We're less than one week away from Ball State opening up its 2021-22 football season.
Last year, after dropping their first game, the Cardinals won seven straight, winning their first outright Mid-American Conference championship since 1996 and the first bowl game in program history.
In its last two games that season, Ball State beat Buffalo, then-ranked No. 23 in the Associated Press Poll, and San Jose State, then-ranked No. 19 in the AP Poll, helping the Cardinals finish No. 23 in both the AP and Coaches Poll at the end of the season.
The Cardinals aren't ranked to start their 2021-22 campaign, but received votes in both the AP Poll and Coaches Poll.