On a day where Ball State had a chance to beat Central Michigan for the sixth consecutive season, ineffectiveness from the offense led to them snapping that.
The Cardinals' offense, which has been effective over the last few weeks, struggled today. They were 2-12 on third down conversions, an issue that they have struggled with all year, going 53-135 on the season.
"I think it's just reflective of our lack of rhythm, offensively," head coach Pete Lembo said. "We only had twelve of them, which means we got a few more chunk plays on first and second down, which is good."
Last week, Ball State attempted a season-high 22 third downs during the 31-19 loss to Georgia State, almost cutting that number in half this week.
At the start of the second half, Ball State held a 14-10 lead. From there, four straight three-and-outs led to six total in the game, which marks a new season high.
Perhaps the offensive struggles came from the variation of defensive looks thrown at Ball State freshman quarterback, Riley Neal.
"Yeah, they gave us different looks," Neal said. "I think we just struggled to get momentum, you know couldn't get a first down it felt like for four to five drives, maybe even more."
Time of possession is a category where Ball State normally matches up well against opposing teams, averaging 29:11 per game.
Lack of offensive production gave the Cardinals 23:18 in time of possession leaving the defense on the field for 36:42.
"We just struggled getting first downs," Neal said. "That makes the defense tired. They're getting out there every play, so it was just tough for us."
In the second half, the Cardinals' offense was only on the field for 9:39, giving the Chippewas 68 percent of the second half plays.
Neal's fumble inside Central Michigan's 10-yard line was another contributing factor in Ball State's fifth consecutive loss, tying Lembo's longest losing streak as the head coach in Muncie.
Neal has committed a turnover in each of his five starts this season, while sliding zero times.
"It all starts with ball security, and that's something that we work on all the time," Lembo said. "To Riley's credit, he's been good with that. He's taken some big hits... I haven't seen him run with the football carelessly."
On the year, Neal has committed two interceptions and three fumbles. Each of the fumbles have had a negative effect during the games in which they occurred.
Now sitting at 2-6, and the chance of a bowl game dwindling, Lembo's challenge becomes keeping his team motivated.
"It's hard on all of us," Lembo said. "I think the way they came out -- and the energy level they had today -- they weren't down today, and we just gotta keep that going."
Ball State (2-6, 1-3) will finish off their three-game home stand on Halloween day against the University of Massachusetts Minutemen (1-6, 0-3).
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