Football Team at USF Saturday
September 10, 2011 | Football
Ball State Cardinals (1-0; MAC 0-0) at
USF Bulls (1-0; Big East 0-0)
Raymond James Stadium (Natural Grass) -- Capacity: 65,000
Tampa, Fla. -- Sat., Sept. 10 -- 7 p.m. (ET)
GameDay: Ball State will be playing its second straight game in a stadium that is the official home of a National Football League franchise . . . After opening the 2011 campaign with a 27-20 victory over Indiana at Lucas Oil Stadium, the home of the Indianapolis Colts, the Cardinals will play USF at Raymond James Stadium, the home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Video Broadcast: Ball State will play its second straight game on ESPN3, which is ESPN's live multi-screen sports network, giving fans a 24/7 online destination . . . ESPN3 is available in more than 70 million homes . . . Jim Barbar will serve as the play-by-play announcer, while former Ball State assistant coach Doug Graber will serve as the color analyst . . . Graber was Ball State's defensive coordinator in 2009, and was an assistant for the Cardinals in 1976 and 1977.
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 USF will be meeting for the first time ever in football.
Scouting Ball State: Ball State started its 2011 season with a 27-20 victory over Big Ten Conference foe Indiana at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind. . . . With the win, the Cardinals achieved a second straight victory over the Hoosiers in the six game series . . . Ball State rushed for 210 yards and passed for 173, while limiting the Hoosiers to 103 yards rushing and 272 yards passing . . . With the score tied 17-17 in the third quarter, the Cardinals took a 24-17 advantage on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Keith Wenning (Coldwater, Ohio/Coldwater H.S.) to Connor Ryan (Westlake, Ohio/St. Ignatius H.S.) . . . Ball State stretched the lead to 27-17 on a Steven Schott (Massillon, Ohio/Washington H.S.) 22-yard field goal with 2:16 to play in the game . . . The Cardinals return 11 starters from a 2010 team that posted a 4-8 overall record and a 3-5 mark in the Mid-American Conference . . . Ball State's top returnee is Sean Baker, who was named to the All-MAC Second Team plus was the Cardinals John Magnabosco Award winner as the team's most valuable player in 2010 . . . Jason Pinkston (Cleveland, Ohio/Glenville H.S.) returns after starting all 12 games for the Cardinals in 2010 . . . Pinkston was named to the All-MAC Third Team a year ago.
Scouting USF
The Record: USF began its 2011 season with a 23-20 victory over Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. . . . The Bulls return 45 letterwinners, including 12 starters from a 2010 team that posted an 8-5 overall record and 3-4 mark in the Big East Conference . . . USF defeated Clemson 31-26 in the 2010 Meineke Car Care Bowl.
The Coach: Skip Holtz (Notre Dame '86) is in his second year as the head coach at USF and in his 11th season as a collegiate head coach . . . Holtz managed a 38-27 record as the head coach at East Carolina from 2005-09, and a 34-23 mark as the head mentor at Connecticut from 1994-98.
The Stats: B.J. Daniels completed 18-of-30 passes for 128 yards with one touchdown in the opener, while Sterli Griffin managed eight catches for 75 yards . . . Demetri Murray rushed 14 times for 40 yards.
