Offensive Strengths
Ball State returns ten starters and 19 lettermen from an offense 24 points per game. Led by RB Marcus Merriweather, the Cardinals rushing attack should be one of the MAC?s best. Merriweather ran for over 1,200 yards and 12 TDs. A powerfully built player at 6?0?? 209, he has the speed to go with his size and should make all-conference honors. There is some quality depth behind him too with Scott Blair, Charles Wynn and Johnny Short. Multi-purpose Talmadge Hill (5?11?? 195) returns for his third straight season as the starting QB after recording over 2,000 all-purpose yards in 2001. WR Sean Schembra (5?11?? 180) is the leading returning receiver and should be the main target wideout target providing he recovers from post-concussion syndrome. Ball State has a good group of receivers in WR Ryan Hahaj (6?4?? 190), TE Jon Eckert (6?4?? 242) & TE Tim Streit (6?4?? 245). Look for some talented true freshmen to play this fall in Chris Jackson (6?0?? 185), Derek Broussard (6?1?? 190) & speedy Larry Bostic (5?7?? 175). The Cardinals have some beef up front with Kris Berry (6?3?? 286), David Miller (6?3?? 324), Colin Johnson (6?2?? 289), Travis Barclay (6?4?? 284), Joel Hofmann (6?6?? 286), and their backups Ty Knisley (6?6?? 322), Nick Tabacca (6?4?? 280) & Adrian Stiffarm (6?6?? 295). Scott Volk (5?11?? 227) is quality FB who averages 7-yards per carry.
Offensive Concerns
Although there are a lot of returning players, this is an offensive unit that did under-perform last season. Obviously, something is missing. With all the talent at tailback and a mobile QB who can duck and tuck at any time, the Cardinals should have done much better than their 165-yards per game on the ground in 2001. The offensive line needs to play much better, given such paltry outputs in a few games last year. BSU had only 124 rushing yards against I-AA Northern Iowa in 2001, and followed that rushing performance up with 70 yards against Toledo, 52 yards against that stout U-Conn defense, and closed the year with 88-yards rushing output at Western Michigan. Also, Ball State lost to graduation some good playmakers at the split end position in Cory Parchman and Billy Lynch. The fact that the Cardinal coaching staff focused so much energy on this position in this recent recruiting class demonstraights how little of game breaking talent there is at WR in Muncie. In all honesty, Ball State has not had a terrific WR since Brian Oliver in 1994. Finally, Talmadge Hill needs to become a more accurate passer and cut down on his league leading 15 INTs. BSU was 2nd in the MAC in time of possession, but could not utilize this statistic better in generating points.
Defensive Strengths
Ball State is loaded at LB. Lorenzo Scott (6?2?? 210) is a real talent at ILB and a tackling machine with 124 total stops last fall. Justin Beriault (6?3?? 190) earned some freshmen all-American honors last year and finished his first season of college football with 117 total tackles. Justin Riley (6?3?? 240), Donta Smith (6?1?? 205) and Andrico Spates (6?2?? 210) will give Coach Lynch a lot of options to attack offenses in their 4-4 defense. DT Greg Pagnard (6?1?? 277) does a yeoman?s job in the trenches. Pagnard finished the season with 55 total tackles, four QB sacks, four QB hurries and ten tackles for loss. Ball State was 4th in rush defense and 5th in total defense in 2001. DBs Jesse Avant (5?8?? 179), Quentin Manley (6?0?? 185) & Steve Monson (5?8?? 168) return in the secondary. Along with switching from a traditional 4-3 defensive scheme a few years ago to a 4-4 attack, Ball State has become a much faster defense comparing themselves to their late 1990 teams.
Defensive Concerns
Ball State returns only five starters from a defense that at times, was pretty darn good in 2001, giving up just 24-points per MAC game. The defensive line is nearly decimated as four players graduated, including two special players in Rachman Crable & Evan Triggs. Shaka Johnson will also be missed at one ILB spot. The Cardinals did not do a good job against that pass last year. BSU gave up 210-yards per game through the air, 17 TDs and just 8 INTs. This is after BSU was 34th nationally against the pass in 2000. On top of that, Ball State had only 22 sacks, and that included a schedule with Northern Iowa, U-Conn, EMU & CMU. Ball State is very small within the interior line, so physical teams like Missouri, Clemson and many of the MAC schools, may where down the Cardinals over time. Keith Anderson (6?2?? 249), Nick Graymire (6?3?? 255) and Conrad Slaughter (6?3?? 250) are listed within the two-deep lineup going into this season. The defensive ends, Jonas Williams (6?0?? 252), Blair Kramer (6?4?? 250), Paul Stabavy (6?1?? 237) & Brad Hess (6?3?? 219) will need to make a lot of plays to assist the defensive tackles.
Special Teams
Traditionally Ball State has some of the finest special teams play in the MAC and this year should be no different. Reggie Hodges averaged over 41-yards per kick last year and at times looked like BSU?s legendary punter Brad Maynard. The good news for place-kicker Mike Langford is that he did not miss a FG in 2001; the bad news is that he only attempted six FGs. In a very interesting and contrasting statistic, the Cardinals were first in the MAC in 2001 in kickoff returns but dead last in punt return yardage. Someone can please explain that anomaly to me?
Overview
The Cardinals are going to be a force this year in the MAC West as 15 starters, including 10 on the offensive side of the ball, return to action. The Cardinals shared the MAC West title with Toledo and Northern Illinois in 2001, but lost out on hosting the championship game via the tie-braker rule that was in effect then. Marcus Merriweather and Lorenzo Scott are two of the MAC?s best overall players. Although Coach Bill Lynch has gone 5-6 the past two years, this team has gotten better and the past two recruiting classes in Muncie have been wonderful. Still, something seems to be missing that causes this team to not quite reach the pinnacle of the MAC?s elite. Ball State can win the division if they win all four MAC games at home and two of the four on the road. That will be very difficult with trips to Marshall, BGSU & Toledo, especially when you consider the size and depth on the defensive line. When the dust settles this year within this extremely competitive division, I see Ball State more of a .500 team that will be within title contention until the final week.
Schedule
Ball State has a good OOC schedule. Road trip to Missouri and Clemson should be challenging, but a home game with I-AA Indiana State and a trip to U-Conn offer some breathing room. Within the MAC, crossover games go to extremes. The extreme positive is hosting Buffalo. The extreme negative is traveling to Marshall for their final regular season game. The West matchups are intriguing as BSU hosts NIU & WMU but travels to BG & Toledo.
Omar?s View = 6-6; wins against ISU, @U-Conn, NIU, EMU, WMU & Buffalo; losses @Missouri, @Clemson, @Toledo, @BG, @CMU & @Marshall.
BOLD PREDICTION Ball State will nearly beat Missouri before losing a heartbreaker to Gary Pinkel?s squad.
Pivotal Game:
Indiana State (9/14/02): Ball State has not faired well in I-AA games recently losing to Northern Iowa last year and Western Illinois in 2000. This is a game that the Cardinals should cruise in and anything less than a blowout victory will be unacceptable the week prior to the Clemson game.
Ball State returns ten starters and 19 lettermen from an offense 24 points per game. Led by RB Marcus Merriweather, the Cardinals rushing attack should be one of the MAC?s best. Merriweather ran for over 1,200 yards and 12 TDs. A powerfully built player at 6?0?? 209, he has the speed to go with his size and should make all-conference honors. There is some quality depth behind him too with Scott Blair, Charles Wynn and Johnny Short. Multi-purpose Talmadge Hill (5?11?? 195) returns for his third straight season as the starting QB after recording over 2,000 all-purpose yards in 2001. WR Sean Schembra (5?11?? 180) is the leading returning receiver and should be the main target wideout target providing he recovers from post-concussion syndrome. Ball State has a good group of receivers in WR Ryan Hahaj (6?4?? 190), TE Jon Eckert (6?4?? 242) & TE Tim Streit (6?4?? 245). Look for some talented true freshmen to play this fall in Chris Jackson (6?0?? 185), Derek Broussard (6?1?? 190) & speedy Larry Bostic (5?7?? 175). The Cardinals have some beef up front with Kris Berry (6?3?? 286), David Miller (6?3?? 324), Colin Johnson (6?2?? 289), Travis Barclay (6?4?? 284), Joel Hofmann (6?6?? 286), and their backups Ty Knisley (6?6?? 322), Nick Tabacca (6?4?? 280) & Adrian Stiffarm (6?6?? 295). Scott Volk (5?11?? 227) is quality FB who averages 7-yards per carry.
Offensive Concerns
Although there are a lot of returning players, this is an offensive unit that did under-perform last season. Obviously, something is missing. With all the talent at tailback and a mobile QB who can duck and tuck at any time, the Cardinals should have done much better than their 165-yards per game on the ground in 2001. The offensive line needs to play much better, given such paltry outputs in a few games last year. BSU had only 124 rushing yards against I-AA Northern Iowa in 2001, and followed that rushing performance up with 70 yards against Toledo, 52 yards against that stout U-Conn defense, and closed the year with 88-yards rushing output at Western Michigan. Also, Ball State lost to graduation some good playmakers at the split end position in Cory Parchman and Billy Lynch. The fact that the Cardinal coaching staff focused so much energy on this position in this recent recruiting class demonstraights how little of game breaking talent there is at WR in Muncie. In all honesty, Ball State has not had a terrific WR since Brian Oliver in 1994. Finally, Talmadge Hill needs to become a more accurate passer and cut down on his league leading 15 INTs. BSU was 2nd in the MAC in time of possession, but could not utilize this statistic better in generating points.
Defensive Strengths
Ball State is loaded at LB. Lorenzo Scott (6?2?? 210) is a real talent at ILB and a tackling machine with 124 total stops last fall. Justin Beriault (6?3?? 190) earned some freshmen all-American honors last year and finished his first season of college football with 117 total tackles. Justin Riley (6?3?? 240), Donta Smith (6?1?? 205) and Andrico Spates (6?2?? 210) will give Coach Lynch a lot of options to attack offenses in their 4-4 defense. DT Greg Pagnard (6?1?? 277) does a yeoman?s job in the trenches. Pagnard finished the season with 55 total tackles, four QB sacks, four QB hurries and ten tackles for loss. Ball State was 4th in rush defense and 5th in total defense in 2001. DBs Jesse Avant (5?8?? 179), Quentin Manley (6?0?? 185) & Steve Monson (5?8?? 168) return in the secondary. Along with switching from a traditional 4-3 defensive scheme a few years ago to a 4-4 attack, Ball State has become a much faster defense comparing themselves to their late 1990 teams.
Defensive Concerns
Ball State returns only five starters from a defense that at times, was pretty darn good in 2001, giving up just 24-points per MAC game. The defensive line is nearly decimated as four players graduated, including two special players in Rachman Crable & Evan Triggs. Shaka Johnson will also be missed at one ILB spot. The Cardinals did not do a good job against that pass last year. BSU gave up 210-yards per game through the air, 17 TDs and just 8 INTs. This is after BSU was 34th nationally against the pass in 2000. On top of that, Ball State had only 22 sacks, and that included a schedule with Northern Iowa, U-Conn, EMU & CMU. Ball State is very small within the interior line, so physical teams like Missouri, Clemson and many of the MAC schools, may where down the Cardinals over time. Keith Anderson (6?2?? 249), Nick Graymire (6?3?? 255) and Conrad Slaughter (6?3?? 250) are listed within the two-deep lineup going into this season. The defensive ends, Jonas Williams (6?0?? 252), Blair Kramer (6?4?? 250), Paul Stabavy (6?1?? 237) & Brad Hess (6?3?? 219) will need to make a lot of plays to assist the defensive tackles.
Special Teams
Traditionally Ball State has some of the finest special teams play in the MAC and this year should be no different. Reggie Hodges averaged over 41-yards per kick last year and at times looked like BSU?s legendary punter Brad Maynard. The good news for place-kicker Mike Langford is that he did not miss a FG in 2001; the bad news is that he only attempted six FGs. In a very interesting and contrasting statistic, the Cardinals were first in the MAC in 2001 in kickoff returns but dead last in punt return yardage. Someone can please explain that anomaly to me?
Overview
The Cardinals are going to be a force this year in the MAC West as 15 starters, including 10 on the offensive side of the ball, return to action. The Cardinals shared the MAC West title with Toledo and Northern Illinois in 2001, but lost out on hosting the championship game via the tie-braker rule that was in effect then. Marcus Merriweather and Lorenzo Scott are two of the MAC?s best overall players. Although Coach Bill Lynch has gone 5-6 the past two years, this team has gotten better and the past two recruiting classes in Muncie have been wonderful. Still, something seems to be missing that causes this team to not quite reach the pinnacle of the MAC?s elite. Ball State can win the division if they win all four MAC games at home and two of the four on the road. That will be very difficult with trips to Marshall, BGSU & Toledo, especially when you consider the size and depth on the defensive line. When the dust settles this year within this extremely competitive division, I see Ball State more of a .500 team that will be within title contention until the final week.
Schedule
Ball State has a good OOC schedule. Road trip to Missouri and Clemson should be challenging, but a home game with I-AA Indiana State and a trip to U-Conn offer some breathing room. Within the MAC, crossover games go to extremes. The extreme positive is hosting Buffalo. The extreme negative is traveling to Marshall for their final regular season game. The West matchups are intriguing as BSU hosts NIU & WMU but travels to BG & Toledo.
Omar?s View = 6-6; wins against ISU, @U-Conn, NIU, EMU, WMU & Buffalo; losses @Missouri, @Clemson, @Toledo, @BG, @CMU & @Marshall.
BOLD PREDICTION Ball State will nearly beat Missouri before losing a heartbreaker to Gary Pinkel?s squad.
Pivotal Game:
Indiana State (9/14/02): Ball State has not faired well in I-AA games recently losing to Northern Iowa last year and Western Illinois in 2000. This is a game that the Cardinals should cruise in and anything less than a blowout victory will be unacceptable the week prior to the Clemson game.
