Ball State vs San Jose State. The 10 thoughts the Ball State 34-13 win over San Jose State in the Offerpad Arizona Bowl.
Ball State vs San Jose State: Offerpad Arizona Bowl
10. San Jose State was missing its guys
Florida missing a slew of players for the Cotton Bowl against Oklahoma was bad, but San Jose State missing a whole slew of key parts was worse.
Star defensive lineman Cade Hall was out, the offensive line was gutted, both coordinators couldn’t go, and leading receiver Bailey Gaither couldn’t play. Some of the missing parts were known earlier in the week, but the extent of all the key players and coaches that were out wasn’t revealed until less than an hour before game time.
Not to take anything away from Ball State and it’s fantastic performance, but this wasn’t anything close to the same San Jose State that rolled through the season unbeaten winning each game by double-digits.
9. Nick Starkel wasn’t Nick Starkel
To go with the comparisons to the Cotton Bowl, obviously Kyle Trask is better than he looked against Oklahoma – he was missing all of his receivers. San Jose State QB Nick Starkel didn’t have a chance without Gaither and a slew of his normal guys to work with. He did what he could, completing 25-of-42 passes for 268 yards and a touchdown, but the …
8. Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers
Starkel threw three interceptions including what was effectively the game-ender less than three minutes in. Antonio Phillips had a bead on the ball, didn’t break stride, and he was off to a 53-yard pick size as part of a 27-0 Ball State first quarter and 34-0 lead. The Cardinals turned it over twice, but the four Spartan turnovers crushed any hopes of making this a game.
PICK. SIX. ‼️@BallStateFB gets on the board first. pic.twitter.com/gyVxgi8GbT
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) December 31, 2020
7. Nothing was happening on the San Jose State O line
Give credit to a good Ball State defensive line that didn’t have much of a pass rush all season, and didn’t generate much of one against the Spartans, but was able to hold firm against a SJSU running game that had a few good games, but couldn’t get anything working without its normal offensive line rotation. The Spartans ran for just 69 yards and couldn’t settle in after things started to slip away.
NEXT: Top Six Thoughts From The Offerpad Arizona Bowl
6. Drew Plitt was amazing enough when he had to be
The Ball State quarterback threw an interception in every game but one, but he didn’t give up any picks, didn’t do anything to let the Spartans get back into the game, and he hit on the big plays to put the game away. He completed 12-of-19 passes for 217 yards and a touchdown and ran for a score. With everything else working for the Cardinals, he did his job, and …
5. The Ball State offensive balance mattered
That was always the biggest key to the Ball State season – the offensive balance was there. It was heavily leaning to the passing side in most games, but there was enough of a ground game to balance things out, and early on there was enough to take over when needed.
The Cardinals only ran for 185 yards and struggled to pop too many big plays, but Will Jones ran for 89 yards and a touchdown, Donny Marcus ran for 69, and there was enough happening to keep Plitt from having to force anything.
4. Mike Neu just made himself into a hot head coaching name
San Jose State head coach Brent Brennan is still a big head coaching prospect after working miracles with the program that struggled for so long. But after this, and with the MAC Championship win over Buffalo, Ball State head man Mike Neu is going to start to become a name on the next-job-up circuit.
The former Ball State quarterback was an Arena League coach before taking on the Cardinal job and there wasn’t much happening. The program went 13-33 in his first four years, but there was an improvement in each of the last three seasons.
He just turned 50, he came up with a whale of a season – more on that in a moment – and he’s one more great campaign away from potentially getting a long look.
NEXT: Top Three Thoughts From The Offerpad Arizona Bowl
3. This doesn’t take away from the amazing San Jose State season
It really doesn’t.
As painful as this game was, and as unfair as it might have been without so many key players, the Spartans were still here as an unbeaten Mountain West champion, they put together one of their best seasons ever as a program, and they were a whole lot of fun to watch as one of college football’s biggest surprises.
This was building under Brent Brennan, but to do this and to come into this game expecting to win big – if it had its full team intact – was a massive step forward.
2. Ball State, welcome to your first bowl victory
1-7. That’s what Ball State is in bowl games now after it came up with its first one ever.
It all started with a loss to Fresno State in the 1989 California Bowl. It’s not like the Cardinals were playing Alabama or Notre Dame over the years – 2007 Rutgers might have been the best team they faced in a bowl game until this.
And now they did it.
While other programs win a random bowl game and throw it on the pile, remember, for some, winning one of these things is a really, really big deal, which means …
All smiles heading back to Muncie #ChirpChirp | #MACtionpic.twitter.com/0Wc49O9Xzi
— #MACtion (@MACSports) January 1, 2021
1. Was this greatest Ball State football season ever?
That’s a stretch considering there are several conference championships over the years since the school first started playing college football in 1924. There are six MAC titles, and there have been better teams, but the 2020 version is the first to have a conference championship and a bowl win.
It’s the program’s first winning season since 2013, it ended with a whole lot of fun, and there’s hope to keep it all going with everything continuing to improve. Even if it wasn’t the best Ball State season ever, it was fantastic.
