Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
4-7 , 3-4
Ball State
4-6 , 3-3
Eagles Grab First Road Win of 2025, 24-9, at Ball State
11/15/2025 3:35:00 PM | Football
Defense pounded its way to 8.0 TFLs while Wheeler recorded his first 100-yard game
Box score (PDF) | Photo Gallery | Highlights | Post Game Presser
MUNCIE, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) – A well-rounded offensive attack and stout defensive pressure pushed the Eastern Michigan University football team to a dominant 24-9 victory inside Scheumann Stadium in Muncie, Ind., Saturday, Nov. 15, as the Eagles handed host Ball State University its first home loss of the year. The Eagles (4-7, 3-4 Mid-American Conference) downed the Cardinals (4-6, 3-3 MAC) to collect their first back-to-back wins of the season while securing their first road victory.
How It Happened
The Eagles opened the game with the ball and marched down the field in 4:13 with Noah Kim (Centreville, Va./Westfield/Michigan State/Coastal Carolina) pushing his way in from one-yard out on fourth down to take a 7-0 lead. In the second quarter, the Cardinals got on the scoreboard with a field goal before the Eagles responded as Kim connected with Jamarien Wheeler (Minneapolis, Minn./Washburn/Iowa Central) for a 43-yard touchdown pass to stake the visitors to a 14-3 lead. Rudy Kessinger (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Watterson) added a 43-yard field goal with 22 seconds remaining to give EMU a 17-3 halftime lead.
The second half opened with the Eagles throwing an interception that the Cardinals turned into three points with their second field goal of the game. In the fourth quarter, the Eagles responded with another touchdown as Tavierre Dunlap (Del Valle, Texas/Del Valle/Michigan) bowled through the defense from 36-yards out to make it 24-6. After Ball State added a field goal with 9:13 to play, the Eagles locked down as the defense kept the Cardinals out of the end zone, marking the team's first game not allowing an offensive touchdown Sept. 21, 2024, when EMU shut out St. Francis (Pa.), 36-0.
Game Notes
» Jamarien Wheeler had a career day as the wide receiver pulled in 131 yards on six grabs with one touchdown to not only smash his career numbers, but also become the 67th different EMU player to finish a game with 100+ yards receiving. Wheeler, who tallied the 145th game of 100-yards or more receiving in program history, blasted his previous bests as he entered the game with highs of four catches, 32 yards, and one score. Additionally, he entered the game with 13 catches, 109 yards, and one touchdown for his entire career.
» With Jamarien Wheeler's 131 yards receiving, the Eagles have now had at least one, 100-yard rusher or receiver in each of the past six games with three receiving games and three rushing. The streak began with Dontae McMillan (Seattle, Wash./Chief Sealth/Weber State) running for 117 yards at Buffalo (Oct. 11) before posting 104 yards against Northern Illinois (Oct. 11). Harold Mack Jr. then pulled in 179 yards at Miami (Oct. 18) before Nick Devereaux caught 121 yards against Ohio (Oct. 25). Wheeler's performance follows McMillan's 100-yard performance against Bowling Green last week. All told, the six consecutive games tied for the fourth-longest single-season streak in EMU history.
» Noah Kim tallied 229 yards on 18-of-29 passing with one touchdown and two interceptions while adding 21 yards and one score on seven rushes in the game. For the season, Kim now has totaled 2,682 yards of offense (passing and rushing), which places him 10th on the single-season list after passing Troy Edwards, who tallied 2,669 yards in 2002.
» Noah Kim finished the game with one passing and one rushing touchdown, marking the fifth time this season and in his career, he has rushed for at least one of each in the same contest. Kim, who tallied his sixth career rushing score, accomplished the feat previously against a Kentucky, against Louisiana, at Buffalo (two passing TDs), and against Ohio (two passing TDs).
» Dontae McMillan led the rushing attack as he tallied 80 yards on 21 carries. As team, the Eagles totaled 151 rushing yards on 40 carries in the game. McMillan now has 904 yards rushing this season, meaning he will need 96 yards or more against Western Michigan, Nov. 25, in his final collegiate game to reach 1,000 yards for the season. If he does, he would become the 12th different EMU player to accomplish the feat.
» Late in the first quarter, Joshua Scott (Antioch, Calif./Deer Valley/City College of San Francisco) picked off a Ball State pass inside the five-yard line to thwart a BSU scoring drive. The interception was the seventh of the season for the team and made him the sixth different Eagle to record a pick. Additionally, the interception was Scott's fourth of his career and his first since the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl against San Jose State on Dec. 12, 2022.
» Eastern held a 17-3 lead at halftime, marking its largest of the season, surpassing the seven-point lead the Eagles held against Ohio (14-7). The 17 points scored also ranked as the second-most in the season behind the 21 points scored in a 21-17 lead against Louisiana, while tying with the 21 tallied in the opener at Texas State (17-24). Eastern is now 3-1 when leading at halftime in 2025.
» The defense put together one of its best games of the season as it tallied 8.0 TFLs and 4.0 sacks of the Cardinals, both of which are the most for the Eagles this season. The last time the Eagles posted 4.0 sacks or more came at home against Central Michigan, Nov. 25, 2022, when Eastern posted 5.0. The 8.0 TFLs are the most for the defense since posting 8.0 at Western Michigan, Oct. 8, 2022.
» The defense has now posted at least 2.0 sacks in its last three games, including 2.0 each against Ohio and Bowling Green. Against the Cardinals, five different Eagles were on sacks with Barry Manning (Stone Mountain, Ga./Tucker), Andrew Marshall (Carroll, Ohio/Bloom Carroll/Ohio/Lacakawana CC), and Quincy Byas (St. Louis, Mo./De Smet Jesuit) each recorded 1.0 sacks while Donovan Green (Palmetto, La./Opeloussas Catholic/Northwestern State) and Ronn Hardin (Cleveland, Ohio/Cleveland Heights/Mt. SAC) record 0.5 sacks. Manning (1.0 vs. Ohio) and Byas (1.0 vs. Ohio) both tied their season bests while Marshall recorded the first sack of his career. The half-sack for Green was his first of the season while Hardin now has 1.5 sacks in his career with all coming in the last two games (1.0 vs. Bowling Green).
» The last time the EMU defense did not allow an offensive touchdown to be scored came Sept. 21, 2024, in a home, 36-0 win over St. Francis (Pa.) with the last instance against a MAC foe taking place Oct. 9, 2021, against Miami, a 13-12 win. Since 1995, the EMU defense has now prevented a team from scoring an offensive touchdown in 10 games, and the sixth time against a MAC foe.
» The defense held the Cardinals to 225 yards of total offense in the game and, coupled with the 258 yards EMU limited Bowling Green to last week, marked the first time Eastern has held consecutive foes to 260-yards or fewer since 2018. That year, EMU's defense stifled both Central Michigan (Nov 3, 2018) and Akron (Nov. 10, 2018) at home with games of 138 and 101 yards, respectively. Additionally, since 1995, Eastern has now held an opponent to 225 or fewer yards 10 times.
» The Eagles went 1-of-1 inside the red zone to keep them perfect inside the 20-yard line this year at 32-of-32. The only other team that is perfect is Oklahoma, who entered their game 28-of-28, plays at Alabama later today.
» Rudy Kessinger was 1-of-1 in field goal attempts, connecting on a 43-yard attempt in the first half. With his field goal, he brought his season total to 17, which ties him with Toller Starnes (1999) for the sixth-most in a single season in program history.
Historical Notes
» With the win, the Eagles improved to 4-7 overall and 3-4 in MAC action while the Cardinals fell to 4-6 overall and 3-3 in league play.
» The Eagles moved to 27-37-2 all-time against the Cardinals and have won three consecutive games. The last time EMU defeated Ball State in three consecutive games was from 2016-18 with wins of 48-41 (Nov. 8, 2016, in Muncie), 56-14 (Nov. 2, 2017) at home, and 42-20 (Oct. 20, 2018, in Muncie). Additionally, Eastern improved to 14-17-2 when playing in Muncie.
» The victory gave Eastern back-to-back wins for the first time since last season, when they won three consecutive games earlier in the year. Those wins came against Jacksonville State (37-34 2OT), Sept. 14; St. Francis (36-0), Sept. 21; and at Kent State (52-33), Sept. 28.
» The win marked the first road victory of the season for the Eagles while doubling as the first home loss in 2025 for the Cardinals. Ball State entered the game 4-0 at home.
» With the victory, the Eagles secured the 200th win in the head coaching career of Chris Creighton. In his 29 years guiding programs, Creighton has tallied 61 wins with Eastern, 44 with Drake, 32 with Ottawa (Kan.), and 63 with Wabash.
Up Next
Eastern Michigan returns to action for its final game of the 2025 season when the Eagles play host to rival Western Michigan University, Tuesday, Nov. 25, inside Rynearson Stadium for #MACtion on Senior Night. The game is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. kick on ESPN+ with the team set to honor 17 players in a Senior Night Ceremony starting at 6:50 p.m. Tom Helmer (play-by-play), Rob Rubick (analyst), Elena Davis (sideline), and Greg Steiner (halftime) will have the call on WEMU (89.1 FM), The Varsity Network app, and SiriusXM.
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Team Stats
EMU 7, BSU 0
EMU - Kim,Noah 1 yd run (Kessinger,Rudy kick), 9 plays, 58 yards, TOP 04:13
EMU 7, BSU 3
BSU - Pippin,DC 42 yd field goal 7 plays, 30 yards, TOP 02:56
EMU 14, BSU 3
EMU - Wheeler,Jamarien 43 yd pass from Kim,Noah (Kessinger,Rudy kick) 4 plays, 55 yards, TOP 01:30
EMU 17, BSU 3
EMU - Kessinger,Rudy 43 yd field goal 9 plays, 51 yards, TOP 01:10
EMU 17, BSU 6
BSU - Pippin,DC 25 yd field goal 9 plays, 40 yards, TOP 04:06
EMU 24, BSU 6
EMU - Dunlap,Tavierre 36 yd run (Kessinger,Rudy kick), 7 plays, 81 yards, TOP 03:07
EMU 24, BSU 9
BSU - Pippin,DC 38 yd field goal 6 plays, 14 yards, TOP 02:26
