Ball State University Athletics
Football Team at Indiana Saturday
September 20, 2008 | Football
Ball State Cardinals
(3-0; MAC 1-0) at
Indiana Hoosiers
(2-0; Big Ten 0-0)
Sat., Sept. 20, 2008
Bloomington, Ind.
Memorial Stadium
(Capacity: 49,225)
Big Ten Network
Wayne Larrivee
(Play-by-Play),
Chris Martin
(Analyst),
Ashley Russell
(Sideline Reporter)
Ball State Radio Network: This marks the 53rd season Ball State and WLBC FM 104.1 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 (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 coached Ball State to a 7-6 record, the MAC West Division Co-Championship and a berth in the International Bowl last season . . . Hoke owns a 25-37 career record, including a 20-20 mark in MAC action.
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 has opened the 2008 season with three straight victories, which marks the best start for a Ball State team since the 1988 season when the Cardinals started the season 5-0 . . . Ball State's defense tallied four interceptions in its 41-24 win at Akron Saturday, and the four picks tied for the fifth best single-game mark in school history . . . Redshirt freshman Sean Baker tallied three interceptions plus recovered one fumble and returned it 33 yards for his first career touchdown in Ball State's win at Akron . . . With his first pass at Akron, Nate Davis set the Ball State career record for passing yards . . . . He completed a 23-yard pass to Dante Love on the third offensive play of the game for the Cardinals, and Davis now has 6,558 passing yards in his career . . . Love has caught at least one pass in 36 straight games and in 38-of-39 in his career . . . Darius Hill is Ball State's all-time leader in touchdown receptions and added one to his total at Akron . . . Hill now has 27 career touchdown catches . . . Ian McGarvey made five extra points and two field goals at Akron and has now made 25 straight extra points and eight consecutive field goals dating back to last year . . . MiQuale Lewis tallied his second straight 100-yard rushing game Saturday at Akron, and it marked the fourth 100-yard game of his career . . . The Cardinals are 4-2 in Mid-American Conference openers in Hoke's tenure as Ball State's head coach . . . Ball State received two votes in the USA Today Poll this week and one vote in The Associated Press Poll.
A Game of Ties: Indiana head coach Bill Lynch was the head coach at Ball State from 1995-2002 and guided the Cardinals to the 1996 Mid-American Conference Championship and a berth in the Las Vegas Bowl . . . Coach Lynch's son Joey, was a starting quarterback for Coach Hoke from 2004-06 . . . Billy Lynch, an assistant coach at IU, was a football and basketball student-athlete at Ball State (1997-2002) . . . Dennis Springer, an assistant at IU, was an assistant football coach at Ball State (1993-2002) . . . Colin Johnson, who lettered in football at BSU from 1999-2002, is a quality control coach for the Hoosiers.
Anchoring the Trenches: Seniors Robert Brewster (Cincinnati, Ohio/Wyoming H.S.), Dan Gerberry (Austintown, Ohio/Austintown Fitch H.S.) and Andre Ramsey (Cordele, Ga./Crisp County H.S.) anchor the offensive line which blocked for a school record 5,640 yards in total offense, including a school best 3,704 yards passing in 2007 . . . Brewster was a 2007 All-Mid-American Conference First Team selection and started all 13 games at right tackle last season . . . Gerberry has started all 39 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.
Only One Sack on the Season: Ball State's offensive line has allowed only one sacks in three games this season . . . The Cardinals rank ninth in the country for sacks allowed with 0.33 per game . . . Ball State leads the MAC in fewest sacks allowed.
National Rankings: Ball State ranks in the nation's top 20 in a number of statistical categories through the first three games of 2008:
4th Passing Efficiency 186.88 mark
5th Punt Returns 26.0 yards per return
9th Fewest Sacks Allowed 0.33 allowed per game
12th Passing Offense 307.67 yards per game
15th Total Offense 488.67 yards per game
18th Scoring Offense 41.33 points per game
18th Net Punting 39.67 net yards per punt
Leading the Offense: Nate Davis (Bellaire, Ohio/Bellaire H.S.), a junior quarterback who ranks 11th in the nation in total offense (320.0), is 13-10 as a starting quarterback for Ball State, including 10-6 in the last 16 games.
Passing Efficiency: Nate Davis ranks sixth in the nation in passing efficiency with a 189.37 mark . . . He has completed 66-of-88 passes for a 75 percent mark through the first three games . . . He completed .875 percent of his passes against Northeastern, which ranks as the third best single-game mark in school history.
No. 1 In the Nation: Dante Love (Cincinnati, Ohio/Withrow H.S.) ranks No. 1 in the nation in receiving yards per game with a 144.33 average . . . Love has caught at least one pass in 36 straight games and in 38-of-39 outings in his career . . . He had nine catches for 171 yards vs. Northeastern and the 171 yards are the 14th most in a single game in Ball State history . . . Love has four of Ball State's top 15 all-time single-game efforts for reception yards in a game.
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 third in the nation in 2008 with 242.0 per game this season.
Love 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 is only the fourth player in Ball State history to register over 2,000 receiving yards in a career . . . He needs 280 yards to become Ball State's career receiving yards leader.
National Rankings: Ball State individuals rank in the nation's top 20 in a number of statistical categories through the first three games of 2008:
1st Dante Love Receiving Yards Per Game 144.33
3rd Dante Love All-Purpose Yards Per Game 242.00
3rd tie Sean Baker Interceptions Per Game 1.00
6th Nate Davis Passing Efficiency 189.37
10th MiQuale Lewis Rushing Yards Per Game 121.00
7th tie Dante Love Receptions Per Game 8.33
11th Nate Davis Total Offense 320.00
16th tie B.J. Hill Interceptions Per Game 0.67
The Tight End: Darius Hill (Blue Springs, Mo./Blue Springs H.S.), a senior tight end and Ball State's career record holder with 27 touchdown receptions, became only the fifth player in Ball State history to surpass the 2,000-yard mark for receiving yards . . . 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.
D. Hill Moving Up: Darius Hill has 129 career pass receptions and needs three to move into fifth place and pass Adrian Reese, who managed 131 from 1996-99 . . . Hill needs 10 to move into fourth and pass Brian Oliver's 138 from 1991-94.
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 seventh interception of his career at Akron . . . He ranks third on the team in tackles with 19 this season . . . Hill was a 2007 All-MAC Second Team choice and has played in all 38 games in his first three seasons.
Hill Returns to Return Game: After leading Ball State in punt returns in 2007, B.J. Hill has returned three punts for 90 yards and a 30.0 average in 2008 . . . 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 . . . Hill returned a punt 54 yards for a touchdown vs. Akron in 2005 for the only punt return for a TD in his career.
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 that season.
Crawford Leading By Example: Brandon Crawford is tied for team-high honors with three tackles for loss this season plus has one sack, two pass breakups and one forced fumble for the Cardinals.
Ball State's Next Prodigy at Punter U.: Chris Miller (Libertyville, Ill./Carmel H.S.), a senior punter, has punted nine times for a 42.1 average . . . He has a season long punt of 54 yards vs. Northeastern and has pinned opponents inside their own 20-yard line on four of nine punts . . . Ball State opponents have returned six punts for an average of only 3.7 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 with National Football League experience . . . Brad Maynard (1993-96) is in his 13th NFL season and is a member of the Chicago Bears . . . Reggie Hodges (2000-04) is a member of the New York Jets.
Baker Off to Good Start: Sean Baker (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield H.S.), a redshirt freshman for the Cardinals, was named the Walter Camp Foundation National Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in Ball State's 41-24 win at Akron Saturday . . . Baker tied a Ball State school record with three interceptions in one game . . . He tied the mark set by four different players -- the last one was Greg Garnica in 1989 vs. Miami University . . . In addition, Baker recovered the first fumble of his career and returned it 33 yards for the first touchdown of his career.
Baker Also Leading Tackler: Sean Baker leads Ball State in tackles with 24 plus has one tackle for loss and two pass breakups in his first three collegiate games.
Tackling the Issue: Bryant Haines (Piqua, Ohio/Piqua H.S.) ranks second for the Cardinals with 23 tackles and is tied for team-high honors with three tackles for loss . . . He led Ball State with 15 tackles vs. Navy . . . 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.
Eddins Leading in Sacks: Robert Eddins (Detroit, Mich./Crockett H.S.), a sophomore for the Cardinals, leads Ball State with two sacks for minus 21 yards this season . . . He managed his first career sack in the season opener vs. Northeastern, and registered his second sack of the season at Akron.
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 leads the Cardinals with 121.0 rushing yards per game . . . Lewis rushed for 154 yards and two touchdowns at Akron . . . It marked his second straight 100-yard rushing game and the fourth of his career . . . 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.
