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The Eastern Michigan Eagles football team will host the Ball State Cardinals in MAC play on Saturday.
The game (2 p.m. ET start time) won’t be on regular TV anywhere, but you can watch it live right here on ESPN+, the digital streaming service from ESPN that includes multiple MAC football games every week, other college football and live sports, all the 30-for-30 documentaries and additional original content (both video and written) all for $4.99 per month.
You can sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then watch Ball State vs Eastern Michigan live on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone (Android and iPhone compatible), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the ESPN app.
Ball State vs Eastern Michigan Preview
The Cardinals improved to 2-3 last week, besting the Northern Illinois Huskies 27-20 on the road in their conference opener.
The victory snapped Ball State’s nine-game losing streak against Northern Illinois, the defending MAC champions.
“We knew we had it in us and we just had to go out there and execute it and show everybody that we do have it in us,” Cardinals redshirt junior quarterback Drew Plitt said, according to The Star Press. “That’s what we did today. We weren’t worried. Nobody was down.”
Ball State running back Caleb Huntley personally outrushed the Huskies, carrying 35 times for 157 yards and a pair of scores; Northern Illinois managed 147 yards on 31 rushes.
“It’s just unreal,” Huntley said, per The Star Press. “This is probably the best feeling I’ve ever had since I’ve been in college. We often carry the slogan, ‘Out the Mud.’ (We) really got out the mud.”
The junior busted a 45-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter to put the Cardinals up 24-17.
“It’s tough when you know, everybody in the stadium, everybody on both sidelines pretty much knows, that the ball’s going to be put in your hands,” Ball State head coach Mike Neu said, per The Star Press. “The guys up front have to do their job, but I think it says a lot about him, his incredible patience grinding out some tough yards. Obviously he split the long touchdown run on the counter play. And then taking care of the ball.”
Eastern Michigan dropped their MAC opener to the Central Michigan Chippewas 42-16 last week, falling to 3-2 on the season.
The Chippewas more than doubled up Eastern Michigan in yards from scrimmage, finishing with a 587-285 advantage.
“We got our butts kicked today from start to finish,” EMU head coach Chris Creighton, according to The Eastern Echo. “I think that they played harder than us in all three phases. That’s what I’m responsible for. We should have been fresh coming off the bye week. I felt that we were prepared.”
Central Michigan opened the game with a seven-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. Their next score came on an 80-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter.
“I feel like that we came out flat,” EMU junior linebacker Terry Myrick, per The Eastern Echo. “We are a very tenacious and charismatic team, especially our defense. We didn’t come out with that energy and explosion that we normally come out with.”