Ball State Post-Game Notes Ball State vs. Central Michigan (Nov. 6, 2013)

TEAM NOTES

 Ball State’s nine wins this season are tied for the third most in school history. The school record for wins in a year is 12 in 2008, while the 1978 team won 10 games.

 The Cardinals’ 9-1 start marks the fourth time the team has won at least nine of its first 10 games. The 2008 team started 10-0 on the way to a 12-0 finish. The 1978 team started 9-1 on the way to a 10-1 finish. The 1965 team managed a 9-0-1 record for the season.

 Ball State won its 11th straight MAC game dating back to last season, tying for the second-longest streak in school history. The longest MAC winning streak for a Ball State team is 12 games spanning the 1977 and 1978 seasons, while the Cardinals also had an 11-game streak spanning the 2007 and 2008 campaigns.

 The Cardinals’ 11-game conference winning streak in the fourth-longest in the nation. Only Northern Illinois (MAC) with 22 straight league wins, Ohio State (Big Ten) with 13 and Florida State (ACC) with 12 have longer active streaks. Ball State also extended its home winning streak to seven games.

 Ball State has now won seven straight games and 15 of its past 17 games. The Cardinals’ 15-2 record dating back to Oct. 13, 2013 is tied with Stanford for sixth best in the country during that period.

 The Cardinals are off to a 6-0 start to their MAC schedule for the third time in school history. The 1978 and 2008 teams also started 6-0 in league play. Both of those teams finished MAC play 8-0.

 The Cardinals’ 399 points this year already rank as the fourth most in a season in school history. The 399 points are the most ever by a Ball State team through 10 games. The school record for points in a season is 489 in 2008.

 Ball State defeated Central Michigan for the fourth straight season to take a 23-22-1 lead in the all-time series with the Chippewas.

 The Cardinals improved to 24-11 overall and 16-6 in the MAC in their three years under head coach . Lembo’s .686 winning percentage is the best in Ball State’s Division I history and second-best overall behind only Ray Louthen (.726 from 1962-67).

OFFENSIVE NOTES

 Senior Keith Wenning threw four touchdown passes to bring his season total to 27, the second-most in school history. holds the school record with 30 TD passes in 2007.

 Wenning brought his school-record career total to 84 touchdown passes, moving into a tie for seventh in MAC history with (Miami, 2001-03).

 It was Wenning’s 15th career game with at least three touchdown passes, including the past four in a row. He has thrown for 15 total TDs over those four games. He has thrown at least two touchdown passes in 14 of his past 15 games.

 Wenning has accounted for 30 touchdowns on the year with 26 through the air and four on the ground.

 With 299 yards passing, Wenning raised his season total to 3,164, the third most in a season in school history. Nate Davis owns the top two spots on the list with 3,667 yards in 2007 and 3,591 in 2008.

 Junior receiver broke the school record for touchdown catches in a season. Snead caught two TDs to bring his season total to 12, breaking the record of 11 set by Darius Hill in 2007.

 Snead brought his career total to 23 touchdown grabs, moving into third on the Cardinals’ all-time list. Darius Hill (2005-08) holds the career record with 31, while Brian Oliver (1991-94) is second with 24.

 Snead finished with 118 receiving yards on nine catches for his 11th career 100-yard game, tying the school record. Dante Love (2005-08) and Dante Ridgeway (2002-04) also had 11 career 100-yard receiving games. It was Snead’s seventh 100-yard game of the season.

 Sophomore running back Horactio Banks ran for his seventh touchdown of the season and 11th of his career. Banks finished with a career-high 143 rushing yards on 11 carries, topping the 100-yard mark for the second time this season and fourth time in his career.

 With six catches for 91 yards and one touchdown, senior receiver Jamill Smith moved into fifth place on Ball State’s career receptions list with 160, a tie for seventh on the school’s career receiving TDs list with 14 and ninth on the Cardinals’ career receiving yardage list with 1,806.

 Sophomore receiver Jordan Williams caught his eighth touchdown of the season and fifth in the past five games.

DEFENSIVE NOTES

 Ball State, which entered the game second in the nation in fumbles recovered, added two more to bring its season total to 15. The Cardinals came into the game sixth nationally in total turnovers gained and added three more to bring their total to 26.

 Senior cornerback Jeffery Garrett recorded his team-leading fifth interception of the season and the sixth of his career.

 Senior defensive tackle Nathan Ollie recorded his third career fumble recovery, while sophomore linebacker Ben Ingle recorded his first. Redshirt freshman safety Dae’Shaun Hurley notched his second forced fumble of the season on the Ingle recovery.

 The Cardinals finished with three sacks on the day, including two by senior defensive end Jonathan Newsome, the team’s sack leader. Newsome now has six sacks this year and 14.5 in his two years with the Cardinals. Junior safety Brian Jones had the other sack.

 The Ball State defense held Central Michigan to three points in the first half, marking the second time in the past three games the Cardinals have allowed only a first-half field goal.

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES

 Junior place kicker Scott Secor kicked field goals of 26, 28 and 31 yards to run his streak to seven consecutive makes. Secor improved to 12-for-13 this season on field goal attempts of 45 yards or less.

 Jamill Smith had a career-long 42-yard punt return. Smith moved into fourth place all-time at Ball State with 443 career punt return yards. He ranks second on the school’s kickoff return yardage list (1,889).