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Ball St. Cardinals at Central Michigan Chippewas 1:00 PM ET
Central Michigan Chippewas –3.5 –106 (2 Units)
Ball St. has just two wins this season, both at home coming against teams with a combined 1-19 record (Central Florida and Western Michigan). Their defense has been atrocious on the road, allowing 49 ppg in their 5 road trips. They have been against much better competition than Central Michigan, but the Chippewas can score as well. They have played only three home games, averaging 30.7 ppg. One of those was against 1-AA SMS, but Ball St. can easily fall into that category. The offense is non-existent, averaging 304.4 ypg compared to Central Michigan who is gaining 392 ypg, 39th in the country. The Cardinals have scored more than 21 points only 3 times this season.
Despite winning against Central Florida, The Cardinals managed only 10 first downs, tying their second-lowest total in the past 44 games. They managed only 254 yards, converted just 3-of-13 third-down plays and possessed the ball a season-low 24:07. One of Ball State's problems on offense has been an inability to get off to a productive start. The Cardinals have scored just 18 points all season in the first quarter. Ball State scored at least 23 points in three of its past five games, but 51 of the 78 total points in those games came while playing catch-up in the second half. They had to play catch up against Central Florida as well, scoring the winning touchdown midway through the 4th quarter. They have been outyarded in every game but one, the exception being their 4th game of the season against Western Michigan. That isn’t saying much as the Broncos have been outgained by a total of 1,368 total yards in their 9 games against 1-A competition. In the MAC, The Cardinals are 12th in total offense (304.4 yards per game), 9th in rush offense (114.2) and 12th n pass offense (190.2). Central Michigan is 6th in the conference in total offense and while that might seem average, the 5 teams ranked ahead of them have a combined MAC record of 28-7. The Chippewas finished third in the MAC in rushing with 195.8 yards per game in 2003 and stands third this year at 164.6. Tailback Jerry Seymour is second in rushing with 106.7 yards and all-purpose yards at 144.5. He's also tied for 12th in receiving with 4.3 catches per game. Defensively, the Cardinals aren’t much better as they are 13th in total defense (460.7) in the MAC. That includes being 12th pass defense (265.9) and 13th in rush defense (194.8). Central Michigan QB Kent Smith will fire at will as the Cardinal pass defense is last in the nation in pass efficiency and has only picked off one pass all season long. Part of the problem with Ball St. is youth. The Cardinals list 31 sophomores and freshmen on their offensive and defensive two-deep rosters. While this game means nothing in the conference picture, it is a big game for the future as the Chippewas are looking to turn the corner. "This is an important game in a lot of ways for our football team," said first-year head coach Brian Kelly. "These seniors would like to be remembered as the class that helped turn around this program. A win Saturday would give us three conference wins, two more than last year's team won.”
Central Michigan Chippewas –3.5 –106 (2 Units)
Ball St. has just two wins this season, both at home coming against teams with a combined 1-19 record (Central Florida and Western Michigan). Their defense has been atrocious on the road, allowing 49 ppg in their 5 road trips. They have been against much better competition than Central Michigan, but the Chippewas can score as well. They have played only three home games, averaging 30.7 ppg. One of those was against 1-AA SMS, but Ball St. can easily fall into that category. The offense is non-existent, averaging 304.4 ypg compared to Central Michigan who is gaining 392 ypg, 39th in the country. The Cardinals have scored more than 21 points only 3 times this season.
Despite winning against Central Florida, The Cardinals managed only 10 first downs, tying their second-lowest total in the past 44 games. They managed only 254 yards, converted just 3-of-13 third-down plays and possessed the ball a season-low 24:07. One of Ball State's problems on offense has been an inability to get off to a productive start. The Cardinals have scored just 18 points all season in the first quarter. Ball State scored at least 23 points in three of its past five games, but 51 of the 78 total points in those games came while playing catch-up in the second half. They had to play catch up against Central Florida as well, scoring the winning touchdown midway through the 4th quarter. They have been outyarded in every game but one, the exception being their 4th game of the season against Western Michigan. That isn’t saying much as the Broncos have been outgained by a total of 1,368 total yards in their 9 games against 1-A competition. In the MAC, The Cardinals are 12th in total offense (304.4 yards per game), 9th in rush offense (114.2) and 12th n pass offense (190.2). Central Michigan is 6th in the conference in total offense and while that might seem average, the 5 teams ranked ahead of them have a combined MAC record of 28-7. The Chippewas finished third in the MAC in rushing with 195.8 yards per game in 2003 and stands third this year at 164.6. Tailback Jerry Seymour is second in rushing with 106.7 yards and all-purpose yards at 144.5. He's also tied for 12th in receiving with 4.3 catches per game. Defensively, the Cardinals aren’t much better as they are 13th in total defense (460.7) in the MAC. That includes being 12th pass defense (265.9) and 13th in rush defense (194.8). Central Michigan QB Kent Smith will fire at will as the Cardinal pass defense is last in the nation in pass efficiency and has only picked off one pass all season long. Part of the problem with Ball St. is youth. The Cardinals list 31 sophomores and freshmen on their offensive and defensive two-deep rosters. While this game means nothing in the conference picture, it is a big game for the future as the Chippewas are looking to turn the corner. "This is an important game in a lot of ways for our football team," said first-year head coach Brian Kelly. "These seniors would like to be remembered as the class that helped turn around this program. A win Saturday would give us three conference wins, two more than last year's team won.”
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