When Brady Hoke assumed the helm of Ball State University's football program, it would've been difficult to imagine the Cardinals opening a season with a tune-up game.
Hoke had more pressing issues to consider, such as capturing a winning record and turning a program more shaky than a roller coaster into a consistent contender.
Flash forward six-and-a-half years.
Ball State rides in the wake of its first winning record since Bill Clinton was re-elected. It's expected to wrestle Central Michigan for a Mid-American Conference title. There's even a realistic chance it could win 10 games for the first time since 1978.
The first step down that path will come Thursday night against Division I-AA opponent Northeastern, and the Huskies should serve as a tune-up.
Don't tell Hoke or his team, but it's not "if" Ball State wins Thursday, it's "how" it wins that is going to show the true colors of the 84th football team.
They'll sell their pitch on how every opponent deserves respect. No game is a guarantee. It's in Ball State's best interest that it approaches its season opener with that mindset.
But an athletics department, especially in the Mid-American Conference, doesn't dish out $175,000 for a home game with a Division I-AA team unless it's considered a guaranteed win. That's the price for Northeastern's appearance Thursday, according to a contract former Ball Sate athletics director Bubba Cunningham signed August 2005.
If the Cardinals don't win Thursday's game by at least 17 points - which certainly would constitute a modest margin of victory - coaches, players and fans alike should be scratching their heads and searching for answers. I'm aware of the cliche "why they play the game," but on paper, there is absolutely no excuse for it to be a competitive contest at any point in the fourth quarter.
Northeastern may have won its last game against a MAC opponent, a 31-0 blowout at Ohio University, but it hasn't enjoyed a winning record since 2003. The Huskies finished 3-8 last season and dominated statistically, finishing 10th in the 13-team Colonial Athletics Association in scoring offense and ninth in scoring defense.
Northeastern's poor record last season could be deceiving, considering their schedule featured five top-20 teams in Division I-AA in the span of six weeks. That pales in comparison to the Cardinals' six losses last season, four of which came against teams that appeared in a bowl. A fifth was a one-point defeat to the Blackshirts in Lincoln, Neb.
Of course, arguing about which losses are better is like arguing whether you'd prefer being run over by a bus or a bison. Regardless, there's something to be said about the strength of a team's schedule.
If you're worried about Ball State taking the bait and overlooking Northeastern - perhaps to its second game of the season, a home date with Navy - the players are saying all the right things. This season's core players remember the embarrassing 29-24 loss the Cardinals suffered in 2006 to their last Division I-AA opponent, North Dakota State.
"We didn't know who they were, this team coming in," defensive captain Brandon Crawford said of Ball State's game against the Bison. "I think at some points some of our teammates at that time took them a little lightly, and you see what happened - we lost. No game is ever a tune-up game. You've got to go out and give it your all."
To see how well Crawford's words stuck with the team, watch Scheumann Stadium's scoreboard Thursday. Crawford and most of his fellow starters should have the best view in the house, standing most of the fourth quarter on the sidelines.
Write to Ryan at rtwood@bsu.edu
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