First Glance: Ball State Cardinals Visit Memorial Stadium for an Intrastate Showdown

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IMAGE: Hoosier Sports Report, Home of the 'Hoosier Scoop'

IMAGE: Hoosier Sports Report, Home of the 'Hoosier Scoop'

Written By: Nathan Comp

In-State Showdown: Ball State Cardinals Preview

The Hoosiers will kick off the first of a three-game series against intrastate foe Ball State University at Memorial Stadium week three of the 2018 season. The final games of the series will be played in 2019 in Lucas Oil Stadium and will conclude in 2020 back in Bloomington. Indiana righted the ship against the Cardinals in 2016 with a 30-20 victory after losing three straight in the previous meetings. Richard Lagow threw for 3 TDs that day, two of which Nick Westbrook was on the receiving end. Indiana holds a 5-3 edge in the overall series, with its greatest margin of victory of 27 points coming in 1997, when former IU head coach Bill Lynch was the head coach of the Cardinals.

* Special thanks to Ball State players Riley Neal and Riley Miller for allowing me to interview them and provide me with an inside look at Ball State football. *

Week Three: Ball State Cardinals

Date & Time: Saturday September 15, 2018, 12:00pm EST

Venue: Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, IN

TV: Big Ten Network

Cardinals At a Glance

Head Coach: Mike Neu 

  • His 3rd Year at the helm, holds a 6-18 record. 
  • This is his first head coaching job: at his alma mater. 
  • He previously served as a QB coach in the NFL for the New Orleans Saints with Purdue alumnus Drew Brees.

2017 BSU: 2-10 (0-8, MAC)

If there was an award for it, the Cardinals likely would have won “D1’s Most Injured Program.”

Cardinals Returning Leaders

Passing: Riley Neal (Career: 5476 Passing Yds, 35 TD, 21 INT, 1006 Rushing Yds, 10 Rushing TDs). Missed 9 games of the 2017 season with a leg injury.

Rushing: James Gilbert (Career: 451 Attempts, 2147 Yds, 23 TDs). Missed 9 games of the 2017 season with a thumb injury.

Receiving: Corey Lacanaria (Career: 112 Rec, 1001 Yds, 5 TDs). Missed 8 games of the 2017 season with a broken collarbone.

Tackles: Jacob White, LB (2017: 72 TKLs, 5.0 TFL, 1 Recovered Fumble). Broke a bone in his right hand in 2017, but played the final 9 games with a cast.

Cardinals Pre-Season Predictions

Athlon: 3-9 (2-6), Last in MAC West

Lindy’s: Last in MAC West

Street & Smith’s: Last in MAC West

Phil Steele: TBA

Impact Newcomers for the Cardinals

Hank Hughes, QB: After spending two years as a preferred walk-on at his home state’s Texas A&M, Hughes transferred to Ball State in November of 2017. After briefly following down the path of one of his favorite players, 2012 Heisman winner Johnny Manziel, Hughes decided it was best to move on to where he was more likely to see playing time. Although the QB position is Riley Neal’s to lose, Hughes will not back down from the challenge. Despite having never seen the field in the SEC, Hughes has no lack of confidence in his abilities and understands it will be a battle. In April, Coach Neu said of Hughes, “He knows the quarterback room is competitive. He’s a competitive guy, and I think he’ll embrace the competition.” And being at a school that used 4 QBs last year, Hughes will stay ready for his moment if it comes.

Thomas Lopez, OL: Lopez serves as not only Ball State’s highest ranked newcomer by 247 Sports, but also one of the most inspiring stories in college football. Lopez will head to Ball State after two years at the JUCO ASA College in Brooklyn. Once committed to now-Nebraska head coach Scott Frost and UCF, Thomas has had his back against the wall his whole life. Born to a heroin-addicted mother and without a father figure, Thomas practically raised himself. Going days without food to purchase methadone, a pain reliever for those addicted to drugs, or even coming home to his mother on the floor having overdosed, was a common occurrence. He celebrated his first Mother’s Day with his mom at age 20.  Football has served as an escape and sense of structure for Thomas. And, fortunately, one he has proven to be pretty good at. The 6’5” 300-pound lineman has shown he plays extremely tough and shows real promise. It will be interesting seeing how he can adjust to NCAA football and make an impact for the Cardinals. More of his story can be found in Dennis Dodd’s CBS Sports article.

Keyan Williams, WR: Keyan, a former Big Ten receiver at Nebraska, will serve his final year of eligibility with Ball State as a graduate transfer. Williams had previously transferred to Nebraska after playing his first two seasons at Fresno State. In 2017, Williams was Academic All-Big Ten but caught only one pass for 19 yards. He spent all spring practicing with Nebraska and decided to transfer in May after the school year was complete. Watching his impact in Ball State’s games against big opponents such as Indiana and Notre Dame will be intriguing considering his added experience having played for bigger programs. Fellow receiver Riley Miller raved of his potential impact by adding, “I think he’s going to fit in well by bringing in his experiences. He has been to the big stadiums and played against a lot of those Power Five opponents.”

Offensive Preview

Offensive coordinator Joey Lynch prides his offense in its ability to complete short, safe passes with the occasional explosive plays caused by getting the ball in the hands of playmaking receivers. The goal is to avoid ever losing yardage and to only have third downs that are manageable. Efficiency is truly the name of the game. However, with the loss of QB Riley Neal, RB James Gilbert, and numerous receivers last year to injury, Ball State struggled to accomplish any of these goals.

BSU’s 2017 offense took the greatest hit in its big play ability. Although the offense prioritizes consistent, smaller gains of yardage, it is not typical for BSU to have averaged just three gains of 20+ yards a game, 128th in the FBS. With the return of key playmakers all over the offensive side of the ball, including Riley Neal, this should improve this year. “Big plays can happen naturally by getting the ball in your playmaker’s hands and obviously, like everyone, the more explosive we can be, the better,” said Neal. “Having everyone back healthy this year will be huge for us. Injuries were tough for us last year, but gave a lot of guys experience that should help us this fall.” Simply being able to register scoring drives that do not require 10+ play drives should help the offense immensely.

When looking at the Cardinals offensive backfield, your eyes are quickly drawn to two main names along with a dark horse candidate. The running back position should be primarily manned by James Gilbert, who, after a stellar 2016 season, was sidelined with a thumb injury in 2017 and missed 9 games. Gilbert has explosive speed and will be a focal point of all defenses game planning against BSU. Receiver Riley Miller is excited about Gilbert’s return and said, “James will bring a lot of talent on the field. His running game will hopefully help open the passing game.” Gilbert’s 2017 replacement, Caleb Huntley, had himself an impressive freshman season campaign and will also compete for playing time. Huntley rushed for over 1000 yards as a true freshman and gained valuable experience while doing so. Finally, Malik Dunner will be one to keep an eye on as a potential impact performer. Although primarily a return man, Dunner averaged eight yards per carry in the final four games of the 2017 season.

The final aspect of the Cardinal offense, the receiving corps, figures to be the most intriguing matchup against Indiana. While the Cardinals return experienced playmakers, the Hoosier secondary will be a much younger, inexperienced unit than the recent past. This will be an early test at how losing the leader of the cornerbacks Rashard Fant is progressing. Coach Allen will have to put an emphasis on the defense stopping receivers Justin Hall and Corey Lacanaria. Hall excelled as a freshman, leading all freshman receivers in the nation in receptions (78) and ranking fourth among freshman in receiving yards (801). His efforts earned him ESPN.com Freshman All-American accolades. Lacanaria returns to action, after missing 9 games of the 2017 season, as the more experienced receiver. He also lines up in the slot and serves as a dink-and-dunk option for Neal. Finally, the game plan must include one of Neal’s all-time favorite receivers, Riley Miller. After years of growing up together, the lethal Riley-to-Riley attack still exists. “Riley [Miller] will have a big impact for us this year. He’s a guy that can play any spot on the field and you know you can trust him regardless of the situation,” said Neal.

Ultimately, if IU’s defense can stop the Cardinals from moving from side to side, along with force some negative plays, they should be lined up for success.

Defensive Preview

Historically, the Ball State defense has been the weaker side of the ball for the Cardinals. This held true in 2017: allowing 56 against Central Michigan, 58 against Toledo, 56 at Eastern Michigan, and 63 at Northern Illinois—in four consecutive weeks—is not exactly ideal. Especially when the offense only tallied 57 combined in those four games. Youth, along with injuries and implementing a new defensive system, can account for some of the blame. In 2018, second year defensive coordinator and former Western Kentucky head coach David Elson will hope to build on the defensive culture he is establishing and look for improved results, despite a plethora of lost talent. When run correctly, Elson’s is an aggressive defensive system built to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks and limit a team’s run game. 

Key components in executing Elson’s plan will be interior defensive linemen Chris Crumb and Fred Schroeder. The pair combined for 28.5 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss last season. Crumb, at 6’0” 285 pounds, recorded a sack along with seven tackles in this year’s spring game. The pair will be joined on the outside by Christian Albright, James Jennette III, Sean Hammonds Jr, and Akeem Hutchinson. The group of four combined for 39.5 tackles and 9.5 tackles for loss in 2017. All will hope to continue or better BSU’s 46th ranking in adjusted sack rate and 36th ranking in defensive line havoc rate. Unfortunately, they must replace the graduations of Anthony Winbush and Damon Singleton; Winbush himself had almost half of the team’s sacks (he had two in the game against Indiana in 2016) and now will be playing on Sundays for the Atlanta Falcons. Returning linebacker Jacob White should also help stop runs and put pressure on the quarterback, as White led the team in tackles last season while playing 9 games with a broken hand.

The Cardinals will look to the defensive backfield to break up long plays, of which last season opponents averaged more 30-yard gains than Ball State averaged 20-yard gains. A pair of senior cornerbacks, Josh Miller and Marc Walton, will lead the defensive backfield for the Cardinals. Both have 14 passes defensed-seasons to their names. However, surrounding these upperclassmen will primarily be youth. Sophomores Bryce Cosby and Brett Anderson will see time at safety, a position they have been tasked with manning since the beginning of their true freshman seasons last year. Overall, the Cardinal corners and safeties have a decent amount of experience, but this experience is still relatively young.

How underclassmen players with experience can perform will be pivotal in determining how Ball State’s defense looks. Through the spring and early summer practices, Neal had this to say about the defense: “I’ve been impressed through the spring. We played a lot of young guys last year and I’m looking forward to seeing them play with a year of experience.” Ultimately, it will be key for Indiana to win the battle on the line, generate big plays, and allow the QB—whoever that may be—to make plays with his feet.

Special Teams Preview

In the final third of the game, the Hoosiers appear to have the upper hand. The 2017 season was a struggle for Ball State’s special teams unit. Placekicker and punter Morgan Hagee struggled to flip the field when punting, which was not good for a defense that struggled keeping teams out of the end zone. Additionally, his streak of 63 consecutive made PATs was snapped, although this was his only missed PAT on the season.

Ball State does have weapons returning kicks in the forms of dark-horse running back candidate Malik Dunner and returning from injury receiver Corey Lacanaria. Dunner averaged 24.4 yards per kick return last season, while Lacanaria averaged 14.8 yards per punt return before injury. Haydon Whitehead and the winner of the placekicking job for Indiana will have to kick with caution.