Ball State University Athletics
Football to Face Nation's No. 1 Oklahoma Saturday
October 01, 2011 | Football
Ball State Cardinals (3-1; MAC 1-0) at
Oklahoma Sooners (3-0) (No. 1 in USA Today Poll/No. 2 in AP Poll)
Gaylor Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
Natural Grass -- Capacity: 82,112
Norman, Okla. -- Sat., Oct. 1 -- 6 p.m. (7 p.m. ET)
Television: Pay Per View available through Oklahoma Sports Network
Radio: Ball State Radio Network -- WLBC 104.1 FM Muncie
(Morry Mannies, Play-by-Play; Mark O'Connell, Analyst)
Morry Mannies is in his 56th and final season as the play-by-play
announcer for Ball State football and men's basketball . . . The
"Voice of the Cardinals" announced his retirement from Ball State
broadcasts Aug. 27, 2011.
Sports Link Radio on WCRD (Ball State Student Station - FM 91.3)
(Pat Boylan, Play-by-Play; Kyle Binder, Analyst)
Live Stats & Internet Radio: ballstatesports.com
Ball State 2011 Team Captains: Sean Baker (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield H.S.), Kreg Hunter (Lebanon, Ind./Lebanon H.S.), Adam Morris (Dublin, Ohio/Scioto H.S.), Briggs Orsbon (Convoy, Ohio/Crestview H.S.) and Andrew Puthoff (St. Henry, Ohio/St. Henry H.S.) have been selected as team captains for the 2011 season.
The Series: Ball State and Oklahoma have never met in football.
Scouting Ball State: Ball State improved to 3-1 overall with a 48-21 non-conference victory over Army at Scheumann Stadium Saturday afternoon . . . The Cardinals opened the 2011 season with a 27-20 win over Indiana at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind., then suffered a 37-7 loss to the nation's No. 22 ranked South Florida Bulls in Tampa, Fla. . . . The Cardinals improved to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the Mid-American Conference with a 28-25 home win over Buffalo Sept. 17 . . . Ball State is averaging 232.5 passing yards and 155.8 rushing yards per game, while allowing 205.0 passing yards and 207.2 rushing yards a contest.
Ball State Quick Hits
- Ball State has converted on 17-of-17 trips inside the Red Zone this season . . . The Cardinals are tied for first in the country for Red Zone Efficiency, and have scored 103 points from within the Red Zone.
- Some of Ball State's other top national statistical rankings include fewest interceptions thrown (1st tie), fewest penalties per game (4th tie), fewest turnovers lost (8th tie), fourth down conversions (15th tie), time of possession (16th), third down conversions (22nd) and sacks allowed (25th tie).
- Ball State's defense has registered eight sacks in its first four games and are tied for 48th in the nation with 2.00 sacks per game . . . Ball State tallied four sacks in its season opening victory over Indiana . . . It marked the most sacks for a Ball State defense since the Cardinals had six at Central Michigan Oct. 2, 2010.
- Ball State's game at Oklahoma will mark the highest ranked team the Cardinals have ever played . . . Oklahoma enters the game ranked No. 1 in the country by USA Today and No. 2 by the Associated Press . . . Ball State's highest ranked opponent to date was Michigan in 2006 . . . The Cardinals suffered a 34-26 loss at Michigan Nov. 4, 2006, in a game the Wolverines were ranked No. 2 by AP and USA Today.
- Ball State's 545 yards of total offense vs. Army was the seventh best single-game mark in school history and the most since tallying 610 total yards in a 41-40 loss at Nebraska Sept. 22, 2007.
- The Cardinals did not allow a completed pass vs. Army, which tied an NCAA single-game record.
- Ball State's 48 points scored vs. Army were the most for the Cardinals since posting 48 points against Northeastern Aug. 28, 2008.
- Ball State finished the Army contest with 383 passing yards, which ranks as the sixth highest single game total in school history.
- Ball State's football team has played on television 20 times in the last three seasons . . . The Cardinals are scheduled for at least three television games in 2011 . . . Ball State played twice on ESPN2 plus appeared on ESPNU, CBS College Sports and Fox Sports in 2009 . . . In 2010, the Cardinals played on ESPNU once, ESPN Plus once and the Big Ten Network twice.
• Ball State has won 17 of its last 28 Mid-American Conference games . . . The Cardinals won their final three MAC games in 2007 and all eight league contests in 2008 for 11 straight conference victories, which is the second longest league winning streak in school history. - Ball State opened the 2011 season by playing its first two games in stadiums that host National Football League teams . . . The Cardinals opened the year with a 27-20 win over Indiana at Lucas Oil Stadium, the home of the Indianapolis Colts . . . Ball State played its second game of the season at Raymond James Stadium, the home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
- Keith Wenning (Coldwater, Ohio/Coldwater H.S.) has completed 95-of-130 passes for 871 yards with seven touchdowns and zero interceptions . . . He has completed 73.1 percent of his passes in 2011 . . . Wenning completed three TD passes vs. Army, which marked his second straight multiple touchdown passing game and his third of the 2011 season . . . He threw for a career high 324 yards and tied his career best single game performance with three touchdown passes.
- Willie Snead (Muskegon Heights, Mich./Muskegon Heights H.S.) managed a career high 180 receiving yards, including a career long 45-yard catch vs. Army . . . He became the first Ball State player to eclipse the 100-yard receiving mark in a game this season and his 180 receiving yards were the most for a Ball State player since Dante Love tallied 214 against Nebraska Sept. 22, 2007.
- Sean Baker (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield H.S.), who set Ball State's career interception mark as a junior last season, tallied his 17th career interception in the second quarter vs. Army.
Scouting Oklahoma
The Record: Oklahoma improved to 3-0 with a 38-28 home win over Missouri Saturday night . . . The Sooners opened the season with a 47-14 home victory over Tulsa, and then managed a 23-13 win at the nation's fifth-ranked Florida State Seminoles.
The Coach: Bob Stoops (Iowa '83) is in his 13th season as the head coach at Oklahoma . . . He has posted a 132-31 record for the Sooners . . . Stoops first fulltime assistant coaching position was at Kent State in 1988.
The Stats: Oklahoma is averaging 354.7 passing yards and 167.0 rushing yards per game, while allowing 260.3 passing yards and 132.2 rushing yards a contest . . . Landry Jones has completed 88-of-122 passes for 1,022 yards with five touchdowns and four interceptions . . Dom Whaley is rushing for 90.0 yards per game.
