Just recently Ball State announced that they have fired head football coach Mike Neu. Neu was at the helm of the Cardinals program since 2016 and had a 40-63 win/loss record during his time leading the football program.
Mike Neu was the head football coach at Ball State for eight
seasons plus ten games this season. Here is a
look at the Ball State Cardinals football team since 2008
(the year
in which the data I use to model FBS production starts). Ball State's head football coaches were Brady Hoke (2003-2008 - but only 2008 is included in the graph below); Stan Parrish (2009-2010); Pete Lembo (2011-2015) and Mike Neu (2016-2024*). As you will
notice, Ball State was below average during most of Neu's tenure.
Below is the Ball State Cardinals production rank (total, offense, defense) since 2008 using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com. Head coach changes are listed (in the school's colors) as vertical bars. More details about
the program under Neu is
provided below.
Mike Neu [2016-2024*]
2016
Ball State finished the regular season at 4-8,while playing against an “easier” strength
of schedule (SOS), meaning that Ball State's SOS was between one and two standard deviations higher than the "league" SOS. The Cardinals' best win
was against #89 ranked Georgia State by a
score of (31-21) and their worst loss was to #100 ranked Akron by a
score of (25-35). Ball State was the #111 ranked team overall, with the #110 ranked
offense and the #101 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2017
The Cardinals finished the regular season at 2-10, while playing against an “average” strength
of schedule (SOS), meaning that Ball State's SOS was plus or minus one standard deviation from the "league" SOS. Ball State's
best win
was against #56 ranked UAB by a
score of (51-31) and their worst loss was to #125 ranked Illinois by a
score of (21-24). Ball State was the #122 ranked team overall, with the #123 ranked
offense and the #113 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
Ball State finished the regular season at 4-8,while playing against an “average” strength
of schedule (SOS). The Cardinals' best win
was against #74 ranked Western Michigan by a
score of (42-41) and their only loss was to #99 ranked Western Kentucky by a
score of (20-28). Ball State was the #104 ranked team overall, with the #94 ranked
offense and the #99 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2019
The Cardinals finished the regular season at 5-7, while playing against an “average” strength
of schedule (SOS). Ball State's
best win
was against #89 ranked Northern Illinois by a
score of (27-20) and their worst loss was to #88 ranked Kent State by a
score of (38-41). Ball State was the #51 ranked team overall, with the #51 ranked
offense and the #61 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2020
The Cardinals finished the COVID shortened regular season at 6-1,while playing against an “average” strength
of schedule (SOS), and were bowl eligible, where they defeated #24 ranked San Jose State by a score of (34-13). The Cardinals' best win
was against #17 ranked Buffalo by a
score of (38-28) and their only loss was to #94 ranked Miami (OH) by a
score of (31-38). Ball State was the #35 ranked team overall, with the #50 ranked
offense and the #52 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
Ball State finished the regular season at 6-6,while playing against an “average” strength
of schedule (SOS). Ball State was again bowl eligible, where they were defeated by #56 ranked Georgia State by a score of (20-51) and thus finished with a won-loss record of 6-7. The Cardinals' best win
was against #32 ranked Western Michigan by a
score of (45-20) and their worst loss was to #62 ranked Wyoming by a
score of (12-45). Ball State was the #96 ranked team overall, with the #94 ranked
offense and the #87 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2022
The Cardinals finished the regular season at 5-7, while playing against an “easier” strength
of schedule (SOS). Ball State's
best win
was against #83 ranked Kent State by a
score of (27-20) and their worst loss was to #106 ranked Western Michigan by a
score of (30-37). Ball State was the #77 ranked team overall, with the #90 ranked
offense and the #49 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2023
The Cardinals finished the regular season at 4-8, while playing against an “average” strength
of schedule (SOS). Ball State's
best win
was against #64 ranked Northern Illinois by a
score of (20-17) and their worst loss was to #119 ranked Eastern Michigan by a
score of (10-24). Ball State was the #94 ranked team overall, with the #121 ranked
offense and the #29 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2024*
Head
coach Neu was fired after the tenth game of the season and the Cardinals had a 3-7 record at that time. The Cardinals played
against an “average”
strength
of schedule (SOS); meaning that Ball State's SOS was plus
or
minus one
standard deviation from the "leagues" average SOS through week 10 of the
season. At this point in the season, Ball State's best win
was against #31 currently ranked Northern Illinois by a score of (25-23) and their
worst loss was to #110 currently ranked Central Michigan (34-37). At the end of week 10, Ball State was the #121 ranked team overall, with the #86 ranked
offense and the #129 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.