With each win Ball State University's chances of receiving a BCS bowl bid have become more of a reality. On Wednesday Ball State took another step toward the bowl bid but not just because they improved to 9-0 with a 45-14 win against Northern Illinois University.
Larry Gautier, a representative for the Orange Bowl, attended the game. The Orange Bowl is played every January 1st in Miami and one of six bowls that carry the BCS tag.
"We've never been to Muncie, Ind.," he said. "We wanted to come here and meet the fans, meet the coach and just kind of get a feel for Cardinal football."
Mid-American Conference Commissioner Rick Chryst also attended the game and said the Orange Bowl's interest in Ball State is real.
"It's not a courtesy call at all," Chryst said. "The last two years - Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl, Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl - the teams that are not automatic conferences have proven that they can play. Ball State is in that conversation right now."
In the latest BCS Standings, Ball State is No. 17, five spots from being in the top 12, which is required to get an automatic BCS bowl bid. The Cardinals are the fifth highest ranked team not from a BCS conference.
The top ranked team gets the automatic bid but after that any team in the top 12 is eligible for an at-large bid. The Orange Bowl has an at-large selection this year.
Gautier said any team in the eligible pool at season end will be considered regardless of the conference the team belongs to.
Being in the Midwest will help Ball State in the Orange Bowl consideration, Gautier said.
"We are very big fans of teams in the Midwest," Gautier said. "... We are very faithful to the teams in the pool from the Midwest. We brought Iowa down back in 2003 to play USC. We look the same way at Ball State."
Lou Holtz, a prominent figure in the Midwest for winning a National Championship at the University Notre Dame, was one of the announcers for ESPN2 and said Ball State looks like a BCS worthy team.
"The only thing you can do is just keep winning and see what happens. I think you can make a good justification for why Ball State should be in the BCS," Holtz said. "I don't think you can make justification for why Ball State shouldn't be but not everybody can get in."
Reece Davis was also an announcer for ESPN2. He said even if Ball State goes undefeated it likely won't get a BCS bowl game.
"They got a chance to be a BCS busting team," Davis said. "I'm not sure they can ascend to that level, but they got a chance to go undefeated."
With Ball State up 21-0 at halftime, Holtz said he was a bit surprised at how well the Cardinals were playing.
"They are more impressive in person than I thought they would be looking at them on film," he said.
Whether Ball State receives a BCS bowl invitation, Chryst said, it's good just to be talking about the possibility.
"To be in the conversation for the elite game is both exciting and deserving," he said.
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