Ball State University Athletics
Football Team at Akron Saturday in MAC Opener
September 12, 2008 | Football
Ball State Cardinals
(2-0; MAC 0-0)
at Akron Zips
(1-1; MAC 0-0)
Sat., Sept. 13, 2008
Akron, Ohio
Rubber Bowl
(Capacity: 31,000)
Astroplay Surface
Ball State Radio Network: All of Ball State's football games will air this season on WLBC FM 104.1, one of Backyard Broadcasting's seven stations in Indiana . . . This marks the 53rd season Ball State and WLBC have aired the Ball State football games . . . Morry Mannies will be in his 53rd year as the "Voice of the Cardinals" . . . Mark O'Connell, a former Ball State quarterback and punter, will provide the color commentary for the eighth straight season . . . The pregame show begins one hour prior to kickoff, and will be hosted by Jeff Weller, Ball State's director of corporate sales and broadcast services . . . In addition, ESPN 1340 AM will host a Muncie College Gameday show beginning two and a half hours before kickoff each week . . . Ball State football games can also be heard on 1380 AM in Fort Wayne and XL950 AM in Indianapolis, and the Ball State student station WCRD will broadcast the majority of games on 91.3 FM.
Ball State Head Coach Brady Hoke: Brady Hoke (Ball State ?82) is in his sixth year as the Cardinals head coach and his sixth season as a collegiate head coach . . . A former football student-athlete at Ball State, Hoke helped the Cardinals to the 1978 Mid-American Conference Championship . . . As one of four captains on the 1980 team, Hoke led the Cardinals and ranked sixth in the MAC with 150 tackles . . . Hoke guided Ball State to a 7-6 overall record and the MAC West Division Co-Championship last season and led the Cardinals to the International Bowl . . . Hoke owns a 24-37 career record, including a 19-20 mark in MAC action.
The Series vs. Akron: Ball State and Akron have met 19 times in a series which dates back to 1964, and is tied at 9-9-1 . . . Ball State won the last meeting, a 23-17 victory in Muncie in 2005, but Akron has won three of the last four meetings . . . In games played at Akron, the series is tied at 4-4 . . . Ball State's last win at Akron was Nov. 13, 1993, when the Cardinals posted a 31-9 win . . . Akron has won the last two meetings at the Rubber Bowl.
Quick Hits: Brady Hoke is one of only 18 coaches in the country to be the head coach of their alma mater in 2008 . . . Ball State opened the 2008 season with a 48-14 home win over Northeastern and then posted a 35-23 home win over Navy . . . Ball State's win over Navy was televised nationally by ESPN and marked the first time a football game has been nationally televised on ESPN at Ball State . . . This marks the first time since 1995 the Cardinals have started the season 2-0 . . . Ball State's sellout crowd of 22,517 vs. Navy was the fourth largest home crowd in school history and included a Ball State record 10,546 students . . . Ball State's Dante Love was named the Mancino's Player of the Game vs. Navy after managing nine catches for 165 yards and two touchdowns, rushing six times for 37 yards and one TD and returning five kickoffs for 134 yards in the Cardinals . . . Nate Davis threw his first interception in five games (since 11/3/07 at Indiana) vs. Navy . . . True freshman wide receiver Briggs Orsbon tallied his first career touchdown reception with a 30-yard catch with 3:54 remaining in the first half . . . Orsbon finished the season with two receptions for 38 yards . . . The Cardinals are 3-2 in Mid-American Conference openers in Hoke's tenure as Ball State's head coach.
Little Known Trivia: Ball State's preseason attention extends to the school's fight song, which was selected as the 13th best college football fight song in the country by www.bleacherreport.com.
No. 1 in the Nation: Ball State's offensive line is tied for first in the nation with zero sacks allowed this season . . . The Cardinals are one of only 10 teams in the country who have played two games and allowed no sacks.
Anchoring the Trenches: Seniors Robert Brewster, Dan Gerberry and Andre Ramsey anchor the offensive line which blocked for an offense which tallied a school record 5,640 yards in total offense, including a school best 3,704 yards passing in 2007 . . . Brewster was a 2007 All-MAC First Team selection and started all 13 games at right tackle last season . . . Gerberry has started all 38 games at center in his career . . . Ramsey played in 12 games last season and started seven contests, including the last five of the season at left tackle.
Leading the Offense: Nate Davis (Bellaire, Ohio/Bellaire H.S.), a junior quarterback who ranked 15th in the nation in total offense (300.31) in 2007, has thrown a Ball State record 55 touchdown passes in his career . . . Davis completed 21-of 28 passes for 326 yards and four touchdowns in Ball State's 35-23 win over Navy Friday . . . Davis opened the 2008 season completing 21-of-24 passes for 290 yards and three touchdowns vs. Northeastern.
Passing Efficiency: Nate Davis ranks fourth in the nation in passing efficiency with a 217.0 mark . . . He has completed 42-of-52 passes for an 81 percent mark through the first two games . . . He completed .875 percent of his passes against Northeastern, which ranks as the third best single-game mark in school history . . . He connected on 75 percent of his passes vs. Navy.
Career Notes: Nate Davis has thrown for 6,258 career yards, including a school record 3,667 last season . . . He needs 14 yards to set the Ball State all-time mark and surpass the 6,271 by Mike Neu from 1990-93 . . . Davis is 12-10 as a starting quarterback for Ball State, including 9-6 in the last 15 games . . . Davis tied his single-game career high with four TD passes vs. Navy.
The Versatile Play Maker: Dante Love (Cincinnati, Ohio/Withrow H.S.), a senior wide receiver, managed 336 all-purpose yards in Ball State's win over Navy . . . Love managed nine catches for 165 yards with two touchdowns, rushed six times for 37 yards and one TD and returned five kickoffs for 134 yards . . . His 336 all-purpose yards ranks as the 11th best single-game mark in Mid-American Conference history, and the fourth best single-game Football Bowl Subdivision performance this season . . . He ranked second in the country in all-purpose yards per game (206.92) in 2007, and ranks second in the nation in 2008 with 264.50 yards per game this season.
Love as the Wide Receiver: Dante Love, who has caught at least one pass in 35 straight games and in 37-of-38 outings in his career, caught two touchdown passes vs. Navy and had one in the season opener vs. Northeastern . . . He started the 2008 season with a team-high nine catches for 171 yards and one touchdown . . . Against Navy, he managed nine catches for 165 yards and two TDs . . . The 171 yards were the 14th most in single-game history at Ball State and marked the fourth time Love has posted one of Ball State's top-15 single-game efforts . . . Love was sixth in the nation in receiving yards per game (107.54) and seventh in the country in catches per game (7.69) in 2007, and is third in both categories in 2008.
Career Notes: Dante Love had 1,398 receiving yards last season and is only the fifth player in Ball State history to reach the 1,000-yard plateau . . . Love has 2,654 career receiving yards and is only the fourth player in Ball State history to register over 2,000 receiving yards in a career . . . He needs 377 receiving yards to set the Ball State career record and pass Dante Ridgeway, who set the record of 3,030 while playing only three seasons from 2002-04 before entering the National Football League Draft . . . Love has 11 career games with at least 100 yards receiving, which ties Ridgeway for the Ball State career mark . . . Love's three total TDs vs. Navy set a single-game career high.
The Tight End: Darius Hill (Blue Springs, Mo./Blue Springs H.S.), a senior tight end and Ball State's career record holder with 26 touchdown receptions, now has 1,889 career receiving yards and ranks fifth on Ball State's career list . . . With 12:32 remaining in the second quarter of the season opener vs. Northeastern, Hill caught his school record setting 25th career touchdown . . . Hill, who led the team with 11 touchdown catches in 2007, tied the Ball State single-season record with 10 TD catches in 2006, and set the school mark last fall . . . He was one of eight semifinalists for the 2007 John Mackey Award, which goes to the nation's top collegiate tight end, and is on the Mackey Award Preseason Watch List this season . . . Hill managed five catches for 45 yards and one TD in the 2008 season opener vs. Northeastern and added two receptions for 41 yards and one TD vs. Navy.
Leading the Secondary: B.J. Hill (Lanham, Md./Riverdale Baptist H.S.), who was playing his first season on defense in 2007 after playing tailback his first two years, managed the sixth interception of his career vs. Navy . . . He ranks fifth on the team in tackles with 13 this season . . . Hill was a 2007 All-MAC Second Team choice and has played in all 38 games in his first three seasons . . . Trey Lewis tied for 40th in the nation in interceptions per game with 0.38 per game in 2007 . . . . . . Lewis tallied the fifth interception of his career vs. Buffalo last season and returned it for the first touchdown of his career.
Hill Returns to Return Game: After leading Ball State in punt returns in 2007, B.J. Hill returned to form in 2008 . . . He has returned three punts for 90 yards and a 30.0 average, which ranks fourth in the nation . . . Hill returned a punt a career-long 72 yards in the second quarter vs. Northeastern to set up a 2-yard touchdown run and give Ball State a 28-0 lead . . . It marked the second punt return for a touchdown in his career . . . He also accomplished the feat as a freshman in 2005 with a 54-yard touchdown return vs. Akron.
The Grizzled Veteran: Brandon Crawford (Fort Wayne, Ind./South H.S.), a 32-year-old junior defensive end and former Marine, led the Cardinals with 17 tackles for loss and eight sacks and tied for 36th in the nation in tackles for loss in 2007 . . . Crawford was a 2007 All-MAC Third Team selection . . . He worked in an automotive factory after high school graduation and before joining the Marine Corp in 1999 . .. Crawford received an honorable discharge from the Marine Corp in 2003 and enrolled at Ball State in the summer of 2004, but returned home prior to the start of school . . . He returned to Ball State in the fall of 2006 and was a freshman member of the football team during the 2006 season.
Crawford Now a Captain Brandon Crawford and teammate Dan Gerberry were named co-captains for the 2008 football team . . . Crawford, who received the Terry Courage Award from the Central Indiana Chapter of the National Football Foundation last spring, has seven tackles, one and a half tackles for loss and one pass breakup this season.
Ball State's Next Prodigy at Punter U.: Chris Miller (Libertyville, Ill./Carmel H.S.), a senior punter, has punted four times for a 40.5 average . . . He has a season long punt of 54 yards vs. Northeastern and has placed one of four punts inside the 20-yard line . . . Ball State opponents have returned three punts for six total yards . . . Miller ranked third in the nation with a 45.44 average and was named to the American Football Coaches Association All-America First Team in 2007 . . . Miller is a two-time Playboy Magazine Preseason All-American, having been named to the team in 2007 and 2008 . . . Ball State has two punters currently playing in the National Football League . . . Brad Maynard (1993-96) is in his 13 NFL season and is a member of the Chicago Bears . . . Reggie Hodges (2000-04) spent the 2008 preseason as a member of the Seattle Seahawks.
Tackling the Issue: Bryant Haines (Piqua, Ohio/Piqua H.S.) leads the Cardinals with 20 tackles and is tied for team-high honors with two tackles for loss and one sack . . . He led Ball State with 15 tackles vs. Navy last Friday . . . Haines led BSU and ranked 36th in the nation in tackles with 9.62 per game last season . . . A 2007 All-MAC Second Team selection, Haines started all 13 games a year ago . . . Haines managed five tackles, including one tackle for loss, and one pass breakup in the season opener vs. Northeastern.
Local Products Do Well: Davyd Jones (Muncie, Ind./Central H.S.), a sophomore linebacker, led the Cardinals with a career-high eight tackles in Ball State's season opener vs. Northeastern and added 10 in the team's win over Navy . . . Jones made the first start of his career vs. Northeastern after playing in all 13 games as a true freshman in 2007 . . . He also has one and half tackles for loss this season . . . Kenny Meeks (Muncie, Ind./Central H.S.), a fifth-year senior, has eight tackles, one and half tackles for loss and one sack for the Cardinals this season . . . Meeks managed four tackles and his first sack of the season vs. Navy last week . . . he has five career sacks and has played in 28 games in his career.
Baker Off to Good Start: Sean Baker (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield H.S.), a redshirt freshman for the Cardinals, ranks third on the team in tackles with 15 plus has one tackle for loss and one pass breakup in his first two collegiate games . . . Baker managed seven tackles in the season opener vs. Northeastern and tallied eight in the Ball State win over Navy.
MiQuale Lewis Returns in Top Form: MiQuale Lewis (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider H.S.), a junior H-Back for the Cardinals started the first four games in 2007 before suffering a season-ending knee injury at Nebraska . . . In 2008, he has returned to form and leads the Cardinals with 209 rushing yards on 32 carries in the first two games . . . Lewis led Ball State with 95 yards rushing on 11 carries with one touchdown vs. Northeastern . . . Against Navy, he tallied 114 yards on 21 carries . . . He is averaging a team-high 104.5 rushing yards per game . . . Lewis rushed for 122 yards on 19 carries at Nebraska last season before leaving the game with the injury . . . He tallied 447 yards and two touchdowns on 92 rushes in only four games last season . . . As a true freshman in 2006, Lewis rushed for 280 yards on 48 carries with one touchdown before being sidelined with a season-ending shoulder injury.
Freshman Backs Up Lewis: Cory Sykes (Harvey, Ill./Thornton H.S.), a redshirt freshman H-Back for Ball State, rushed for 31 yards and his first career touchdown on six carries in the season opener vs. Northeastern . . . He tallied his first career TD with 14:38 remaining in the game . . . Sykes graduated from high school in May of 2006, but did not enroll at Ball State until January of 2007 and redshirted for the Cardinals last fall.
Just for Kicks: Ian McGarvey (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove H.S.), a sophomore placekicker, connected on two field goals and six extra points vs. Northeastern in the season opener and made all five extra point attempts vs. Navy . . . He has now made 20 consecutive extra points and six straight field goals dating to last season . . . McGarvey made a 46-yard field goal vs. Northeastern, which tied for the second longest of his career . . . His career long is 47 yards, which came in last year's International Bowl.
Freshman Wide Receiver Gets No. 1: Briggs Orsbon (Convoy, Ohio/Crestview H.S.), a true freshman member of the Ball State football team, has played in both of the Cardinals first two games, and registered his first career touchdown vs. Navy last week . . . Orsbon tallied two catches for 38 yards and scored his first career TD on a 30-yard pass from Nate Davis with 3:54 to play in the second quarter vs. Navy . . . The scoring strike gave the Cardinals a 21-9 lead in the contest.
