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Ball State Cardinals Quick Facts
All-Time Series: Michigan leads 1-0
First Meeting: U-M 34, Ball State 26 (Nov. 4, 2006 in Ann Arbor)
Last Meeting: U-M 34, Ball State 26 (Nov. 4, 2006 in Ann Arbor)
Head Coach: Mike Neu, 15-33 at Ball State (5th year) and 69-78 (10th year)
2019 In Review: 5-7, 4-4 MAC
Final 2019 Ranking: Unranked
Returning Starters: 16 (7 offense, 7 defense, 2 specialists)
Last Bowl Appearance: 2013 (GoDaddy Bowl vs. Arkansas State, L 20-23)
Ball State is searching for a dose of success that it hasn’t seen in some time. The program has never won a bowl game, and hasn’t even appeared in one since 2013. In head coach Mike Neu’s four years at the helm, the Cardinals tout a measly 15-33 record.
Like Michigan, Ball State is also looking for increased levels of success in its own conference and division. The Cardinals haven’t finished atop the MAC West since 2008, when a familiar name, Brady Hoke, led the team to a 12-1 record and a division title as the head coach.
Ball State is looking to catch U-M off guard, hoping for a Maize and Blue “hangover” after a west coast trip to Washington for the season opener. In the lone meeting between the two schools, Hoke’s Cardinals played the Wolverines fairly tight in a true November “trap game” during a season in which U-M started 11-0. U-M gutted out a 34-26 victory over the Cardinals at the Big House one week after homecoming weekend.
