WKU Football: Ball State Preseason Preview
With the kickoff of football season less than five weeks away, we’ll continue to bring you our preseason look at each of WKU’s regular…
With the kickoff of football season less than five weeks away, we’ll continue to bring you our preseason look at each of WKU’s regular season opponents between now and the start of the season. Today we continue the series with WKU’s third non-conference game of the season, the Cardinals of Ball State.
Date & Time
September 23, 2017, 6 p.m. CT
Location
Houchens Industries- L.T. Smith Stadium
Series
Ball State leads 2–1
Last Meeting
In 2008, Brady Hoke brought his 6–0, #25 ranked Cardinals to Bowling Green during WKU’s second FBS transition season under David Elson. WKU played Ball State tough for a half, only trailing 7–0 at the break. Unfortunately the Cardinals found their offense in the second half and wound up winning 24–7.
TV/Radio
TV - Stadium
Radio - Hilltopper IMG Sports Network
2016 Season
Ball State started 4–3, winning non-conference swing games over Georgia State and FAU along the way. Unfortunately, when the calendar turned to October, they could no longer find a way to win close games and lost five straight to finish 4–8 and in last place MAC West Division at just 1–7 in the league.
Returning Starters
12 (eight on offense, four on defense)
Relevant Preview Articles
Bill Connelly’s SB Nation Ball State Preview
This being the parity-centric MAC, the Cardinals can expect close finishes this fall. They are projected 90th in S&P+, just about the same as last year’s №84 ranking, and five Cardinal games have a win probability of between 40 and 60 percent.
Getting UAB, Tennessee Tech, and Buffalo at home should give BSU some baked-in wins and make bowl eligibility likely. Still, the Cardinals’ fortunes could turn on whether last year’s deficient areas change. It’s hard to say they will. The Cardinals should have a strong run game, and the passing game should be about as efficient as it was last year, but unless a freshman emerges, big plays might still be a rarity. The defense will boast some exciting corners, an excellent pass rusher … and who knows what else.
Pete Fiutak’s College Football News Ball State Preview
The Cardinals should at least be good enough to become an X factor in the MAC. They’ll have a moment or three against the league’s better teams, and they should be stronger, with the talent and coaching to be at least two games better and go bowling.
Neu is going to make Ball State a player again. He’s a rising star of a head coach, the recruiting class was great, and there’s reason to be excited about what’s happening.
But just wait one more year, and then the 2018 team should be one of the favorites to win the conference.
Three Players to Watch
Even with the team’s struggles last season, there was one constant in the Cardinals offense: James Gilbert. The diminutive 5'8" junior from Indianapolis was consistently Ball’s top offensive weapon last season.
He rushed for 1332 yards and 12 touchdowns on the season, while topping the 100 yard mark in seven games. He is the definition of a “lower center of gravity chain mover.” Gilbert was named to the preseason Doak Walker and Maxwell Award watch lists, while also being named preseason All-MAC by Athlon Sports. If there is one deficiency in his game, it’s that he doesn’t catch many balls out of the backfield, only having four career catches. WKU’s defense better be ready to lock down another formidable running back if they want to make quick work of the Cardinals
Dangerous teams usually have experience under center and Ball State is in good shape with Neal returning. Neal has started during his first two seasons for the Cardinals.
The 6'6" junior is a dual-threat quarterback, throwing for 2541 yards with 13 touchdowns, while also rushing for 548 yards and eight touchdowns. Accuracy can be a problem for Neal; he tossed 12 interceptions last year, but he could easily cut those down during his third season. Making Neal beat WKU downfield would be a wise move from Clayton White’s defense. If he scrambles and breaks runs to the outside, it could be a long day for the defense.
3. Anthony Wimbush — Defensive End
Ball State’s defense was dreadful last season, but there was at least one bright spot in Wimbush. The 6'1" senior is a pass rush specialist, accumulating 8.5 sacks and two forced fumbles last season. He’ll be counted on as one of the few proven play makers on David Elson’s defense.
With WKU having to still break in two new offensive tackles, shutting down Wimbush will prove to key if the offense wants to make quick work of the Cardinals.
Preseason Thoughts about the Game
1. Year Two progress for Mike Neu?
Mike Neu represents the third second-year coach that WKU will play in the first four games. He is a high-energy alum that many writers seem to think will take the Cardinals back towards contention in the MAC West. Last year, the Cards’ were a few mistakes and bad breaks from pushing towards a bowl game. With an experienced offense and a nowhere to go but up defense, will Ball State’s luck change this season? Regardless of the result of this year’s game, Ball State will be a team worth monitoring as WKU must return the favor and travel to Muncie in 2018.
2. Ball State should have momentum heading into game
Ball State has a favorable early schedule heading into their week four game with the Tops. They open at beatable Illinois and then play FBS restart UAB and FCS Tennessee Tech, both in Muncie. The Cardinals should be 2–1 at a minimum and if their offense gets hot, 3–0 isn’t completely out of the picture. The confidence and momentum of a good start can’t be understated heading into a tough road game with the defending C-USA champs.
3. High Shootout Potential
Despite their 4–8 record last season, Ball State put up points. They averaged 27 points per game and never scored less than 19 points in a game. Against superior teams like Indiana, Western Michigan and Toledo, they still managed to score around 20 points per game. This year, they return most of their offense including now upper class-man Gilbert, Neal and slot receiver Corey Lancanaria. That offensive experience and cohesion means that WKU’s defense better be ready to get stops and force turnovers or Mike White and company will once again be asked to outgun another opponent.
4. David Elson returns to Bowling Green
Ball State brought in a name from WKU’s past to improve a defense that was awful last season. David Elson was a decent coach that had the unfortunate task of shepherding WKU through their transition to FBS.
Elson was Defensive Coordinator on the 2002 1-AA National Championship team. When Jack Harbaugh retired immediately after that victory over McNeese State, Elson was promoted to the Head Coach position. He was solid, but not spectacular, in his first five seasons as the head man going 37–22 producing a pair of nine win seasons and a successful 7–5 season in WKU first FBS transition year (2007).
Unfortunately, the transition and increase in competition proved too much for him as he went just 2–22 in his final two seasons. He did however, recruit a lot of the players that Taggart used to bring WKU back to glory (Jack Doyle, Bobby Rainey, Kawaun Jakes and Jared Clendenin, to name a few).
After years of wondering around such football outposts as Las Cruces, New Mexico and Macomb, Illinois, Elson gets another shot at being an FBS Defensive Coordinator. He’ll probably be coaching with a little chip on his shoulder as he returns to the Houch. Luckily for the Hilltoppers, the talent deficiencies on their defense will make that motivation hard to translate onto the field.
5. WKU’s letdown factor
After back-to-back pivotal and emotional games against Illinois and Louisiana Tech, it will be interesting to see how ready WKU is for a team picked to finish last in the MAC. This game has “letdown” written all over it. During the past two seasons, WKU has been able to overcome these type of games with shear persistence and their usual offensive onslaught (See Miami (OH) last year or FAU in 2015) and gut out wins that other teams lose. Should they come out focused and get past the Cardinals, their reward is a bye week before heading to El Paso.
Preseason Prediction
This game will be a good barometer of how the new staff will handle FBS games against teams that they will be overwhelming favorites against. This will also likely be the least attended game of WKU’s first three contests.
I do think that WKU starts off sloppy in this one and the Cardinals find a way to score multiple touchdowns. Unfortunately for them, there are two sides of the ball. David Elson’s new defense will have no answers for White, Ferby, Fant and company and WKU will score at will in this one. WKU will let off the gas in the second half and they will cruise to a 28-point victory as their defense makes adjustments along the way.
Final Score Prediction: WKU 52 — Ball State 24
Best places for Ball State coverage as the game gets closer
Ball State has a similar coverage level to WKU. They have the Star Press (local paper, Ball State Insider (Scout site) & BallStateSports.com (university athletics website). Also check out Chirp City BSU, The Over The Pylon message board and SB Nation’s MAC site, Hustle Belt, for more Ball State coverage.
What do you think about the Ball State game? Will WKU be challenged in this one? How will David Elson be received? Let us know in a comment below, via twitter at @TheTowelRackWKU or on our Facebook page.
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