[tm]Kent State[/tm] Kent State at Ball State Saturday, September 27, 2008 Time Noon Scheumann Stadium, Muncie, Ind. Radio/TV: WNIR 100.1 FM Ball State THE SERIES Ball State leads the series 18-5. The last time Kent State played the Cardinals was 2006, in a 30-6 loss in the last game of the season at Dix Stadium. The last time Kent State traveled to Muncie was in 2001, where the Flashes won 31-18. The 2001 season is the most recent winning season for the program. A LOOK AT THE BALL STATE CARDINALS Ball State coach Brady Hoke should have high expectations for this team. The Cardinals grew like ivy in Hoke's fifth season, and it's second under star quarterback Nate Davis and standout offensive player Dante Love. Junior Nate Davis passed for a school-record 3,667 yards last season. How good was the Ball State offense in 2007? Davis threw for a school record 3,667 yards, had 30 touchdown passes compared to just six interceptions and averaged a Mid-American Conference high 282.1 yards a game. The only thing more impressive was Love. The rising senior had a MAC record 2,690 all-purpose yards, along with 100 catches for 1,398 yards and 10 touchdown catches. Simply put, no team in the MAC has a combination quite like Davis and Love. The Cardinals won seven games, which is the most in more than a decade for the program. Not only did Ball State win close games in 2007, such as 27-23 win over Western Michigan, but nearly had the biggest upset in the MAC, losing to college football royalty Nebraska, by just one lousy point (41-40). It was all wrapped up in the team's first bowl trip in 11 years. The success of the team can't be credited just to Davis and Love. The Cardinals led the conference with a +17 turnover margin, which included 19 interceptions. However, Ball State's defense did struggle in the offensively loaded 2007 MAC West, and will have to improve a pass defense that was ranked ninth and a rush defense that was ranked tenth in the conference. Overall, this is arguably going to be the most anticipated season in Ball State football history. The only problem is that the Cardinals face a difficult schedule that includes MAC East opponents Miami and of course Kent State. As far as the non-conference goes, Ball State faces Navy in week one and will play Indiana in its third game. Look for Ball State to seriously contend with back-to-back MAC champion Central Michigan for the MAC West. WHEN BALL STATE HAS THE BALL Football can be so easy sometimes, and when a team has a talented quarterback and a good receiver, it gets even easier. The Cardinals led the conference in passing in 2007, which makes the second time in the season Kent State will have faced a conference's passing champion from last season (the first being Boston College). BC may have had a better passing game then anyone in 2007, but they still were not THAT efficient. Ball State was. The six interceptions, along with the 56.5 completion percentage was the best in the MAC, and one of the best in nation. Dante Love is Nate Davis' first option, but not the only deep threat the Cardinals possess. The 2008 season shouldn't be much different. Not only is Davis, who is just a junior, and Love back, but so is Darius Hill. The senior is tied at 24 for the school's record for touchdown catches and is an even bigger target when lined-up opposite of Love. Obviously, the passing game is the first option for this team. When the Cardinals do run the ball, they have sophomore running back Frank Edmonds returning. As a freshman, Edmonds gained 531 yards on 140 attempts. Although the average comes out to a little under four yards a carry, the Cleveland St. Edward product is still developing. The second option is Cory Sykes. The freshman that enrolled early from Harvey, Ill., rushed for 40 yards on eight carries during the spring game, which made him the leading rusher on the day. For Kent State, it will be a drastic change from the running minded Ragin' Cajuns from the week before. Ball State passed 483 times last season, and that may increase this season. Unlike Boston College, a passing team that must rebuild, Ball State is a team that is built. The first step to attacking the Ball State offense will be pressure. Judging by the spring, Kent State may do that extremely well with junior Kevin Hogan and sophomore Monte Simmons at defensive end. Ball State allowed 26 sacks in 2007, which may have led to a new offensive guards-center coach in Muncie. With nine returning starters on offense, this could be the best offense Kent State faces all season. And with all the buzz Simmons and Hogan created in spring practice, this is the game Kent State coach Doug Martin is expecting them to play well in. The secondary will have its hands full all day, but the pressure will make Brian Lainhart, Danny Sadler, Rico Murray and the rest of the secondary breathe a little easier. WHEN KENT STATE HAS THE BALL Judging by the numbers, Ball State's defense is vulnerable when passing and running, but creates tons of turnovers. Last season the Cardinals had two players with five interceptions, and another with four. The catch, they're all back in 2008. Seniors B.J. Hill and Trey Lewis had five, while Alex Knapp had four interceptions. The leading tackler is also back in the form of Piqua, Ohio native Bryant Haines. The senior had 124 tackles last season and is the team leader on defense. Ball State had a decent scoring defense last season, but with a +17 turnover margin, that should be expected. Kent State turned the ball over the second most times in the MAC, which could make this game a turnover-battle game. Look for Kent State to hand the ball off to junior Eugene Jarvis a lot in this game. Not because Jarvis is probably the best player on offense, but because of ball control. Senior quarterback Julian Edelman will either be having a tremendous season and a likely MAC come-back player of the year like season, or he'll be battling time with Giorgio Morgan. Regardless, Kent State's best option is to hand the ball off in order to keep Davis and his aerial show on the sidelines. Martin has said in the past that time of possession is a stat that he doesn't care for, but could be helpful in this game. Jarvis could be effective for many reasons, but a major factor is that Ball State last saw him in 2006. Since then, Jarvis has gone bonkers running the ball, and will be looking for revenge. In 2006, Jarvis rushed for minus yards against Ball State. KEY MATCH-UP Julian Edelman vs. the Ball State secondary match-up is a good one. Ball State had 19 interceptions in 2007, and Edelman threw his fair share last season. This is interesting because it will likely be the game that Edelman shuts up the critics for good, or places the magnifying glass on his shoulders. This is the first MAC game. For Kent State, all other games are tiny compared to conference games. Forget a Boston College upset, or a Ragin' Cajun boil, the MAC is what these players and coaches truly care about, and beating a top MAC West team like Ball State will be a good step. And the quarterback position is the foot. They either get stepped on, or do the stomping. Edelman has the experience to play against any MAC secondary, and his running ability makes him a threat at any point in a drive. The secondary of Ball State will either allow a pass to be thrown, or make Edelman run for yardage, so that would make them the key to his game. The defensive line of Ball State could put pressure on him physically, but no more pressure then the secondary will put on his psyche. WHAT TO WATCH Throw out Jarvis, Edelman, Davis and Love. The best player and possibly best NFL prospect playing in this game is the punter of Ball State. Chris Miller was the third leading punter in the country last season and was an American Football Coaches Association All-America First Team selection with 45.4 punting average. OK, so why is this a big deal? Their offense has a solid passer and the defense has more picks then the AFC Pro-Bowl team, why the punter? Because for Kent State to win the game, they will need to have long drives by running the ball. The strength of the offense is rushing. One player that will change the field on Kent State is Miller, and may HELP the Flashes in a weird way. However, if Kent State is constantly put in 1st-and 10 on its own eight yard line, and is constantly going 92-yards to score- it will test the team's depth. This only works if the defense is able to stop the Ball State offense and not allow quick scores. Whether it works like this or not, field position and ball control is how the Flashes beat Ball State. EXTRA POINTS I can't take credit for this, but Ball State may be ranked when Kent State plays them (Thank you Steve Hare). After facing Navy, Akron and the Hoosiers to start the season, Ball State could be undefeated at 3-0, and may have two blowouts to boast, along with an in state Big Ten victory. This will likely not happen by the time they play Kent State, but Ball State could be ranked at some point in the season, and this could be the "ranking" game. (I don't want to sound like a broken record here, but Ball State is very similar to Kent State. Hoke has two years on Doug Martin and look where his team is. If Kent State continues to recruit well, they could easily be in the same position Ball State is in now.) Final note: Nate Davis' older brother Jose holds 12 different Kent State passing records. The 1997 season was one of the finest performances a Kent State quarterback has ever had in one year. He passed for 32 touchdowns, 2,707 yards and had a 64.3 completion percentage.

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