Muncie, IN (Best E Casino) - The 20th-ranked Ball State Cardinals will attempt to remain undefeated as they play host to Mid-American Conference foe Eastern Michigan on Saturday afternoon.
Eastern Michigan is fresh off a heart-breaking loss to Akron by a 42-35 final, the second straight loss for the Eagles. They are now 2-6 overall and 1-3 in MAC play, so they are obviously heavy underdogs heading into this tilt.
As for Ball State, it has been idle since October 11th when the team knocked off Western Kentucky on the road by a 24-7 final. All seven victories by the Cardinals have come by double figures, impressive to say the least. There are some challenges on the remaining schedule for Brady Hoke's team, but this weekend's matchup doesn't appear to be one of them.
Ball State owns a 27-20-2 series advantage over Eastern Michigan, including four straight wins over the Eagles.
Through eight games, EMU is averaging 21.9 ppg and 382.6 total ypg. The Eagles have scored 22 offensive touchdowns, including 15 on the ground. With 176.2 ypg on the ground and an average of 4.6 ypc, the club has found plenty of success running the football. Terrence Blevins leads the way with 471 yards and nine touchdowns, and Dwayne Priest is close behind with 413 rushing yards. As for the passing game, Andy Schmitt has completed 58.8 percent of his throws for 1,063 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions. Jacory Stone is the top receiver on the roster, as he has made 48 catches for 544 yards and one score.
Eastern Michigan racked up 440 total yards and 35 points against Akron last time out, but that impressive output simply wasn't enough. The Eagles got a pair of running touchdowns and 91 yards from Blevins, while Stone caught seven balls for 109 yards. Schmitt completed 22-of-34 passes for 258 yards and three scores, but the solid effort simply wasn't enough to hang with the Zips.
Opponents are racking up 31.4 ppg against Eastern Michigan despite gaining fewer total yards per game than the Eagles (375.1 ypg). The biggest problem for EMU has been its inability to stop the run, as foes are averaging 223.2 ypg and 5.5 yards per carry. Also, 22 of the opposition's 33 offensive touchdowns have been of the rushing variety. The Eagles are allowing foes to make good on 44 percent of their third down conversion attempts, a figure that must be improved. Daniel Holtzclaw has been the most active defender for Eastern Michigan, as he has made 76 total tackles to date.
It appeared that the Eagles had won the game against Akron last weekend on a blocked field goal, but the ball bounced to the Zips' holder who ran for a first down. Akron then scored the game-winning touchdown with 14 seconds remaining. EMU struggled mightily on defense, yielding a total of 547 yards, including 339 on the ground.
A powerful offense has played a major role in Ball State's success this season, as the team is averaging 37.4 ppg and 455.6 total ypg. Considering that the Cardinals are churning out 5.1 yards per rush and 13.2 yards per pass completion, they have obviously had great success with both means of attack. Quarterback Nate Davis has been sensational, completing 68.5 percent of his passes for 1,817 yards and 13 touchdowns against four interceptions. Since favorite target Dante Love was lost for the season, Davis has spread the ball around to many different targets. As for the ground attack, MiQuale Lewis has rushed for 914 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Against Western Kentucky last time out, Davis threw a pair of touchdown passes, while Lewis rushed for 112 yards and one score. The Cardinals were not explosive offensively by any means, but they certainly did enough to win the game.
"The kids wanted the shutout and the coaches wanted it for them," said coach Hoke after the Western Kentucky game. "But we were able to play some young players and get them some valuable experience." WKU scored its only points of the contest in the final minute, and while the Hilltoppers did post 352 total yards in the clash, the Cardinals came up with three takeaways that kept them from finishing drives. Ball State was better against the pass than the run in that clash, so expect the team to focus a bit more on stopping the ground attack of EMU this weekend.
Overall this season, Ball State is holding opponents to 15.4 ppg and 347.4 total ypg. The Cardinals have only permitted 12 touchdowns to opposing offenses in seven outings, and they have registered 10 interceptions. Sean Baker leads Ball State with 52 total tackles, and he has four interceptions as well.
