The Cardinals returned their starting receiving corps, which helped lead Ball State to be the #1 ranked passing offense in the Mid-American Conference.

[5] Sources: [9] Nate Davis passed for 280 yards and three touchdowns as Ball State beat Northeastern 48–14 in the season opener for both teams.

Ball State lengthened its lead after the break to 48–7 with a 27-yard pass from Davis to Daniel Ifft, a Cory Sykes six-yard run and another McGarvey field goal.

[10] Nate Davis passed for 326 yards and four touchdowns, but it was the Cardinals’ defense that repeatedly came up with the big plays in the second half of a 35–23 victory over the Midshipmen.

After Love’s second touchdown catch put Ball State ahead 28–23, Navy threatened to take the lead again late in the third period.

Ball State then put the game out of reach with a 97-yard drive, scoring the clinching touchdown on a 35-yard pass from Davis to Darius Hill early in the final period.

The victory also ended Indiana's 20 game winning streak against Mid-American Conference opponents, which dated to a September 24, 1977, loss against Miami (Ohio) when Lee Corso was coaching the Hoosiers.

The Cardinals gained 463 yards in offense, scored 28 points in the first half and put the game away with two touchdown runs from Lewis in the fourth quarter.

[15] Love underwent a five-hour surgery for a cervical spine fracture and a spinal cord injury and had movement in his arms and legs after the procedure.

[16][17] On September 22, head coach Brady Hoke told reporters, "Due to the injury Dante sustained, his football career is expected to be over.

Early in the second quarter, Nate Davis threw a pass to Myles Trempe for a 31-yard touchdown that gave the Cardinals a 14–0 lead.

Cory Sykes’ 10 yard touchdown run in the opening minutes of the third quarter made it 28–7, and the Cardinals led by at least 17 points the rest of the way.

[18] MiQuale Lewis rushed for 157 yards and two touchdowns and Ball State broke away from a close game at halftime to beat Toledo 31–0.

After taking the second half kickoff, Nate Davis led a 10 play, 74 yard drive that he capped with a one-yard touchdown run.

[21] Nate Davis threw for 155 yards and two touchdowns as Ball State overcame a slow start in its first ever game as a ranked team to beat Western Kentucky 24–7.

The Cardinals drove 64 yards during the opening drive of the second half, though it ended with Ian McGarvey missing a 21-yard field goal attempt.

McGarvey successfully kicked a 37-yard field goal to push the lead to 17–0, and after Western Kentucky failed on fourth down deep in its own territory, Davis completed a pass to Louis Johnson for a 20-yard touchdown with 6:31 remaining to put the game out of reach.

The Hilltoppers garnered 352 yards of offense but turned the ball over three times and fell to 0–5 against Football Bowl Subdivision teams in the season.

On the final play of the third quarter, Eastern Michigan's Andy Schmitt completed a seven-yard pass to Jacory Stone to give the Eagles their first points of the game.

Trey Buice finished the rout for the Cardinals with a 45-yard interception return for a touchdown midway through the final quarter, and Ian McGarvey’s extra-point kick extended his school record to 48 in a row.

[28] After forcing an early punt, defensive back Kiaree Daniels ran into Ball State's Chris Miller, drawing a 15-yard penalty to give a first down to the Cardinals'.

On Ball State's next series, Davis completed a 40-yard touchdown pass to Lewis Johnson, whose "stop-and-go" move enabled him to elude two defenders.

The Cardinals broke the tie on a 43-yard field goal from Ian McGarvey and took a 24–14 halftime lead when Davis ran for a six-yard touchdown run.

But Lewis closed it out with a one-yard touchdown run with 4:31 to go, his twentieth rushing score of the season, which broke the previous record set by Mark Bornholdt in 1979.

[38] The Cardinals fell into an early deficit when Buffalo quarterback Drew Willy completed a pass to Naam Roosevelt for a two-yard touchdown.

The Cardinals fourth fumble of the game, which was forced and recovered by Buffalo’s Adekunle Akingba, set up Willy’s third touchdown pass to Roosevelt on an eight-yard completion to increase the lead to 35–17.

[41][42][43] Tulsa took the early 7–0 lead over the Cardinals in the first quarter but Ball State answered back with an 18-yard touchdown run from Nate Davis.

(Delta) 51 Cornwell, Kyle OG 6-4 272 Sr. Sr. 4L New Lenox, Ill. (Providence Catholic) 48 Cosby, Spain MLB 5-11 212 Jr. Jr. 2L Carrollton, Ga. (Villa Rica) 24 Cravens, James HB 5-11 210 Fr.

HS Saratoga Springs, NY (Carmel) 38 Knipp, Alex SS 6-0 194 Jr. Jr. 2L Amherst, Ohio (Steele) 18 Kovanda, Scott P 6-3 190 Fr.

HS Hartland, Mich. (Detroit Catholic Central) 9 Kuntz, Kyle SS 5-10 193 Jr. Sr. Vandalia, Ohio (Butler) 33 Lewis, MiQuale HB 5-6 184 Jr. Jr. 2L Fort Wayne, Ind.