With Ball State's win over South Florida still a refreshing memory, it's important to take a step back and remember where this team is in the grand scheme of things.
And it's not where it needs to be, at least not yet.
Sure, Ball State notched its first ever win over a BCS team on Saturday at Scheumann Stadium, but it was going to happen eventually. Does a win over South Florida really prove that this team is no longer an average, run-of-the-mill FBS program? It certainly proved something to the Ball State faithful, that it's no longer a below-average program. Ball State is still quite average as a football program.
Oh, I can just hear Ball State supporters arguing that it has beat two BCS teams in back to back weeks after only having two wins over BCS teams previously. South Florida isn't Notre Dame, Ohio State or Michigan. It wasn't even undefeated before arriving in Muncie last Saturday. South Florida is a decent team in the worst of the six BCS conferences and had already lost to Rutgers 23-13.
Are the wins over Indiana and South Florida impressive for a Mid-American Conference program just two years away from the Stan Parrish era? Of course they are, but there are plenty of warning signs as the team heads into the MAC schedule.
First, its wins over Indiana and South Florida have been dramatic and entertaining - not pretty. The defense has been atrocious, especially late in games. Giving up long touchdowns late in games where your only goal is to not give up the quick score is the best example of where this defense is at right now.
And did you see that tackling against South Florida? I know the Bulls are an athletic team but tackling is a pretty fundamental part of football, and I know coach Pete Lembo couldn't have been happy seeing four to five broken tackles on one play.
The scariest part is in the Ball State's 106th ranking in the nation in points allowed at 36 points per game. In terms of yardage it's still the second worst team in the MAC, something that has sort of become a staple the last few years.
Those numbers are with one of the best offenses, but more importantly, one of the best offenses at constructing long, methodical drives. The defense needs to wake up and learn to get off the field to give Ball State's efficient offense the amount of snaps it needs to stay in sync.
So what do we expect from this team if they're still an average FBS program?
The MAC showed this past weekend it can beat BCS teams. Ball State was among them, but that just means the teams it will see the rest of this season will be just as capable as beating them.
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