Bulls need to play takeaway to contain balanced Cardinals
Five-star scouting report
1. Home, James. The Bulls have gotten off to quick starts, often scoring on their first possession. If that continues, they’ll be able to feed junior TB James Starks, the MAC’s second-leading rusher who has rushed for 711 yards over the last five games. Running inside against the Cardinals will be difficult with DTs Renee Perry and Drew Duffin and MLB Davyd Jones. They are disruptive while helping Ball State hold teams to 145.7 rushing yards per game. The Bulls will try to get Starks to the corner and give him the option on where to go. The offensive line must do a good job of preventing penetration because Ball State’s defensive line looks to get up field.
2. Nate the Great. There are several outstanding college QBs this season – Texas’ Colt McCoy, Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford and Florida’s Tim Tebow come to mind – but Ball State’s Nate Davis, the MAC Offensive Player of the Year, is as good or better. Davis is a highly efficient passer who avoids mistakes and makes good decisions. With CBs Domonic Cook and Kendric Hawkins and ball-hawking safeties Davonte Shannon and Mike Newton, right, Bulls defensive coordinator Jimmy Williams will try to confuse Davis by mixing coverages. Davis hasn’t thrown an interception over the last two games and the only team to make him throw more than one was Navy, which gave him several different looks in the secondary in an attempt to confuse him.
3. Load up on Lewis. MiQuale Lewis, not Starks, is the MAC’s No. 1 rusher with 1,570 yards. If the Cardinals get a lead, that means more touches for Lewis, who has scored 20 TDs this season. The Bulls’ run defense has blown hot and cold all season, at times staying home and making plays while other times trying to do too much only to get burned. Last week it yielded 312 yards rushing against Kent State. The front seven, led by DT Ronald Hilaire and OLB Justin Winters, has to do a better job at shedding blocks. Look for Ball State to establish a physical presence running behind first-team all-league linemen Robert Brewster, Dan Gerberry and Andre Ramsey.
4. Any holes? Ball State is one of the few teams in the country without any glaring weaknesses. It is truly solid across the board. But if there is one area in which the Bulls will test the Cardinals it’s in the secondary. Few teams can equal the talent of Bulls WRs Naaman Roosevelt, Ernest Jackson and Brett Hamlin, and at 6-foot-4 Marcus Rivers provides a big target in the red zone. The Cardinals rank sixth in the MAC in pass defense, and B. J. Hill and Trey Buice are all-league CBs. Because Hill and Buice are trusted in man-to-man coverage, LB Kenny Meeks, the team’s best pass rusher, is free to blitz at will. That could leave QB Drew Willy to find Roosevelt and Jackson free on slants.
5. Take it away. For all of UB’s problems defensively, it has the MAC’s best turnover margin and nation’s 10th best at plus-12. It has forced 19 fumbles and recovered nine the last six games. UB coach Turner Gill figures the Bulls need two or more turnovers to keep pace. Just behind the Bulls in turnover margin is Ball State, which leads the league in interceptions with 16. Getting a pass rush, whether it’s from the front four or with the blitz, will give the Bulls a chance to get sacks and pressure Davis into making mistakes.
Prediction: Ball State moves to 13-0. Ball State, 38-30.
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