Football Upcoming Schedule
Sept. 19 - at Eastern Michigan - 3:00 p.m.
Sept. 26 - at Northwestern - 8:00 p.m.
Oct. 03 - vs Toledo - 3:00 p.m.
Ball State will play its first Mid-American Conference foe this weekend when the team travels to Eastern Michigan.
Eastern Michigan is coming off a dominating 48-29 win over Wyoming, while Ball State is trying to move past its lopsided 56-23 loss against Texas A&M.
Senior receiver Jordan Williams thinks the best way to move past a tough loss it to forget it.
“Short term memory and learning from the game, learning what you need to do to become a better player [will help],” Williams said. “If we all do that, I think we'll be good.”
During the Eagles' game against Wyoming, starting quarterback Reginald Bell went down with an injury. Back-up Brogan Roback stepped up in a big way throwing 12-18 for 117 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
The Cardinals are coming in as five-point favorites. Head coach Pete Lembo is impressed with what he saw from the Eagles' offense and thinks it will be a difficult match, nonetheless.
“I think [Roback] did a great job running their offense last week,” Lembo said. “He's mobile, he throws very well on the run, he throws a good deep ball, he can throw the field outs.”
Backups for most skill positions may not have as much raw talent as starters, but they can be even more difficult to game-plan against. The limited number of snaps teams get to see make it difficult to figure out patterns and trends which can be exploited.
One of the key match-ups to watch will be how Eastern Michigan performs in the red zone.
Currently, Eastern Michigan is tied for first in the nation in terms of their red zone offense, recording seven touchdowns and just one field goal in eight attempts.
While the Cardinals have had only one unsuccessful red zone trip, Lembo is wanting to capitalize on opportunities a bit more since they have had to settle for field goals five times this season.
“I'd like to see us get more touchdowns in the red zone,” Lembo said. “That's going to be important.”
Eastern Michigan is built similar to how Ball State plays; both have a high scoring offenses but allow more points on defense than they should.
Ball State is currently averaging 464 total yards of offense while Eastern Michigan is averaging 475.
While yards are certainly helpful, they don't tell the full picture.
Ball State is scoring 35.5 points per game while Eastern Michigan is scoring 41, but the Eagles are also allowing 13 points less than Ball State.
Williams has seen what Eastern Michigan has to offer but still feels confident that Ball State will be able to get a win on the road.
“Obviously, I think we can beat anyone on our schedule,” Williams said. “If we come out and execute and do what we're supposed to do, I think we'll come home with a win.”
Another key match-up will be Ball State's running backs, mainly starter Darian Green, against Eastern Michigan's run defense.
While they are only surrendering 108 yards through the air per game, they are allowing a massive 329 yards on the ground.
This should be a game where Green, as well as other Ball State backs, should step up.
Against a stout Texas A&M defense, Green had 11 carries for 99 yards and a touchdown. Against VMI, Green had 9 carries for 71 yards and two rushing touchdowns, while also catching two touchdowns.
Green himself is averaging an astounding 8.9 yards per carry this season, demonstrating his breakaway speed. Ball State as a whole is averaging 5.9 yards per carry.
The game time is Saturday, Sept. 19, at Rynearson Stadium in Ypsilanti. Ball State has a good chance of coming out with a win after a shootout where both teams combine for more than 90 points.
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