Northern Illinois Huskies @ Ball State Cardinals
Career-best 52-yard FG by Jackson Courville gives Ball State 25-23 win over Northern Illinois
MUNCIE, Ind. -- — Jackson Courville kicked a career-best 52-yard field goal with two seconds remaining to give Ball State a dramatic 25-23 win over Northern Illinois on Saturday.
Kanon Woodill kicked a 47-yard field goal with 18 seconds left to give the Huskies their only lead, 23-22 but Kadin Semonza completed passes of 34 yards to Malcolm Gillie and 5 yards to Tanner Koziol to put the Ball at the NIU 35 with 5 seconds to go.
It capped a wild finish that saw a wide-open Skyler Gill, who had seven receptions for 125 yards and a touchdown, drop a two-point conversion that would have pulled Northern Illinois into a 22-20 tie with 4:57 to play. But after a tipped-ball interception put Ball State at the NIU 23 with 2:26 to play, Santana Banner blocked Courville's potential clinching 33-yard field goal with 1:51 to go.
Semonza was 20-of-33 passing for 211 yards with two touchdown passes to Kaziol for the Cardinals (3-5, 2-2 Mid-American Conference). A 3-yard connection opened the scoring. Kaziol also had a 9-yard touchdown among his nine catches for 78 yards.
Courville had field goals of 24 and 47 yards, a yard shy of his career best at the time, to help Ball State take a 19-14 lead at the half. A 50-yard field goal in the third quarter made it 22-14.
Ethan Hampton was 18-of-33 passing for the Huskies (4-4, 1-3), including a 54-yard scoring connection with Thompson. Antario Brown ran for two touchdowns, a 34-yarder to tie the game at 7 and a 6-yard run that pulled NIU within 22-20.
------
AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football.
Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://apnews.com/cfbtop25
Game Information
Muncie, IN


2025 Standings
| Mid-American ConferenceMid-American Conference | CONF | OVR |
|---|---|---|
| Western Michigan | 7-1 | 10-4 |
| Ohio | 6-2 | 9-4 |
| Toledo | 6-2 | 8-5 |
| Miami (OH) | 6-2 | 7-7 |
| Central Michigan | 5-3 | 7-6 |
| Akron | 4-4 | 5-7 |
| Buffalo | 4-4 | 5-7 |
| Kent State | 4-4 | 5-7 |
| Eastern Michigan | 3-5 | 4-8 |
| Ball State | 3-5 | 4-8 |
| Bowling Green | 2-6 | 4-8 |
| Northern Illinois | 2-6 | 3-9 |
| Massachusetts | 0-8 | 0-12 |
NCAAF News

Ex-Colorado QB Ryan Staub says he's joining Tennessee
12h

Big Ten, SEC still deadlocked on College Football Playoff format
12h

Miami and Indiana will meet for the national championship in the CFP final
15h

