One of the elementary fundamentals in football is to take care of the ol' pigskin. Teams that don't give away the ball in excess with fumbles and interceptions usually can contend for a victory. Ball State lost the turnover battle 3-0 in its win at Eastern Michigan last week, but that normally isn't a formula to win games. Ohio leads the nation in turnovers forced with 26 (14 fumbles, 12 interceptions), and that kind of pressure could be hard on the Cardinals.
Ohio's defensive front might be underrated, but the Cardinals haven't let the Bobcats' skill level escape their eye. The middle of the line with NG Marcellis Williamson (6-1, 342) and DT Ernie Hodge (6-2, 295) has grabbed the attention of Ball State coach Stan Parrish. He rates the duo in a class with Temple's interior D-line, which snuffed out Ball State's running game three weeks ago.
Ball State got by last week with a subpar performance from QB Tanner Justice, who made his first career start, because of its incredible rushing numbers. The Cardinals ran for 463 yards, second best in school history, as TB Quale Lewis romped for a school-record 301 and third-string TB Cory Sykes added 203. The Cardinals have to find some balance for future games, and that starts with Justice today. He completed only 2-of-10 passes last week and 6-of-21 the previous game. Ball State has to make defenses respect its ability to throw or the running game will struggle to produce.
The best thing Ball State's beleaguered defense can do today to awake from its slumber is get pressure on Ohio's offense. The Bobcats didn't surrender a sack for five straight games until Kent State battered them with seven sacks last week. That not only disrupted Ohio's passing game, it also slowed the run game, too. The Bobcats managed only 164 yards of offense, including minus-9 on the ground.
Here comes the wet blanket. The bubble bursts today for Ball State's winning streak. One and done for the Cardinals. Ball State gave a nice performance a week ago, but don't lose sight of this fact: It rushed for school and national records and still only beat an Eastern Michigan team that possibly is the worst in the Mid-American Conference by two points.
Ohio's defensive front might be underrated, but the Cardinals haven't let the Bobcats' skill level escape their eye. The middle of the line with NG Marcellis Williamson (6-1, 342) and DT Ernie Hodge (6-2, 295) has grabbed the attention of Ball State coach Stan Parrish. He rates the duo in a class with Temple's interior D-line, which snuffed out Ball State's running game three weeks ago.
Ball State got by last week with a subpar performance from QB Tanner Justice, who made his first career start, because of its incredible rushing numbers. The Cardinals ran for 463 yards, second best in school history, as TB Quale Lewis romped for a school-record 301 and third-string TB Cory Sykes added 203. The Cardinals have to find some balance for future games, and that starts with Justice today. He completed only 2-of-10 passes last week and 6-of-21 the previous game. Ball State has to make defenses respect its ability to throw or the running game will struggle to produce.
The best thing Ball State's beleaguered defense can do today to awake from its slumber is get pressure on Ohio's offense. The Bobcats didn't surrender a sack for five straight games until Kent State battered them with seven sacks last week. That not only disrupted Ohio's passing game, it also slowed the run game, too. The Bobcats managed only 164 yards of offense, including minus-9 on the ground.
Here comes the wet blanket. The bubble bursts today for Ball State's winning streak. One and done for the Cardinals. Ball State gave a nice performance a week ago, but don't lose sight of this fact: It rushed for school and national records and still only beat an Eastern Michigan team that possibly is the worst in the Mid-American Conference by two points.
