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Ball State vs. Kent State

Ball State and Kent State have 34 meetings on file, the first in 1977; Ball State leads the series 25–⁠9 in the games on file. Over the last 10 meetings it’s Ball State 6–⁠4.

Ball State wins
25
Kent State wins
9
Ties
0
Earliest on file
1977
Longest streak
11 Ball State
Current streak
1 Kent State
Last 10 meetings
Ball State 6–⁠4
Most recent
2026

The series at a glance

’0’1’2’3’4’5’6’7’8’9W–L
1970s2–⁠1
1980s7–⁠3
1990s7–⁠0
2000s3–⁠1
2010s2–⁠3
2020s4–⁠1
Average margin
14.9 points; 13 decided by one score (8 or fewer)
At Ball State
14–⁠3 Ball State’s record at home
At Kent State
6–⁠11 Kent State’s record at home
Shutouts
2

Every meeting on file, as played. Ranks are the AP poll’s going in.

Games that tell the story

  1. Ball State’s biggest win1996: Ball State 50, Kent State 6by 44 points
  2. Kent State’s biggest win1985: Kent State 45, Ball State 16by 29 points
  3. Upset1981: Kent State 17, Ball State 7Kent State had a 32% chance, by our ratings before kickoff

Coach against coach

YearsBall StateSeriesKent State
1978–⁠1980Dwight Wallace3–⁠0Ron Blackledge
1988–⁠1990Paul Schudel3–⁠0Dick Crum
1991–⁠1993Paul Schudel3–⁠0Pete Cordelli
2018–⁠2022Mike Neu2–⁠1Sean Lewis

Head-coach pairings with three or more meetings on file, the series read from Ball State’s side (Wallace 3–⁠0 against Blackledge). A season split between coaches goes to the one credited with the game.

Both programs through the years

End-of-season Elo ratings of Ball State and Kent State, 1977 on13001500170019801990200020102020

Our Elo rating at the end of each season, a measure of how strong a team was, not a forecast; 1500 is an average FBS team.

Stars of the series

Biggest days

Tommy Ulatowski Kent State17 of 36, 394 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT2024 Passing
Chrishon McCray Kent State8 catches, 213 yards, 3 TD2024 Receiving
Willie Snead Ball State14 catches, 216 yards, 2 TD2012 Receiving
Isaiah McKoy Kent State6 catches, 159 yards, 3 TD2019 Receiving

Biggest days: the week’s best individual games by our big-days rule, from box scores (2004 on).

On television

2025ESPNU0.1 million viewers

Viewers: Nielsen, as compiled by nschultz7’s ratings tracker.

Every game

Sep 26, 2026Kent State 26, Ball State 13at Kent State
Nov 5, 2025Ball State 17, Kent State 13at Ball State
Oct 12, 2024Ball State 37, Kent State 35at Kent State
Nov 18, 2023Ball State 34, Kent State 3at Ball State
Nov 1, 2022Ball State 27, Kent State 20at Kent State
Nov 23, 2019Kent State 41, Ball State 38at Kent State
Sep 29, 2018Ball State 52, Kent State 24at Ball State
Oct 12, 2013Ball State 27, Kent State 24at Ball State
Sep 29, 2012Kent State 45, Ball State 43at Kent State
Oct 30, 2010Kent State 33, Ball State 14at Kent State
Sep 27, 2008Ball State 41, Kent State 20at Ball State
Nov 24, 2006Ball State 30, Kent State 6at Ball State
Oct 4, 2003Ball State 34, Kent State 17at Kent State
Nov 10, 2001Kent State 31, Ball State 18at Ball State
Nov 9, 1996Ball State 50, Kent State 6at Ball State
Nov 4, 1995Ball State 28, Kent State 13at Kent State
Nov 19, 1994Ball State 34, Kent State 0at Kent State
Nov 20, 1993Ball State 28, Kent State 3at Ball State
Sep 19, 1992Ball State 10, Kent State 6at Kent State
Sep 21, 1991Ball State 28, Kent State 27at Ball State
Oct 13, 1990Ball State 31, Kent State 0at Ball State
Oct 14, 1989Ball State 23, Kent State 21at Kent State
Oct 8, 1988Ball State 31, Kent State 20at Kent State
Oct 10, 1987Ball State 24, Kent State 23at Ball State
Oct 18, 1986Ball State 26, Kent State 17at Ball State
Oct 19, 1985Kent State 45, Ball State 16at Kent State
Oct 13, 1984Kent State 15, Ball State 10at Ball State
Oct 15, 1983Ball State 17, Kent State 13at Kent State
Oct 16, 1982Ball State 21, Kent State 3at Kent State
Oct 17, 1981Kent State 17, Ball State 7at Ball State
Nov 8, 1980Ball State 34, Kent State 7at Ball State
Sep 22, 1979Ball State 35, Kent State 10at Kent State
Sep 16, 1978Ball State 27, Kent State 3at Ball State
Sep 24, 1977Kent State 13, Ball State 12at Kent State

Every game is listed as played on the field.