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3rd Quarter Report
Miami of Ohio is on the road but looking no worse for wear. Sitting on a score of 17-12, they have looked like the better team, but there's still one more quarter to play.
Miami of Ohio entered the matchup having won three straight and they're just one quarter away from another. Will they make it four, or will Ball State step up and spoil it? We'll know soon.
Preview
Ball State will be in front of their home fans on Saturday, but a look at the spread shows they might need that home-field advantage. They will take on the Miami of Ohio RedHawks at 12:00 p.m. ET on Saturday. Both teams come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Ball State fell on hard times earlier this season, but after back-to-back wins it seems like their luck might finally be changing. They steamrolled past Kent State 34-3 at home.
Ball State got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Kiael Kelly out in front who rushed for 88 yards and two touchdowns. The team also got some help courtesy of Marquez Cooper, who rushed for 140 yards and a touchdown.
The team's defense also helped out by holding Kent State to a paltry 97 yards. A big part of that defensive dominance came down to Ball State's ability to keep the quarterback under pressure: the team laid the passer out five times before it was all said and done. Leading the way was Sidney Houston Jr. and his 2.5 sacks.
Meanwhile, Miami of Ohio waltzed into Wednesday's matchup with two straight wins but they left with three. They walked away with a 23-10 win over Buffalo.
Miami of Ohio's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Rashad Amos, who rushed for 82 yards and two touchdowns. Graham Nicholson did his part by putting the 'special' in special teams, booting in three field goals and two extra points.
Ball State is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matchups, which provided a massive bump to their 4-7 record this season. As for Miami of Ohio, their win bumped their record up to 9-2.
Not only did both teams in this Saturday's matchup win their last matches, they also took care of their bettors and covered the spread. As for their next game, Miami of Ohio is the favorite in this one, as the experts expect to see them win by 6.5 points. They might be worth a quick bet since they're sitting on a seven game streak of covering the spread when expected to win.
Ball State and Miami of Ohio were almost perfectly matched up when the teams last played back in November of 2022, but Ball State suffered an agonizing 18-17 defeat. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Miami of Ohio's Aveon Smith, who rushed for 84 yards and a touchdown, and also threw for 217 yards and a touchdown. Now that Ball State knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
