Mat Mikesell is a senior journalism major and writes ‘Miked Up’ for the Daily News. His views do not necessarily reflect those of the newspaper. Write to Mat at mlmikesell@bsu.edu.
Pete Lembo said it perfectly following Ball State’s loss to Northern Illinois.
“Ball State, I think, has had two teams maybe in 90 years to win 10 or more games,” the head coach said. “We have a chance to do that in this next game. We have plenty to play for. We know if we get this next win, it’s going to enhance our chances to get into a nice postseason bowl game.”
He was on the money, twice in Ball State history has a team won 10 or more games. The most recent was in 2008 and the first time it was done was in 1978 when the team went 10-1.
Ball State will have to wait until Nov. 29 to host Miami, but that gives the team more time to regroup from Northern Illinois and get healthy. The time off also allows the Cardinals to prepare for the RedHawks and set its sights on making program history.
Losing to Northern Illinois hurts, as a win would have clinched a berth in the Mid-American Conference title game Dec. 6. But like Lembo said, there’s still plenty to play for.
A win against Miami will lock Ball State in a MAC tie-in bowl game. The likely destination is the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl in Detroit on Dec. 26, ironically the same venue as the MAC championship game. But if Northern Illinois can crack into a Bowl Championship Series bowl game again, Ball State could make a trip to the GoDaddy.com Bowl, usually reserved for the No. 1 MAC team.
Regardless of where the team lands, the goal is still to get the first bowl win in program history. Ball State is 0-6 in bowl games with the most recent loss 17-38 in last December’s Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl.
But a bowl game isn’t on Ball State’s mind right now. It’s preparing for Miami and making sure a senior class that includes Keith Wenning, Jamill Smith and Zane Fakes get a win in their final game at Scheumann Stadium.
A win also will give Ball State a perfect record at home on the season, something that hasn’t been done since 2008, as well.
Ball State was pushed out of the conference title picture, but there’s no reason to forget about this team. Like Lembo said, there’s still plenty to play for.
And possibly some history to be made.
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