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Ball State

Cardinals · Mid-American

Head coach Mike Uremovich Year 2 with Ball State

Year-2 HCs (2015-2024) averaged +0.09 W vs. preseason expectation

Season Projection · 2026 W0

10,000 sims
2.9
Expected wins
3-7
Proj record
0 to 6
Win range (90%)
#133 (125–138)
Final rank (90%)
0%
Make playoff
0%
Win conference

Path to Glory

Tap a win or a loss on each pivotal game to see how the playoff probability shifts. Leave any game unset to average across both outcomes.

Make the playoff

0%

Baseline projection.

  • at Kent State
    Away · Sep 26
  • at Massachusetts
    Away · Nov 4
  • vs Buffalo
    Home · Nov 11
  • vs Central Michigan
    Home · Nov 28

Pivotal games are the 5 with the largest playoff-probability swing, ranked by the model. Math: chained Bayesian log-odds update from the conditional simulation set; gets the directionally right answer but won't perfectly capture cross-game correlations until the full Monte Carlo pipeline lands.

Returning production · 2026

24 score
  • Quarterback 0% (2/6 )
  • Offensive line 68% (13/19 players)
  • Skill (RB/WR/TE) 29% (12/26 )
  • Front 7 (DL/LB) 9% (14/30 )
  • Secondary 27% (12/21 )
  • Special teams 6% (5/7 )

Share of last season's production each unit returns. Higher means more continuity: 70%+ is healthy, 45–70% a normal rebuild, under 45% a major turnover.

Portal additions · 2026

-0.9 rating

25 proven transfers in, carrying the production below from their prior school.

  • CJ Nelson WR ← Eastern Illinois 36 impact
  • Maverick Gracio DE ← Pittsburgh 32 impact
  • Jabari Smith Jr. WR ← Florida Atlantic 30 impact
  • Jared Badie LB ← San Diego State 29 impact
  • Johnny Thompson Jr. RB ← Kansas 10 impact
  • Chris Jackson DB ← Colorado State 5 impact

Impact scores offensive skill additions (QB/RB/WR/TE) — prior-season production normalized within position (100 ≈ a 90th-percentile producer at that spot) and discounted for non-FBS competition, so a top back counts alongside a top quarterback. Defensive and O-line additions count as transfers but aren't box-score measurable, so they carry no impact score. The rating figure is this class's portal contribution vs. the FBS average, capped at ±2.5.

Situational efficiency · 2025

FBS percentile rank
  • 3rd-down conversion 30.3% 16th — bottom tier
  • Red-zone TD rate 12.8% 30th — below avg
  • 4th-down aggression 32.7% 31th — below avg
  • Late & close 5.5 yds/play 62th — average

Percentile is across all FBS teams with play-by-play data for the season. "Late & close" is yards per play in Q4+ with a one-score margin — a proxy for clutch offensive performance.

Schedule

Full 2026 slate. Tap a row for the matchup breakdown.

Latest Stories

  • Recap

    Ball State: 2025 Week 16 recap

    Ball State sits at 4–8 after a 45–24 road loss to Miami (OH) in Week 14, holding a rating of –23 and ranking 132nd per GIE. The Cardinals have spent the season struggling to generate consistent offensive production and defensive stops,…

More coming

Per-team pages get the full treatment in Phase 3: current rating, season projection histogram, schedule with win probabilities, and live overlays on Pylon stream days. For now, this page exists so stories and news have a permanent home as content rolls in.