2000 Ball State Cardinals football team

The 2000 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 2000 NCAA Division I-A football season. In its sixth season under head coach Bill Lynch, the team compiled a 5–6 record (2–3 against conference opponents) and tied for third place in the MAC West.^[1][2] The team played its home games at Ball State Stadium in Muncie, Indiana.

2000 Ball State Cardinals football
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	West Division
Record	5–6 (2–3 MAC)
Head coach	Bill Lynch (6th season)
Home stadium	Ball State Stadium
Seasons ← 1999 2001 →

2000 Mid-American Conference football standings

v t e	Div							Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L					W		L
East Division
Marshall xy$		5	–	1					5	–	3					8	–	5
Akron x		5	–	1					5	–	3					6	–	5
Ohio		4	–	2					5	–	3					7	–	4
Miami (OH)		4	–	2					5	–	3					6	–	5
Bowling Green		1	–	5					2	–	6					2	–	9
Buffalo		2	–	4					2	–	6					2	–	9
Kent State		0	–	6					1	–	7					1	–	10
West Division
Western Michigan xy		4	–	1					7	–	1					9	–	3
Toledo x		4	–	1					6	–	1					10	–	1
Northern Illinois		2	–	3					4	–	3					6	–	5
Ball State		2	–	3					4	–	3					5	–	6
Eastern Michigan		2	–	3					2	–	5					3	–	8
Central Michigan		1	–	4					2	–	6					2	–	9
Championship: Marshall 19, Western Michigan 14
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Due to an unbalanced conference schedule, the team with best division record within each division was awarded that division's championship game berth.

The team's statistical leaders included Talmadge Hill with 1,455 passing yards, Marcus Merriweather with 1,004 rushing yards and 48 points scored, and Sean Schembra with 484 receiving yards.^[3]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 2		at No. 9 Florida*	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL	L 19–40	85,095	[4]
September 9	1:00 p.m.	No. 25 Western Illinois*	Ball State Stadium Muncie, IN (I-AA)	L 14–24	12,779	[5]
September 16		at No. 7 Kansas State*	KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS	L 0–76	46,916
September 30		Northern Illinois	Ball State Stadium Muncie, IN (rivalry)	L 14–43	13,859
October 7		at Miami (OH)	Yager Stadium Oxford, OH	W 15–10	16,412
October 14		Eastern Michigan	Ball State Stadium Muncie, IN	W 33–14	17,899
October 21		at Buffalo	UB Stadium Amherst, NY	W 44–35	13,064
October 28		at Central Michigan	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI	W 38–34	11,837
November 4		Western Michigan	Ball State Stadium Muncie, IN	L 3–42	18,535
November 11		at Toledo	Glass Bowl Toledo, OH	L 3–31	18,916
November 18		Connecticut*	Ball State Stadium Muncie, IN	W 29–0	10,195
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time