Five Things to Watch: Ball State vs. Toledo

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Toledo runs the spread offense, and that's potentially bad news for the Cardinals. Ball State has had difficulty at times trying to contain teams that run the spread. Central Michigan flattened the Cardinals two years ago with its spread offense, piling up 658 yards. North Texas gave the Cardinals enormous trouble in this year's season-opener with its version of the spread. Toledo leads the MAC in total offense, averaging 473.2 yards a game (100 more than runner-up Buffalo).

Toledo's Aaron Opelt has spent his career in the second tier of quality quarterbacks in the MAC. The senior has elevated his game this season to a level that makes him one of the conference's best at his position. Opelt is a good dual threat, passing and running the ball, and those quarterbacks historically give Ball State problems. Limiting Opelt's effectiveness will be tantamount to Ball State's hopes for a victory.

Toledo's 34-14 win at Ball State in 2005 prompted former Rockets coach Tom Amstutz to say, "It's like escaping from the Bermuda Triangle." Scheumann Stadium has been a difficult venue for the Rockets. In 1993, the Cardinals rallied from a 30-3 deficit late in the third quarter to beat the Rockets 31-30 for the greatest comeback win in school history. In 1997, the Rockets were 8-0 and ranked 18th in the nation when they were whipped 35-3 at Ball State. In 2001, Corey Parchman returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown with 3 minutes left in the game to give the Cardinals a 24-20 win over No. 23 Toledo.

"Disappointment" probably best describes Ball State's attitude following four straight non-conference losses to open the season. Coach Stan Parrish and his players put up a united front this week, saying they are ready to shove the 0-4 start to the background and focus on the Mid-American Conference season. They have a chance to make good on that wish by playing three of five October games at home, and the two road games are against teams with a combined 1-5 record. If the Cardinals are capable of rescuing their season, now isn't too soon to start.

You can take all the weird happenings at Ball State in this series and throw them in the Duck Pond. The Cardinals will need more than a freak development to win today's game. They've displayed modest improvement in some areas the past two games, but it hasn't been enough to suggest a turnaround is in the offing. The Cardinals are still too inconsistent across the board to put forth four quarters of fundamentally sound, winning football.

 

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UT looks to end streak vs. Ball State


While on an afternoon jaunt across campus Monday, University of Toledo senior defensive tackle Maurice Hill and Rockets coach Tim Beckman got to talking.

Beckman was on his way back from Savage Hall and his weekly get-together with the Downtown Coaches Association, and the two happened to run into each other on their way to the Larimer Athletic Complex.

Among other things, the pair chatted about the fact that Hill has yet to experience a victory over Ball State in his UT career.

The Rockets are winless in their last three meetings with the Cardinals, something they hope to change when they travel to Muncie, Ind., this weekend.

"Of course that's one of our goals [to beat Ball State] and one of the things we've talked about as a team," Beckman said. "We understand that this is a new era. We're changing things up and doing things different."

In their last matchup, Ball State beat UT 31-0 at the Glass Bowl last season.

This time, however, the Cardinals won't have the services of record-setting quarterback Nate Davis, who opted to forgo his senior year and was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers.

Ball State (0-4) has struggled mightily this season, losing to Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) member New Hampshire at home and taking a 50-34 beating at Auburn last week.

Cardinals freshman quarterback Kelly Page is completing just 48 percent of his passes (58 of 120) and has thrown five interceptions and just three touchdowns.

But that hasn't stopped at least one Ball State player from trash talking a bit this week.

Senior running back MiQuale Lewis, who leads the Cardinals with 46 yards per game average on the ground, wrote on his Twitter page Wednesday night, "getting ready for our homecoming game ... easy game against TOLEDO ROCKETS ... first win and first place in the MAC ... #33"

Earlier in the week, the Rockets were taking a more respectful approach to their upcoming opponent.

"We're not taking anybody lightly," UT senior defensive end Skylaar Constant said. "As we've seen the last couple of years, everybody beats up on everybody else in the MAC, and a lot of good teams have gotten knocked out of bowl games because of it."

Off to their best start since 2006, the Rockets (2-2) have surpassed expectations at this point and are eager to keep adding to the momentum they've gained.

Beckman also emphasized that last week's 41-31 win at Florida International was an important building block for the Rockets because it shows they can win on the road.

"We're a different team with a different mind-set now," UT senior receiver Stephen Williams said. "We'll be confident going to play a good Ball State team."