The pressure seems to be mounting on Ball State University's football team each week following a win.
The Cardinals are not only in the midst of their best start to a season in 20 years. They are also one of 18 teams in the country that remain undefeated. Their five-game winning streak ties for the third-longest in the country.
Coach Brady Hoke said the team's success hasn't gotten to his players' heads.
"Not with the way they've responded and the way they've been," Hoke said. "I promise you that they have a focus and they have a vision."
Defensive captain Brandon Crawford said he hasn't spent one moment thinking about the historical mark Ball State is on the cusp of reaching.
The Cardinals rank 29th in the Associated Press and coaches polls and have the chance to crack the top 25 nationally for the first time in their 84-year history. Regardless, the only thing on Crawford's mind, he said, is Saturday's game at the University of Toledo.
"I don't even focus on [rankings] at all," Crawford said. "I can't allow myself to, because if I do then I'm contributing to distractions for my team. I think that's more of a focus for people who report and do numbers and statistics. I can't get into that."
Hoke said the rest of the players haven't paid attention to the national credibility their program has received in the past couple weeks, either. His message to the players, Hoke said, has been to block out the outside distractions and stay focused on their next opponent on the schedule.
"No one really knows our team but our team," Hoke said. "No one really knows what they do day in and day out besides us, and [the players] are the ones who have to go through it. All those people who think they're great and say those things, they'll be the first to say that they were overrated. So you can't worry about what people think. You can't worry about what people write. You just have to worry about you as a team."
Hoke said he expects Toledo to be a good measuring stick for how good his team is midway through the season, despite the Rockets' 1-3 record. Toledo beat the only Mid-American Conference team it's played - Eastern Michigan - by 24 points and took No. 22 Fresno State to double overtime before losing 55-54.
Saturday also served as a reminder of how easy it is for a favorite to be upset. Four of the top 10 teams in the AP Poll were upset, including former No. 1 USC.
"I think upsets are in the minds of the favorites," Hoke said. "It's how your preparation is. I think the parity of football is there, and I think it's real."
Sophomore linebacker Davyd Jones said he knows Ball State has a chance to leap into the national rankings with another dominating win Saturday. Right now, he said, the team's only concern is to continue winning every week.
"Rankings don't really mean anything now," Jones said. "The main goal is just going undefeated, winning every game, and whatever comes with it comes with it. As long as we come out there and do what we're supposed to do and how we're supposed to do it at 110 percent, then whatever comes with it comes with it. If we're ranked, we're ranked. If we're not, we're still going undefeated."
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
