2001 Ball State Cardinals football team

The 2001 Ball State Cardinals football team was an American football team that represented Ball State University in the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 2001 NCAA Division I-A football season. In its seventh season under head coach Bill Lynch, the team compiled a 5–6 record (4–1 against conference opponents) and tied for first place in the MAC West.^[1][2] The team played its home games at Ball State Stadium in Muncie, Indiana.

2001 Ball State Cardinals football
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	West Division
Record	5–6 (4–1 MAC West)
Head coach	Bill Lynch (7th season)
Home stadium	Ball State Stadium
Seasons ← 2000 2002 →

2001 Mid-American Conference football standings

v t e	Div							Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L					W		L
East Division
Marshall x		6	–	0					8	–	0					11	–	2
Miami (OH)		4	–	2					6	–	2					7	–	5
Bowling Green		4	–	2					5	–	3					8	–	3
Kent State		3	–	3					5	–	3					6	–	5
Akron		3	–	3					4	–	4					4	–	7
Buffalo		1	–	5					1	–	7					3	–	8
Ohio		0	–	6					1	–	7					1	–	10
West Division
No. 23 Toledo xy$		4	–	1					5	–	2					10	–	2
Northern Illinois x		4	–	1					4	–	3					6	–	5
Ball State x		4	–	1					4	–	3					5	–	6
Western Michigan		2	–	3					4	–	4					5	–	6
Central Michigan		1	–	4					2	–	6					3	–	8
Eastern Michigan		0	–	5					1	–	6					2	–	9
Championship: Toledo 41, Marshall 36
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Due to an unbalanced conference schedule, the team with best division record within each division was awarded that division's championship game berth. Rankings from AP Poll

The team's statistical leaders included Talmadge Hill with 1,953 passing yards, Marcus Merriweather with 1,244 rushing yards and 78 points scored, and Sean Schembra with 432 receiving yards.^[3]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 1	at Auburn*	Jordan-Hare Stadium Auburn, AL	L 0–30	82,376
September 8	at Kentucky*	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY	L 20–28	61,523
September 15	Southern Illinois*	Ball State Stadium Muncie, IN	Canceled		[4]
September 22	Northern Iowa*	Ball State Stadium Muncie, IN	L 39–42
September 29	Miami (OH)	Ball State Stadium Muncie, IN	L 20–28	11,519
October 13	at Eastern Michigan	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI	W 35–14
October 20	No. 25 Toledo	Ball State Stadium Muncie, IN	W 24–20
October 27	at Connecticut	Memorial Stadium Storrs, CT	W 10–5	16,041
November 3	Central Michigan	Ball State Stadium Muncie, IN	W 38–34	20,757	[5]
November 10	Kent State	Ball State Stadium Muncie, IN	L 18–31
November 17	at Northern Illinois	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL (rivalry)	L 29–33	11,795
November 24	at Western Michigan	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	W 35–31
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References

1. "2007 Ball State Football Media Guide". Ball State University. 2007. p. 99. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
2. "2001 Ball State Cardinals Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sport Reference LLC. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
3. "2001 Ball State Cardinals Statistics". SR/College Football. Sport Reference LLC. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
4. Cunningham, Steve (September 14, 2001). "Salukis' game vs. Ball State canceled". The Southern Illinoisan. p. 1D. Retrieved January 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
5. Doug Zaleski (November 4, 2001). "Cardinals finish ahead in high-scoring thriller". The Star Press. pp. Sports 1C, 6C – via Newspapers.com.