Cardinal Roundtable: Western Kentucky

(Every week, The Sixth Ball Brother and the other two Ball State sports blogs, Over The Pylon and Ball U Nation, participate in a Cardinal Roundtable, where we attempt to answer the key questions concerning this coming week's opponent. Which is, Western Kentucky. You can click on their answers at the bottom of this. This week's questions come from Alan at OTP — and you know me.)

1.) So... Western Kentucky. Are you remotely worried about this game?

The only thing that really piques my interest is their schedule. They've played an extremely difficult one and won't exactly be worried about hosting a Top 25 team. It reminds me of Ball State last year when it became clear we weren't going to be intimidated going into someone's huge stadium and competing with them. I also worry about their version of the "Wildcat" formation, in which running back Dexter Taylor takes the direct snap like the old Single Wing offense. Pretty crazy, and I'm looking forward to seeing it in action.

2.) The first half against Toledo was simply brutal to watch. Is that slow start cause for concern as we go forth to Bowling Green?

Look, nobody's perfect. Every undefeated team has had some random temporary roadblocks, close calls or slip-ups. At the moment, I'll just say it's a blip on the radar screen. We have had a little bit of trouble scoring in the red zone, but maybe I'm too confident in our team in that I expect a touchdown every single drive. This is the new Ball State (cue Jo Ann Gora voice).

3.) This game has the potential to be a stat padder for some of the Cardinals and a chance for some younger guys to showcase what they can do. Who would you like to see get more reps than normal?

I'd like to see Nate reach the 400-yard mark with five touchdowns. He hasn't had the big, gaudy stat-like games yet. That being said, he hasn't had to because MiQuale has been unbelievable. And I'd like Briggs Orsbon to be on the receiving end of this big game. I really like the kid. No wonder Purdue tried to steal him away from at the last second (although he says this isn't true, I want to run with it, haha).

4.) What's the best thing you took away from the Toledo game? Conversely, what's the one thing of concern you took away from the Toledo game?

The best thing is our defense. Wow. I am officially on the bandwagon with these guys. The Cards have been hampered so much in the past by the lack of defense, that it's unbelievable seeing guys fly around like this. And I've never seen a defense with this many playmakers.

Concern...Hey Ian McGarvey, make some field goals!

5.) The term "mid-major" and "BCS buster" gets thrown around a lot. Of the non-BCS teams ranked above the Cardinals, are there any you think the Cardinals couldn't beat?

I'm not sure we'd beat BYU. I almost think that the Cougars are going to make it to the national championship game. It would definitely be a shootout for sure, somewhere in the 52-49 range. But I think the Cards would beat or stay within a point or two of the others. Our offfense is too good.

6.) Is there a player on Western Kentucky you'd like to snap up and switch shades of red and white?

I'm biased because I saw way more of Dexter Taylor in high school than one should, but that kid is a legitimate threat. No one could touch him in high school and if anyone knows how to use him correctly, it's his high school coach, Kevin Wright, who is now Western Kentucky's offensive coordinator. I would bet the house we're going to see A LOT of the Wildcat formation (or Single Wing, whichever you prefer depending on your age). Hopefully the defense is up to the task.

7.) There's been quite the chatter this week about rankings and what they mean. Who is your Top 5 so far this season. More importantly, who do you have playing it out in the BCS Championship game?

Well, my preseason national title game was Missouri vs. Ohio State, so that's not going to happen. But I'm still sticking with Missouri. That team's sick. And the thought of Alabama making it to the title game makes me want to puke because I hate Nick Saban so much. This looks like another LSU year where they'll pull rabbits out of the hat again. So I'm going LSU-Missouri. If USC makes it to the NC game, I'm going to go nuts. We had to listen last year about how USC was the best team in the nation, blah blah blah, but didn't make it. Hey, you guys had the worst loss out of everyone in Stanford. And you have it again this year in Oregon State. Sorry 'bout cha.

Over The Pylon
Ball U Nation

Football team in the news

I thought I'd just throw up everything here. Hope everyone enjoys.

Ball State defensive end Brandon Crawford is awesome. He was on ESPN's First Take with Jay Crawford and Dana Jacobson.



I couldn't really embed it here onto the Web site, but Brady Hoke was on ESPN Radio on Monday and you can find the link here. It's about seven minutes long.

And here's the full audio from the interview that play briefly on Monday's College Football Live.



And lastly, our boy David Letterman talked about us briefly last night too. If you go to the home page of Ball State sports, ballstatesports.com, it comes up automatically. Enjoy!

Ball State reaches AP Top 25, world ends

In the past few days, whenever I get depressed or upset about something, all I do is think to myself, "Ball State is in the Top 25." I still cannot get over it. It brings a huge smile to my face. Sunday was probably one of the happiest days of my life and I wish I were kidding.

The amount of press the Cardinals are receiving is unbelievable. Just as earlier as this spring, I could easily find and link to every story written. Now, it's getting harder and harder because there's so much content out there. But you know what, I love and I wouldn't want it any other way.

The Cardinals slipped into the No. 25 spot following the 31-0 win over Toledo. Only 13 more spots until the Cardinals reach the AP Top 12 and then we can seriously discuss this team's BCS hopes. As I've said before, they're still not very good and I don't know if the Cardinals' strength of schedule is going to be enough to get them to the BCS. But as the cliche goes, let's get this done one day at a time.

Quick thoughts on the Toledo game

So, a lot has happened since we last chatted. There was no TSBB Morning Quarterback because I didn't get to watch or listen to any of the Toledo game, so it's kind of hard to provide any sort of analysis. But based on what I've read and heard, the first half was kind of alarming in that the defense was unbelievable, yet Ball State only scored three points. You can't let a team hang around. Luckily, Toledo sucks, and Ball State's offense poured it on. Receivers were OK, I think the lack of Dante Love is going to rear its ugly head as the season draws to a close.

But good God, how awesome is MiQuale Lewis? What an unbelievable performance. 160 yards, two touchdowns. Pretty freakin' sweet. And from what I understand, Sykes' run was great too and he's lining up in the slot from time-to-time.

Cardinal Roundtable: Toledo (Four days late)

(Yes, yes, I know, I haven't posted anything for a week. I have my reasons, but I will try to get back on the horse in an attempt to bring the best possible news. Anyway, I missed last week's version fo the Cardinal Roundtable, but here's how I would've answered them if I had done it on Thursday. The other two participants are Over The Pylon and Ball U Nation. Enjoy.)

1. One of the biggest questions going into the Kent State game was how Ball State would be able to replace Dante Love. How well do you think Ball State was able to replace him?

You can't replace your top playmaker on a dime and expect everything to stay the same. Maybe at an Alabama, but not at Ball State. And I'd be lying if I didn't say I was worried about our last three games and how missing Dante could hurt us down the road. But it almost seems as if Nate could make Myles Trempe and Briggs Orsbon superstars in his own right. Trempe is slowly starting to make a heck of an impression on me.

2. One of the weak spots in this year has been the run defense. How much do you think this will hurt Ball State as the season progresses?

I'll cheat here since we saw what the defense did in the Toledo game, but man this defense's improvement has been freakin' ridiculous. I've never seen a Ball State defense play as well as it did against Toledo. Never in my lifetime. They made the Rockets look ridiculous. But as we keep saying, the truest test will come against Central.

3. Brady Hoke is starting to get mentioned for other jobs, assuming he leaves, who would you like to see replace him?

Well, obviously Stan Parrish would be the ideal fit. The question is, does he want it? If he were to leave with Brady wherever he goes next (and it's probably a safe bet Brady leaves when Nate does), I really have no idea who'd replace him. Maybe Lee Corso?

4. If you could save one Toledo player and make him a Cardinal, who would it be and why?

When we did this question earlier about which MAC player we'd want, I chose Toledo's ball-hawking safety Barry Church and I still stand by that one.

5. One of the biggest playmakers for Ball State was supposed to be Darius Hill, but he has been all but invisible in all but the Northeastern game. What do you think is the problem and is it correctable?

It's kind of weird in that he has ALWAYS had a case of the butterfingers, yet no one ever talked about it until this year. I think it's more noticable because Ball State is, in fact, 6-0. For all the hype he gets, he sure drops a lot of footballs and I've got to think that scouts notice it. But I wouldn't trade him for too many tight ends in college football, his size and ability to get open underneath are pretty solid.

Over The Pylon
Ball U Nation