25 questions for the Jarheads

When we hear the name Ball State, we usually just
let it amuse our inner-7th grader.  There is much more.

What is their body of work?

It's not very good.  Just a couple years ago, the Cardinals were a rising power in the West and their Coach, Pete Lembo, was being named for P5 jobs.  In fact, had BG lost to NIU that night in 2013, some say Lembo would be at Wake Forest.  Everything since then has been bad for Ball State.  They were 5-7 last year and 3-8 this year, and those wins are against VMI, EMU and UMass.  In other words, Ball State has no quality wins this season.  They lost last to OU by a 48-31 score.

How many seniors and juniors on the two-deep?

29, which is a lot.

Who are their statistical leaders?

FBS Ranks

19th - Kevonn Mabon, kickoff returns

What is their turnover ratio?

In MAC play, they are +1.

Offense:  (Unless noted all stats are MAC games only)

 How is their QB play?

Riley Neal is his name.  He is #7 in the MAC in passing efficiency, but shows a lot of promise.  The only freshman (and he is a true freshman) among the top 10 in MAC passing, he has completed 61% of his passes with 11 TDs over 2 INT, which is all excellent.  The 2 INTs is really good for a first year starters.  He has 10.7 yards per completion, which would seem to indicate a safer passing attack.  He is also a dual-threat QB.

What is their scoring and yards per play?

They are 9th in scoring and 11th in yards per play.  They score only 23 points per game.

Can they run the ball?

They are not good, tied for 11th in yards per carry.  They split carries with two backs, one who averages 5.1 yards per carry and one who averages 4.

Do they pass the ball?

They are 8th in passing yards per game and 6th in passing efficiency.

How was their run/pass balance?

They are pretty balanced, running on 49% of their plays.

Do they convert on 3rd Down?

No, they are 9th in the MAC on third down.

Do they score in the red zone?

They are among the worst in the MAC, with 4.3 points per trip.

Do they protect the quarterback?

Here they are going, allowing only 8 sacks so far this year.

Defense:

Topline: Scoring and yards per play.

This is a very bad defensive team.  They are 12th in scoring defense and 12th in yards per play allowed.  They allow more yards per play than BG earns, if you can believe that.

Do they defend the run effectively?

They are 12th in the MAC in this category as well, allowing 5.4 yards per carry.

Can they be passed on?

If you are noticing a trend, they are 12th in pass efficiency defense.  They allow 72% completions, which might be the worst I have ever seen.

Do they get off the field on 3rd down?

12th.  You knew it.

Do they defend in the red zone?

They are poor here, allowing 5.2 points per trip.

Do they pressure the QB?

They are (I swear to God), 12th in the MAC in sacks.

Special Teams:

Punting?

They are 4th in net punting in the MAC.  No touchbacks.  They have allowed no blocks and no touchdowns.

Punt Return?

They are in the middle of the pack in punt returns, and have been getting only one chance per MAC game.  They have blocked one punt.

Placekicking?

He's pretty good.  Overall (all games) he is 15 out of 20, but 13 out of 14 inside 40 with a 45 long.

Kickoff?

Opponents start on the 24, which is very good.  (all games)

Kickoff Return?

They start on the 28 which is good.  (All games)

Miscellaneous: Overall atmospherics and intangibles.

This one has PTSD for the Falcons, as has been mentioned this week.  BG should have been the Cardinals last year at the Doyt.

And they really should beat them this year in Muncie.  The question is do we feel like playing?  The game lies in ambush between UT and the MAC title game.  BG should be able to score on these guys and win this one in impressive fashion.  If they don't, we have a bona fide slump on our hands.