CollegeKingRex
CTG Regular
I wish I could be there for the virgin voyage of Ball State football in Funcie on a Tuesday night.
The Cardinals played in Toledo on a Tuesday about this time of year in 2006, winning as a 4-point dog on the field, 20-17. The Glass Bowl has traditionally been a tough place to play, so Toledo has some revenge in mind tonight.
Most of you don't realize it, but tonight's game is no ordinary run-of-the mill MAC tilt. Because wins have been hard to come by for most league teams, the winner tonight has a very realistic chance of going to a bowl.
The MAC has three bowl tie-ins. Central Michigan has assured itself of a spot in the MAC title game and one of the spots. The East winner, most likely Miami O, will also go. Next in line is the team with the most overall wins. Each team is 5-5 and BSU will likely be favored at Northern Illinois in its season finale. A 7-5 mark should be good enough for a trip to Mobile or Toronto. Toledo has a tougher test - at rival Bowling Green - in its finale next Friday.
The Cardinals need to advance to a bowl game to legitimize their presence as an improved football program. Eight different schools in the MAC have participated in a bowl game since 2004. Buffalo has a chance to join the list this year if it wins the East Division championship.
Toledo is only 5-5 and all their wins came at home. The Rockets have just one win over a team with a winning record - I-AA Liberty. Toledo has also lost 4 of the last 5 in Muncie and they were ranked in the Top 25 on 2 of those occasions.
Toledo is the highest-scoring team in the MAC, averaging 36.5 points a game. The Rockets are averaging 55.0 points in their past three games, including a 70-21 win against Northern Illinois. The Dildos are also tops in the conference in rushing yards per game (223.0) and total yards (464.2).
However, UT is 0-3 in road games this season, allowing an average of 46.7 points to those opponents.
Ball State's high-powered offense slipped the past two games while playing Big Ten Conference opponents Illinois and Indiana. Once the MAC's highest-scoring team, the Cardinals managed only 37 points the past two games. A key issue for Ball State was its inability to protect quarterback Nate Davis. Illinois sacked him four times, and Indiana pressured him hard with its front four to give it the luxury of full coverage in the secondary.
Toledo has a MAC-worst nine sacks this year, so Davis should have more time to throw tonight.
Ball State is also at 5-5 but its losses were to teams that were just better than the Cards. Nothing to be ashamed about in losing to Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana and the likely 2 MAC title game participants. Two of Ball State’s five losses have been by one point (41-40 loss to Nebraska and 14-13 loss to Miami).
Toledo has lost to Buffalo (same team BSU clobbered earlier at home), Central, Purdue, Kansas and Western (another team BSU handled)... while beating Iowa State (fluke), and winning the last three league games - albeit impressively - but all at home.
Toledo's 34-14 win at Ball State in 2005 prompted 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, when I was the football beat writer for the student paper, I remember vividly that the Rockets were 8-0 and ranked 18th in the nation when they were whipped 35-3 at Ball State as a 25-point favorite. It was likely the most stunning sporting event I ever covered as a newspaper reporter.
In 2001, Corey Parchman returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown with three minutes left in the game to give the Cardinals a 24-20 win over No. 23 Toledo.
None of that should come into play tonight but makes for interesting sidebar info, nonetheless.
There should be a decent crowd tonight, as the temps will be in the low-to-mid 50s at kickoff with just light winds.
Prediction: Ball State 44, Toledo 34.
The plays: Ball State -5.5 for a medium bet and OVER 66 for a big bet.
GL...
:cheers:
The Cardinals played in Toledo on a Tuesday about this time of year in 2006, winning as a 4-point dog on the field, 20-17. The Glass Bowl has traditionally been a tough place to play, so Toledo has some revenge in mind tonight.
Most of you don't realize it, but tonight's game is no ordinary run-of-the mill MAC tilt. Because wins have been hard to come by for most league teams, the winner tonight has a very realistic chance of going to a bowl.
The MAC has three bowl tie-ins. Central Michigan has assured itself of a spot in the MAC title game and one of the spots. The East winner, most likely Miami O, will also go. Next in line is the team with the most overall wins. Each team is 5-5 and BSU will likely be favored at Northern Illinois in its season finale. A 7-5 mark should be good enough for a trip to Mobile or Toronto. Toledo has a tougher test - at rival Bowling Green - in its finale next Friday.
The Cardinals need to advance to a bowl game to legitimize their presence as an improved football program. Eight different schools in the MAC have participated in a bowl game since 2004. Buffalo has a chance to join the list this year if it wins the East Division championship.
Toledo is only 5-5 and all their wins came at home. The Rockets have just one win over a team with a winning record - I-AA Liberty. Toledo has also lost 4 of the last 5 in Muncie and they were ranked in the Top 25 on 2 of those occasions.
Toledo is the highest-scoring team in the MAC, averaging 36.5 points a game. The Rockets are averaging 55.0 points in their past three games, including a 70-21 win against Northern Illinois. The Dildos are also tops in the conference in rushing yards per game (223.0) and total yards (464.2).
However, UT is 0-3 in road games this season, allowing an average of 46.7 points to those opponents.
Ball State's high-powered offense slipped the past two games while playing Big Ten Conference opponents Illinois and Indiana. Once the MAC's highest-scoring team, the Cardinals managed only 37 points the past two games. A key issue for Ball State was its inability to protect quarterback Nate Davis. Illinois sacked him four times, and Indiana pressured him hard with its front four to give it the luxury of full coverage in the secondary.
Toledo has a MAC-worst nine sacks this year, so Davis should have more time to throw tonight.
Ball State is also at 5-5 but its losses were to teams that were just better than the Cards. Nothing to be ashamed about in losing to Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana and the likely 2 MAC title game participants. Two of Ball State’s five losses have been by one point (41-40 loss to Nebraska and 14-13 loss to Miami).
Toledo has lost to Buffalo (same team BSU clobbered earlier at home), Central, Purdue, Kansas and Western (another team BSU handled)... while beating Iowa State (fluke), and winning the last three league games - albeit impressively - but all at home.
Toledo's 34-14 win at Ball State in 2005 prompted 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, when I was the football beat writer for the student paper, I remember vividly that the Rockets were 8-0 and ranked 18th in the nation when they were whipped 35-3 at Ball State as a 25-point favorite. It was likely the most stunning sporting event I ever covered as a newspaper reporter.
In 2001, Corey Parchman returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown with three minutes left in the game to give the Cardinals a 24-20 win over No. 23 Toledo.
None of that should come into play tonight but makes for interesting sidebar info, nonetheless.
There should be a decent crowd tonight, as the temps will be in the low-to-mid 50s at kickoff with just light winds.
Prediction: Ball State 44, Toledo 34.
The plays: Ball State -5.5 for a medium bet and OVER 66 for a big bet.
GL...
:cheers:
