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2017 Ball State

2–⁠10 (0–⁠8 Mid-American Conference), coached by Mike Neu.

Schedule and results

Ball State in 2017, game by game: lost at Illinois 21–24; won vs. UAB 51–31; won vs. Tennessee Tech 28–13; lost at Western Kentucky 21–33; lost at Western Michigan 3–55; lost at Akron 3–31; lost vs. Central Michigan 9–56; lost vs. Toledo 17–58; lost at Eastern Michigan 14–56; lost at Northern Illinois 17–63; lost vs. Buffalo 24–40; lost vs. Miami (OH) 7–28+20−52Lost 21–24 at Illinois-3IllinoisWon 51–31 vs. UAB+20UABWon 28–13 vs. Tennessee Tech+15Tennessee TechLost 21–33 at Western Kentucky-12Western KentuckyLost 3–55 at Western Michigan-52Western MichiganLost 3–31 at Akron-28AkronLost 9–56 vs. Central Michigan-47Central MichiganLost 17–58 vs. Toledo-41ToledoLost 14–56 at Eastern Michigan-42Eastern MichiganLost 17–63 at Northern Illinois-46Northern Illino…Lost 24–40 vs. Buffalo-16BuffaloLost 7–28 vs. Miami (OH)-21Miami (OH)
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2atIllinoisL 21–⁠2441%
Sep 9vsUABW 51–⁠3151%
Sep 16vsTennessee TechW 28–⁠1380%
Sep 23atWestern KentuckyL 21–⁠3323%
Sep 30atWestern MichiganL 3–⁠5520%
Oct 7atAkronL 3–⁠3142%
Oct 21vsCentral MichiganL 9–⁠5656%
Oct 26vsToledoL 17–⁠5820%
Nov 2atEastern MichiganL 14–⁠5633%
Nov 9atNorthern IllinoisL 17–⁠6316%
Nov 16vsBuffaloL 24–⁠4043%
Nov 21vsMiami (OH)L 7–⁠2838%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Miami (OH) 28–⁠7; unranked in the final AP poll; 12th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 52nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 61 on file).

Record
2–⁠10
Conference
0–⁠8 12th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
215–⁠488
Coach
Mike Neu
Elo
1246 −162 this season
SP+ rating
-19.7 No. 121 of 128; offense No. 113, defense No. 113, special teams No. 122
SRS
−23.6 No. 128 of 130 in FBS
Returning
61% of last season’s EPA, No. 63 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 90 roster talent No. 114 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Joey Lynch
Defensive coordinator
David Elson
Offense
Spread
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense123rd of 130
  • Defense122nd of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted129th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted131st of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0739%1.06123rd of 130
Defense0.2545%1.49122nd of 130
Opponent-adjusted-0.05 off
0.25 def		38% off
46% def		—129th off
131st def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense2.6own 2816% allowed
Defense3.9own 3416% caused

CORE rating -18.8, 126th of 130 (offense -9.1, defense 9.8).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsJack Milas QB970 yds
Passing touchdownsRiley Neal QB6 TD
Rushing yardsCaleb Huntley RB1,003 yds
Rushing touchdownsMalik Dunner WR8 TD
Receiving yardsJustin Hall WR801 yds
Receiving touchdownsNolan Givan TE4 TD
TacklesJacob White LB72 tkl
SacksAnthony Winbush DE11.5 sacks
InterceptionsBryce Cosby S2 INT

Top recruits in the 2017 class

Justin Gibbs WR★★★No. 1175
Jordan Williams WDE★★★No. 1304
Curtis Blackwell OT★★★No. 1424
Caleb Huntley RB★★★No. 1607
Kevin Dominique ATH★★★No. 1718

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs32.30.796
Receivers52.60.803
Offensive line32.30.796
Defensive line42.30.789
Linebackers42.50.786
Defensive backs82.30.787
Athletes and specialists22.50.792
Whole class292.40.792

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Roster 100

The 2017 roster

100 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2017 line; 59 have a stat line. See the roster

2017 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Toledo7–⁠111–⁠3
Northern Illinois6–⁠28–⁠5
Central Michigan6–⁠28–⁠5
Akron6–⁠27–⁠7
Ohio5–⁠39–⁠4
Buffalo4–⁠46–⁠6
Western Michigan4–⁠46–⁠6
Miami (OH)4–⁠45–⁠7
Eastern Michigan3–⁠55–⁠7
Bowling Green2–⁠62–⁠10
Kent State1–⁠72–⁠10
Ball State0–⁠82–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.