'Embarrassed': Ball State football lifeless in 40-3 home blowout loss to Georgia Southern

MUNCIE, Ind. — Despite the positive atmosphere stemming from another sunny Muncie afternoon and a dominant Week 3 victory, Ball State football fell flat in Scheumann Stadium against Georgia Southern.

The Cardinals (1-3) were lifeless on both sides of the ball, allowing the Eagles (3-1) to outgain them 304-59 yards in the first half en route to four 3-and-outs, a 23-0 deficit and an eventual 40-3 defeat.

Running back Marquez Cooper tallied just 16 rushing yards, and true freshman quarterback Kadin Semonza looked out of rhythm, leading to just four first downs in the opening half and going 11-for-23 with 123 yards and two interceptions overall.

Georgia Southern, conversely, looked determined and regimented from the opening kickoff, consistently moving up and down the field with creative play calling and an up-tempo approach. Quarterback Davis Brin was extremely effective, completing 34 of 46 passes for 344 yards and four touchdowns, a major improvement from his five interceptions against Wisconsin in Week 3.

Running back OJ Arnold benefitted from the lethal passing game, too, notching nine first-half carries for 90 yards, including a 38-yarder on a crafty delayed draw.

BSU safety Jordan Riley said the Eagles' fast pace was different from what the Cardinals saw on film, which caused confusion and a failure to communicate certain adjustments on the fly.

"Tough day for our football team ... Obviously it starts with me. I didn't do a good enough job preparing our football team to go out and execute at a high level," head coach Mike Neu said. "I apologize to our fans, apologize to those that support us because that just simply is not a representation of what we do."

More: Ball State football earns first win with dominant run game, defense against Indiana State

BSU looked overmatched from the opening kickoff as the Eagles scored on their first two drives, the second coming quickly on just four plays for 63 yards.

The defense stiffened in the second quarter, however, not allowing Georgia Southern to enter the end zone and forcing three field goals. That improvement came without defensive backs Damion Charity and Loren Strickland, who both exited the game in the first half and didn't return.

The Cardinals' offense didn't improve much out of the halftime locker room, going three and out on its first two drives. Georgia Southern took advantage after the second with another touchdown drive to go up 30-0, this time helped by defensive back Aljareek Malry being temporarily sidelined after making a tackle.

“I just think we've got to be more competitive," Riley said. "As a man ... you've got to want it more than the other person, and clearly, they wanted it more today.”

Ball State's passing attack then seemingly broke through when running back Rico Barfield caught back-to-back passes of 23 and 27 yards to put BSU in the red zone for the first time. But a failed option play — quarterback Kiael Kelly's pitch was fumbled out of bounds — and incompletion led to Semonza's third-down pass being intercepted in the end zone.

“We did not execute at all. Point blank. There's no way to dice and slice it any way," Neu said. "Too many negative plays where we were behind the chains. Obviously, we struggled in protection as well, couldn't get anything going in the run game. We got beat, man.”

After BSU's defense responded by forcing a punt, Semonza then threw his second pick in as many passes when he and tight end Tanner Koziol couldn't connect on a RPO play down the sideline. It was one of several misplaced throws from the true freshman on the day, some of which were his fault and others the result of poor pass blocking or bad shotgun snaps.

More: More second-quarter woes bury Ball State football at No. 1 Georgia

The second turnover Semonza's final snap of the contest as Kelly took over quarterback duties thereafter, eventually leading the Cardinals into the red zone after a 20-yard completion and 25-yard scramble. But the Cardinals again couldn't punch it in, this time settling for a 22-yard field goal to avoid being shut out for the first time since 2011.

Both sides deployed the reserves thereafter.

It was Ball State's worst performance of the season and a deflating finish its non-conference schedule that also featured blowout losses at Kentucky and No. 1 Georgia.

The Cardinals begin Mid-American Conference play at Western Michigan (1-3) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30.

"We got embarrassed here at home. I'm gonna find out what our football team is made of," Neu said. "Tomorrow morning when we gather here, I expect them to stick their chest out, put their chin up, own it, take it on the chin like a man and move forward. Don't go run and hide from it. Your problems are your problems. My problems are my problems. We've got to attack it head on, find that solution because we're all we got.”

Gus Martin is a sports reporter at The Star Press. Follow him on X (platform formerly known as Twitter) @GusMartin_SP, and contact him at gmartin@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Ball State football lifeless in 40-3 blowout loss to Georgia Southern