Ball State heads to Bowling Green looking to snap a run of forgettable seasons, and the Falcons are looking to show last year's 38-13 win over the Cardinals wasn't a fluke.
Bush’s Picks
BALLBGSU
BALLBGSU
OverUnder
Best BetBowling Green
Bowling Green gets the nod here mostly because they have an identifiable strength — Austyn Dendy and a run-first attack — while Ball State is still sorting out who even plays quarterback. Home field and a full offseason under Eddie George's staff nudge this toward the Falcons, even with their own passing-game questions.
Ball State
+Total roster overhaul brings fresh talent, 52 new players
+Multiple viable QB options if one separates
+Year 2 stability under Mike Uremovich's system
−Hasn't won more than 4 games in 3 seasons
−No clear starting quarterback identified in previews
−Lost 38-13 to this same team last meeting
Bowling Green
+Austyn Dendy gives them a proven run-game floor
+Key defensive pieces return, including Pringle from ACL tear
+Won last meeting between these two 38-13
−Went 4-8 in Eddie George's debut season
−Burned through 4 QB starters, 12 INTs in 2025
−Lost TE Jacob Harris and LB Gideon Lampron to portal
Both programs enter year 2 of a rebuild. Mike Uremovich took over Ball State in December 2024 and inherited a roster that hasn't won more than 4 games in three straight seasons. Eddie George, the Heisman winner turned first-time head coach, went 4-8 in his debut at Bowling Green in 2025. Neither guy has proven anything definitive yet, and this MAC clash is exactly the kind of game that starts to answer that question.
The bigger story on both sidelines is the quarterback room, and neither has a settled answer. Ball State is running a genuine open competition between Texas Tech transfer Keldric Luster, redshirt freshman Khalel Wright, dual-threat Concord transfer Tyler Mizzell, and true freshman Mason Atkins — nobody has separated in a way that's been reported publicly. Bowling Green's situation isn't much cleaner: the Falcons burned through 4 different starters in 2025, throwing 12 interceptions against 13 touchdowns while allowing 28 sacks. Whoever wins that job by October needs to be a real upgrade, not just a new name.
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BALL Ball State
BGSU Bowling Green
If there's a floor for Bowling Green regardless of who's throwing it, it's Austyn Dendy. The Missouri transfer ran for 493 yards and 5 touchdowns in just 5 games last season, a 98.6 yards-per-game pace that would've been one of the better marks in the MAC over a full slate. A run-heavy approach behind Dendy takes pressure off an unsettled quarterback spot, and it's the clearest advantage either roster brings into this one.
Ball State's answer to that kind of clarity is volume of change. The Cardinals brought in 29 transfers and 23 freshmen, nearly half of a 112-man roster, betting that a full teardown beats incremental fixes. That's a lot of new pieces trying to gel at once, which cuts both ways — it can mean a jump if the portal additions hit, or it can mean the growing pains of guys who've never played together.
