Ball State Cardinals
Mid-American
An early season loss to an okay Conference USA North Texas squad seemingly spelled out how Ball State's season was going to go. However, after that game in mid-September, the Cardinals reeled off seven consecutive wins, scoring 30+ in all but one of them. They then got overmatched by the MAC West champion Northern Illinois Huskies. There is no shame in finishing second to NIU in the Mid-American Conference. By finishing out the regular season with a 55-14 drubbing of Miami of Ohio (and making M-OH 0-12 in the process), Ball State grabbed their 10th win of the season, the first time the Cardinals got to double digit wins since they started 12-0 in 2008.
2013 Record: 10-2, 7-1
Coach: Pete Lembo
Coach Bowl Record: 0-1
Big Wins: 9/28 Toledo (31-24), 10/5 at Virginia (48-27)
Bad Losses: 9/14 at North Texas (27-34), 11/13 at Northern Illinois (27-48)
Strengths:
Ball State could ball on offense; pardon the pun. Not only did they score 40 points per game, they even managed to score 27 in each of their two losses. The great year through the air was thanks to senior quarterback Keith Wenning and a trio of wide receivers. Wenning threw for a shade under 4000 yards and notched 34 touchdown passes to just six picks. His season ended with a flourish as he racked up 445 yards and six touchdowns in Ball State's final game of the regular season. Collecting most of those passes were three men: Willie Snead, Jordan Williams and Jamill Smith. Each had over 60 catches and 800+ yards. Snead and Williams were especially awesome as they combined to grab 165 receptions for 2445 yards and 24 touchdowns. By being so successful through the air, great producing in the red zone and by limiting their own mistakes (only 3.8 penalties for 31.5 yards per game and a +12 turnover margin on the year), Ball State cruised to those 10 wins.
Weaknesses:
On the flip side, as with many of the MAC teams this season, Ball State struggled on the defensive end for much of the season. Although the points allowed figures were not terrible, the Cardinals gave up a ton of yardage; actually, over two and a half tons to be more precise. With 421 yards gained on them per game, Ball State struggled to get off the field on defense. This team allowed opponents to convert an abnormally high amount of fourth down attempts to extend drives. They were rather poor on first down defense as well, shortening the sticks for opponents' drives. And Ball State averaged under 29 minutes time of possession, just adding to the yardage figures given up. On the offensive side, the running game was not up to par with the passing offense, but that had more to do with attempts than production. The Cardinals did manage a respectable 4.5 yards per carry on the season, led by junior tailback Jahwan Edwards.
Statistical Leaders:
Rushing: Jawan Edwards, RB, 964 yards
Passing: Keith Wenning, QB, 3,933 yards
Receiving: Willie Snead, WR, 1,429 yards
Tackles: Ben Ingle, LB. 105
Sacks: Jonathan Newsome, DE, 10.0
Interceptions: Jeffrey Garrett, CB, 5
2013 Team Stats:
Rushing Offense: 153.3 (79th in nation, 7th in conference)
Passing Offense: 333.3 (9, 1)
Total Offense: 486.6 (20, 2)
Scoring Offense: 40.1 (13, 2)
Rushing Defense: 194.8 (93, 7)
Pass Defense: 226.0 (58, 8)
Total Defense: 420.8 (87, 9)
Scoring Defense: 24.8 (49, 4)
Turnover Margin: 1.0 (10, 3)
Sacks: 2.08 (58, 7)
Sacks Allowed: 1.17 (17, 3)
Recent Bowl Appearances:
2012 Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl UCF (17-38)
2008 GMAC Bowl Tulsa (13-45)
2007 International Bowl Rutgers (30-52)
1996 Las Vegas Bowl Nevada (15-18)
1993 Las Vegas Bowl Utah State (33-42)
1989 California Bowl Fresno State (6-27)
*all team stats through 11/30
