Game Preview
In a MACtion matchup with the Ball State Cardinals on Tuesday, the Northern Illinois Huskies will look to secure a 4th win in 5 matches. After losing 37-31 to Central Michigan the previous week, Northern Illinois saw its three-game victory run ended. After losing 24–21 against Bowling Green, Ball State is recovering.
In its current campaign, Ball State has struggled to score touchdowns, starting with the quarterback role. For this campaign, they have used 3 quarterbacks. Head coach Mike Neu ultimately chose sophomore QB Kiael Kelly in an attempt to increase the explosiveness of the attack. Kelly acts as a dual-threat quarterback, but his feet pose the biggest danger. The sophomore quarterback is currently second in the club in rushing yards and has dashed for more than 90 yards on all 3 of his previous 4 appearances. He has 5 Cardinals with more than 100 rushing yards, and he will toss the ball around 16–20 times. Him along with running back Marquez Cooper are going to be Nue’s primary weapons on the evening of Tuesday. Cooper needs 326 rushing yards to reach 1,000 yards for the third straight campaign. NIU is unable to contain the rush, so Ball State must rely on Cooper to put together a huge performance. He’s tallied 3 out of the Cardinals’ 17 offensive touchdowns so far this season.
At 4-5, Northern Illinois is attempting to qualify for the bowl at this time while playing a somewhat good game. Rocky Lombardi, a 6 ‘3 quarterback who ranks 2nd within the conference within pass yards with an average of 186.8 yards per match, is their leader. Lombardi’s TD-INT ratio is a respectable 9:5. Within his previous 5 matches, he scored 10 of his 11 touchdowns. Lombardi is ranked 120th in the country. Antario Brown, a running back with an average of 6.2 yards per attempt as well as 8 touchdowns overall so far this year, served as the team’s greatest danger.
At 4-5, Northern Illinois is attempting to qualify for the bowl at this time while playing a somewhat good game. Rocky Lombardi, a 6 ‘3 quarterback who ranks 2nd within the conference within pass yards with an average of 186.8 yards per match, is their leader. Lombardi’s TD-INT ratio is a respectable 9:5. Within his previous 5 matches, he scored 10 of his 11 touchdowns. Lombardi is ranked 120th in the country. Antario Brown, a running back with an average of 6.2 yards per attempt as well as 8 touchdowns overall so far this year, served as the team’s greatest danger.
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Ball State vs Northern Illinois Game Information
- Date: 10/21/2023
- Time: 08:05 PM ET
- Location: Target Field.
- How to Watch Ball State vs Northern Illinois: ESPN
- Live Stream: ESPN
