Throughout the football season, Ball State University coach Brady Hoke designates Monday as an off day so his players can rest their bodies and watch film of the upcoming opponent.
However, with Western Michigan University looming in the near future, the typical quiet of Fisher Football Training Complex had a workman-like buzz Monday. Instead of focusing on rest, the players were concentrating on one of the more important games of the season.
Ball State starting linebacker and senior captain Cortlan Booker said the players understand the importance of the Cardinals' game at Western Michigan Saturday.
"I would have to say this upcoming game is probably the biggest game of my career, and I think it's that way with a lot of the players," Booker said.
Ball State's focus during the season has been directed at winning the Mid-American Conference West Division. The Cardinals are one game behind Central Michigan University and Western Michigan in the loss column, and a victory would give Ball State the advantage in the first tiebreaker against the Broncos.
Cardinals' starting center and junior captain Dan Gerberry said Saturday's game is a must win for his team.
"If we want to win the MAC, this is a do or die game for us, there's no question about it," Gerberry said. "It's a lot of pressure on this game, but I think everybody likes that pressure. If you don't have pressure at this point in the season then obviously you're not winning football games."
One of the areas Gerberry said will have to improve for Ball State to achieve success is the offensive line. Even though Cardinals' quarterback Nate Davis saw less pressure against Western Kentucky University than he did against Central Michigan two weeks ago, Ball State manufactured a season-low 75 rushing yards.
"If we want to win the MAC as a team, it's going to come down to the offensive line," Gerberry said. "We played well enough last week to win the game, but we didn't play well enough to win the conference and that's what we're focused on. We have to go out and play better."
Saturday's game will begin a three-week road trip in which the Cardinals will play at Western Michigan, the University of Illinois and Indiana University. Due to the challenging schedule, senior safety Eddie Burk said it's imperative Ball State gets a win against the Broncos.
"We know we can play with a lot of the teams around the country and it's nice to have those teams on our schedule," Burk said. "I think the guys have that kind of swagger, but we have to focus on Western Michigan first. If we can go up to Western Michigan and get a win, that's something we can carry with us for not only the rest of the road trip but the rest of the season."
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