Ball State Cardinals vs Auburn Tigers Prediction, Odds and Picks for Saturday, 09/06/25

The Auburn Tigers looked great in Week 1 with a 38-24 win on the road over Baylor. After finishing the 2024 season 5-7, Auburn is hopeful their 2025 season will look much better. After being brought in from Oklahoma, quarterback Jackson Arnold looked impressive in his Tiger’s debut. Arnold threw for 108 yards and ran for an additional 137 yards and two touchdowns. Arnold made the right play all night and limited turnovers, something he struggled with last season. The Tigers outsized Baylor and dominated on the offensive and defensive line, leaving their opponent with no answer. Auburn will have a similar size advantage in Week 2 when they take on the Ball State Cardinals out of the Mid-American Conference. Ball State had a tough opponent in Week 1, losing to Purdue 31-0. It will likely be a similar outcome this week against Auburn.

Auburn is a heavy favorite as they return home this week. They won last week against Baylor with a heavy rushing attack. They ran the ball 52 times for 307 yards last week on the road. While they will likely have similar success this week against Ball State running the ball, Auburn will need to have some long passing plays to cover this spread. One of the areas Arnold struggled with last season was throwing the deep pass. He was inaccurate for Oklahoma and he would turn the ball over often. Against Baylor, Arnold didn’t exactly disprove this concern. Despite playing a great game, Arnold only managed to complete two passes for 20 yards or more, and he finished the game without a touchdown pass. I don’t see this being the spot that Auburn tries to open up that part of the offense. Instead, I project that Auburn will go up early as they continue to get Arnold accustomed to the offense, and for different players to get the chance to play late for Auburn. This number is too large for me to take.

Ball State 43 is available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.