Searching for answers after another discouraging loss, coach Stan Parrish is looking at every option available before Ball State plays at Toledo on Saturday night.
Parrish said he's open to personnel changes and will be taking a more active role in creating the defensive game plan this week. Normally he sticks to the offense, but after watching the Cardinals give up a 21-point lead last Saturday and give up 86 points in the past two weeks, he wants a more active role.
"I'll have a bigger hand in preparation on defense only because I need to," Parrish said.
Some of the personnel changes are likely to come on that side of the ball. Parrish said linebacker Justin Cruz was one player in position to get more playing time if he continues to prove himself in practice. This week's depth chart has Cruz taking Tony Martin's place in the starting lineup.
The Cardinals also can dip into their depth in the secondary if necessary.
"I just told the coaches [Sunday], ‘Where we're not getting effort and execution and you have options, feel free to use those options,'" Parrish said.
Ball State will benefit from the return of offensive lineman Austin Holtz, who has missed the past two games with a high ankle sprain.
Getting Holtz back restores some of the depth the Cardinals have missed after injuries to him and center Kreg Hunter in the past month. Parrish said Ball State had only seven offensive linemen available against Eastern Michigan and used five of them.
Beyond changes in the personnel and some coaching adjustments, however, Parrish said it will be up to the players to react to the changes he and the other coaches are making if Ball State is to finish the season strong.
"[The ball] is in my court; I'm serving," he said. "They've got to respond off that."
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