced four turnovers on the day.
As Ohio looks to keep the good play rolling, here is everything to know about Ball State.
Head Coach
Similar to Ohio’s last opponent, Bowling Green, Ball State has a first-year head coach at the helm this year in Uremovich. He is a veteran coach who has never had an FBS head coaching job before.
For the last three seasons, Uremovich has been the head coach for FCS Butler, where he was very successful, leading the Bulldogs to three straight winning seasons for the first time since 1987 and the team’s first-ever national ranking.
He has spent time in the MAC before, serving as an assistant for Northern Illinois in 2012 and 2016-18.
Quarterback
Starting under center for the Cardinals is Kiael Kelly, a career Cardinal who is getting his first season of real starting action. The redshirt senior has spent his whole career at Ball State, staying with the program even through the coaching changes.
He had a solid start to the year, throwing for 472 yards and three touchdowns on the year. He has also completed 64% of his passes, and he has thrown two interceptions as well.
On the ground, he is a real threat as he has ran for 268 yards and a touchdown this year. He is the first real dual-threat quarterback that this Ohio defense has faced, so it will be interesting to see how the unit holds up.
Running Backs
Apart from Kelly at quarterback being a rushing threat, the bellcow back for Ball State this year is Qua Ashley, a back new to the MAC this year.
The redshirt junior arrived at Ball State this offseason after transferring in from Kennesaw State, where he put up 409 yards and a touchdown on just 3.4 yards per carry.
This year, he is off to a much better start, going for 295 yards and three touchdowns through the first four games of the year. He has also improved his efficiency, averaging 5.7 yards per carry this season.
Wide Receivers
Ball State’s offense spreads the ball around a lot, to the point where they don’t have top three targets that are set in stone. No player on the offense averages over 25 receiving yards per game.
The top receiver on the team now is Eric Weatherly, who has nine catches for 100 yards on the season. The number two guy is Donovan Hamilton, who has eight catches for 82 yards, while Qian Magwood is third with 82 yards as well, but just four catches.
Running Back Ashley has the most catches on the team with 10 for 42 yards and a touchdown. Overall, there are 13 players on Ball State that have caught at least one pass this season.
Defense
The Ball State defense is lead by redshirt senior linebacker Alfred Chea, another transfer, this time from UConn. He almost pulled the upset of his former team two weeks ago, and he does lead the team in tackles with 20 on the year.
The most dangerous defensive lineman is by far Nathan Voorhis, as the senior defensive end has been great this year, going for 15 tackles and four and a half sacks on the year so far.
In the secondary, defensive backs Willizhaun Yates and Ashton Whitner have been very solid so far, combining for 35 tackles, three tackles for loss and four pass breakups on the year.
