Ball State University Athletics
Football Hosts Western Kentucky on Homecoming Saturday
October 11, 2007 | Football
Ball State Cardinals (3-3; MAC West 1-1; MAC Overall 2-2)
vs. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (3-2 Overall)
Saturday, Oct. 13 -- 2 p.m. (ET) -- Muncie, Ind. -- Scheumann Stadium (FieldTurf) -- Capacity: 22,500
? Homecoming Game Presented by Ball State Federal Credit Union ?
Radio: All of Ball State's football games will be broadcast on the Ball State Radio Network . . . WLBC FM 104.1 is in its 52nd year as the flagship station for the Cardinals . . . Other network affiliates include ESPN 950 in Indianapolis and ESPN 1380 in Fort Wayne . . . Morry Mannies is in his 52nd year as the "Voice of the Cardinals" . . . Former Ball State quarterback and punter Mark O'Connell will provide the color commentary . . . Jaime Lemna will handle the sideline duties at all Ball State home games . . . All of the Ball State Radio Network broadcasts in 2007 are available at www.ballstatesports.com
Ball State Head Coach Brady Hoke: Brady Hoke (Ball State ?82) is in his fifth year as the Cardinals head coach . . . Hoke, an assistant coach for the University of Michigan from 1995-2002, is one of only 18 coaches in the country to be coaching at their alma mater in 2007.
Western Kentucky Head Coach David Elson: David Elson (Butler ?94) is in his fifth year as the head coach at Western Kentucky and his fifth season as a head collegiate mentor . . . Elson is 33-19 in his head coaching career . . . A native of Indianapolis, Ind., Elson is a 1989 graduate of Cathedral High School.
Scouting Western Kentucky: The Hilltoppers are in their transitional year into the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision . . . Western Kentucky is competing as an independent this season . . . WKU is 3-2 . . . After opening the year with a 49-3 loss at Florida, the Hilltoppers defeated West Virginia Tech 87-0, Eastern Kentucky 26-6 and Middle Tennessee State 20-17, before losing at Bowling Green, 41-21, Sept. 29 . . . WKU was idle last week.
Quick Hits: Saturday's game vs. Western Kentucky will be the third straight home game for the Cardinals . . . The Cardinals will play four of their last five games on the road . . . The Cardinals are 3-3 with two of those losses coming by a combined two points -- Miami University (14-13) and Nebraska (41-40) . . . Ball State ranks 11th in the nation with a +1.17 turnover margin . . . Ball State ranks in the top 30 in the nation in six additional statistical categories -- total offense (15), kickoff returns (23), passing offense (24), passing efficiency (25), scoring offense (26) and rushing offense (28) . . . The last time Ball State football was 4-3 after seven games was in 1996 when the Cardinals ended the year with an appearance in the Las Vegas Bowl . . . Alex Knipp (Amherst, Ohio/Steele H.S.) managed the third interception of his career against Central Michigan and the 57-yard return is the longest interception return for Ball State this season . . . Koreen Burch (Broxton, Ga./Coffee H.S.) and Tanner Justice (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral H.S.) each scored the first touchdowns of their collegiate careers vs. Central Michigan . . . The 96 combined points in the Ball State vs. Central Michigan game ranks as the second highest total in Ball State history and set a Scheumann Stadium record . . . Two assistant coaches on the Western Kentucky staff -- Dennis Springer and Cary Marquell -- have Ball State ties . . . Springer was a graduate assistant coach for the Cardinals in 1993-94 and a fulltime assistant from 1995-2002 . . . Marquell is a graduate of Delta High School and a 1996 graduate of Ball State . . . Marquell played linebacker for the Cardinals in 1993-94 and was a student coach in 1995-96 . . . He also served as a graduate assistant coach during the 1997 and 1998 seasons and earned his master's from BSU in 1999.
