Written by Nathan Comp

Week One Preview: Ball State Cardinals

The Indiana Hoosiers will kick off the 2019 season against intrastate foe Ball State University. It will be the second of a three-game series that began last year in Memorial Stadium when Indiana scored their highest margin of victory ever against the Cardinals, a 38-10 defeat. This year’s contest will serve as Ball State’s home game, though it will be played in the Indianapolis Colts’ Lucas Oil Stadium rather than Muncie’s Scheumann Stadium. The series will conclude in 2020 when the two teams return to Memorial Stadium for a week three non-conference battle.

This will be the 10th ever matchup between Indiana and Ball State. Indiana holds a 6-3 advantage over the Cardinals, but the series has certainly been back and forth. After winning the first four meetings between the two, Indiana proceeded to drop the next three between 2008 and 2012. Since then, Indiana has returned to the winning column in 2016 and 2018. Last year’s victory included one of the main highlights of Indiana’s 2018 season, J-Shun Harris returning a punt for a touchdown after his third ACL surgery during the prior offseason.