If Saturday's game against Indiana means anything for Ball State, it's another opportunity to beat arguably the most popular school in the state.
It could also mean another opportunity for the players to get back at the school that overlooked them while they were in high school.
"When you grow up in Indiana, that's [what] one of your dreams is, to play at IU," senior linebacker Travis Freeman said. "For those guys not to recruit you or think you didn't have what it takes to go to that university, it does leave a chip on your shoulder."
The last time the two schools met, it marked the beginning of two new eras for the programs. Ball State coach Pete Lembo was making his coaching debut at the FBS level as well as Indiana coach Kevin Wilson after spending nine seasons at Oklahoma.
Ball State left Lucas Oil Stadium with the 27-20 win over Indiana, and the schools went in completely opposite directions after that game. While the Cardinals went on to a bowl-eligible season of 6-6, the Hoosiers faltered to an 1-11 record without a victory in the Big Ten.
Fast-forward 12 months later, Indiana is an improved team that's off to a 2-0 start in the season.
"They have a very good handle on the system now," Lembo said. "They're moving very fast in their no-huddle, a nice balance between the run and the pass. Their defense is playing very physical and I think they're more aggressive than they were last year."
But instead of sophomore Tre Roberson getting the start, it's transfer Cameron Coffman who will lead the offense for Indiana after Roberson suffered a season-ending leg injury against Massachusetts. But Coffman will have his options at wide receiver, most notably Shane Wynn and Cody Latimer who are the top leaders in receptions and receiving yards.
Indiana's rushing game could suffer a setback with the loss of Roberson, but running backs Tevin Coleman and D'Angelo Roberts have a combined 254 yards but no touchdowns.
If Ball State is wanting to win its third consecutive game against its in-state rivals, it'll need more production from the defense and quarterback Keith Wenning will have to find the endzone as he is without a touchdown pass through two games. Defensive end Jonathan Newsome returns from a two-game suspension, which Lembo hopes will help with his defense's pass rush.
"He'll start at one of the defensive end spots, but I don't know what to expect," he said. "He hasn't played in a college football game in two years. I think it's real important he just does his job and goes down there and isn't overanxious and doesn't try to play outside of himself. We need some help in terms of pass rush and defending the run and hopefully he makes us a little bit better there."
As for the lack of touchdown passes by Wenning, Lembo didn't see it as an issue at this point in the season.
"We'll see if we're going to get better at those categories," Lembo said. "I'm sure at some point in the season, we'll get a sack and throw touchdown pass, but I'm not really worried about it."
A third straight win against Indiana would be the most in Ball State history. There's only a handful of players remaining from the team that won in Bloomington, Ind., in 2008, the last time Ball State played at Indiana, but a win in Saturday's game at 8 p.m. could be the biggest one for the team.
"It'd be everything to me," Freeman said. "Being a senior and going down there and beating them on their home field would be an honor. Just this whole in-state rivalry we have going on. To get a victory against those guys, we work hard and prepare for this game."
As a native of Cleveland, Freeman didn't grow up with the in-state rivalry that goes on between schools in Indiana. But that still doesn't keep him from feeling he is just like his teammates that were said no to by the bigger schools.
"I didn't have much recruiting from IU, but I feel the same way because they didn't recruit me," he said. "We feel like we have to show them what they were missing out on when they were recruiting. We want to play better because of that."
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