There was no Auburn, Iowa or Boston College on the schedule, and the Cardinals are still only one game better than last years 0-4 start, but this time, it's coming against non-ranked teams.
With the exception of Purdue, none of the teams Ball State has played thus far have been rated in the AP top 25 poll in at least 20 years.
But even without those big-time programs on the schedule, the result is all too familiar.
The Cards suffered yet another loss to a Division 1-AA school and now go limping into Mid-American Conference play, after hitting lowest of lows. It was the third time in the last five, that the Cardinals have suffered this fate to a 1-AA at home.
The good news is that there is only one direction to go from here.
"It starts with us," Ball State coach Hoke said. "Number one, we have to make sure we are coaching things the way we want it to be coached and we got to make sure we got the right people in the game."
One of the problems Ball State has run into is its inability to control the line of scrimmage on either side of the football, especially on offense.
For instance, at times in the first half the Cardinal running game, or lack thereof, was moving backwards, instead of forwards. The Bison front four dominated, which limited Ball State's options on both offense and defense.
"We didn't do anything well," Hoke said. "When you can't run the ball, especially when the weather gets bad, it's going to hurt you. We didn't have any continuity to it. Negative plays get you off schedule and you get out of rhythm to your offense."
Throughout most of the game, Ball State's total yards on the ground looked like a good golf score. The Cardinals flirted with negative numbers on a number of occasions and could not find any openings on the line.
Ball State finished with only 14 total yards on the ground, on 24 carries. B.J. Hill led the Cards with 22 yards on 6 attempts.
Coming into the game, it was no secret that North Dakota State prided itself in stopping the running game. The Bison had held their previous two opponents to an average of 15 yards rushing per game. With Saturday's performance, they lowered that mark to under 13.
"That is the strength of our defense," North Dakota coach Craig Bohl said. "We pride ourselves in stopping the run. What we wanted to do was make them one-dimensional and that was the first thing we set up to do with them. We knew they had to pass and sooner or later we would get them off the field."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
