MUNCIE, Ind. -- The Ball State football team was excited about the opportunity at hand Saturday against a team that has been the class of the Mid-American Conference in recent years.
Northern Illinois came into Scheumann Stadium for this year’s meeting winless through four games, but Ball State knew this was not your average 0-4 team. NIU, winners of the past six MAC West Division championships, took advantage of a fresh start with the beginning of conference play.
Ball State had its chances in the 31-24 loss. But the Cardinals (3-2, 0-1 MAC) allowed too many big plays and couldn’t come up with enough of their own as the Huskies (1-4, 1-0 MAC) maintained possession of the Bronze Stalk rivalry trophy.