College Football News Preview 2020: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Ball State Cardinals season with what you need to know.
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– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Schedule Analysis
– Ball State Previews 2019 | 2018 | 2017
2019 Record: 5-7 overall, 4-4 in MAC
Head Coach: Mike Neu, 5th year, 15-33
2019 CFN Final Opinion Ranking: 107
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 83
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 109
No one knows what’s going to happen to the 2020 college football season. We’ll take a general look at where each team stands – doing it without spring ball to go by – while crossing our fingers that we’ll all have some well-deserved fun this fall. Hoping you and yours are safe and healthy.
5. College Football News Preview 2020: Ball State Cardinals Offense 3 Things To Know
– The offense couldn’t quite do enough in three brutally close losses, but Ball State was No. 1 in the MAC in offense and scoring, averaging 463 yards and 35 points per game. The running game was good, the passing game was better, and now there’s a lot to like with a ton of talent returning.
CFN in 60 Video: Indiana Preview
– The passing game was fantastic as Drew Plitt grew from a part of the puzzle to the bomber who threw for close to 3,000 yards with 24 touchdowns and seven picks. He can run a little bit – he ran for five scores – but he’s a passer. Sophomore John Paddock didn’t see too much time, but he’s used to being in the No. 2 role.
A few of the key receivers from last year are gone, but 5-9, 181-pound speedster Justin Hall is back after leading the way with 684 yards and six scores. He’s the smallish, quick target, and 6-3 junior Yo’Heinz Tyler is the big playmaker, averaging close to 19 yards per catch with five scores. Throw in the return of Antwan Davis for one more year, and the receivers are there to crank up the yards for Plitt.
– Pass protection was a problem for the Cardinal offensive front, but the running game blasted out close to 220 yards per game. Three starters are back, but all-star Danny Pinter is gone at one tackle spot. 6-5, 304-pound Curtis Blackwell is the strongest blocker of the bunch at his right guard spot, and the left side is set, too.
5-10, 226-pound senior Caleb Huntley carried the ground game with 1,275 yards and 12 scores in a brilliant Second Team All-MAC season.
Receiver Justin Hall is the second-leading returning rusher with 726 yards and two scores, but Huntley needs more rest. That’s where 236-pound sophomore Tye Evans comes in to bring some thump, and junior Will Jones should help a bit.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Ball State Cardinals Defense 3 Things To Know
4. College Football News Preview 2020: Ball State Cardinals Defense 3 Things To Know
– The offense was fantastic as it cranked up yards and points in bunches, and the defense gave them up just as quickly. It didn’t have a pass rush, it allowed 425 yards and 31 points per game, and got hammered hard time and again by anyone who could throw a forward pass. However, the D led the MAC in takeaways, and it has 12 of the top 15 tacklers expected to be back.
– Three of the top four linebackers return, but leading tackler Jacob White is gone from the middle. Even so, the improvement on the defense starts with this bunch. 230-pound Brandon Martin brings the size, but he needs to get back up to speed after missing most of last year hurt, and leading sacker Jordan Williams – who came up with 4.5 sacks – is back on the strongside.
231-pound senior Jaylin Thomas is the leading returning tackler with 97 stops, and veteran star Christian Albright is a great all-around pass rusher and producer on the outside.
Up front, two starters are done, but the line gets bigger. Sophomore Justin Ramsey is a 5-11, 300-pound bowling ball of a nose tackle, but he fits the role. 271-pound James Jennette isn’t much of a pass rusher, but he’ll make tackles. Now he has to be more of a disruptive force and has to hold down better against the run.
– The secondary loses 83-tackle safety Ray Wilborn, but it gets back everyone else. Junior Amechi Uzodinma came up with five picks from one corner spot, Antonio Phillips generated four from the other side, and the two combine for 81 tackles. Play them around senior Bryce Cosby at safety – who came up with 78 tackles – and there’s a whole lot to like.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Top Ball State Cardinals Players
College Football News Preview 2020: Top Ball State Cardinals Players
Best Ball State Cardinals Offensive Player
RB Caleb Huntley, Sr.
Someone had to step up as the new James Gilbert, who left last year for Kansas State. The Ball State offense got its guy with Atlanta native Caleb Huntley turning into a star.
He carried it 248 times and averaged over five yards per carry, cranking up over 100 yards in seven of the last eight games with five touchdown runs in the final two. He’s a tough workhorse with a burst – he came up with over 80 yards in every game but three.
2. QB Drew Plitt, Sr.
3. WR Justin Hall, Sr.
4. OG Curtis Blackwell, Sr.
5. WR Yo’Heinz Tyler, Jr.
Best Ball State Cardinals Defensive Player
LB Christian Albright, Sr.
The defense has way too much talent and too many playmakers for a group that finished 91st in the nation. Antonio Phillips and Amechi Uzodinma are big-time pick-off artists at the corners, and Jaylin Thomas will be one of the MAC’s better tacklers. Albright, though, is the force who gets into the backfield and makes a whole lot of big plays.
He was great as a sophomore with 67 tackles and 5.5 sacks, and he took up his game to another level with 71 tackles with 3.5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss. He’s great in the backfield, good in pass coverage, and the veteran star who’s always around the ball.
2. CB Antonio Phillips, Sr.
3. CB Amechi Uzodinma, Jr.
4. LB Jaylin Thomas, Sr.
5. S Bryce Cosby, Sr.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Ball State Cardinals Keys To The Season
College Football News Preview 2020: Ball State Cardinals Keys To The Season
Biggest Key To The Ball State Cardinals Offense
Score EVERY time there’s a chance. The Ball State offense might have been the best in the MAC last year, and it wasn’t bad in the red zone, but a few misfires proved costly.
The Cardinals lost three games by four points or fewer, and it was in a few of the other losses until late.
They failed to score on one of their seven trips inside the 20 against Central Michigan and lost 45-44. They failed to score once in their five red zone trips against Kent State and lost 41-38. They win both of those, and they’re bowling.
To be fair, the O had its best year in the red zone since 2014, but to go from mediocre to great, it has to hit the putts.
Biggest Key To The Ball State Cardinals Defense
Get the pass rush going. It would be nice to go back to the 2016 days of Anthony Wimbush and 32 sacks as a team, but just generating more pressure on a consistent basis is a plus.
Since 2016, the Cardinal defense went down to 24 in 2017, 20 in 2018, and just 15 last year. The D generated 11 of them in four games – winning three of them – and didn’t do enough to get into the backfield overall with a mere 65 tackles for loss.
The secondary survived – it led the MAC in interceptions – but it still gave up 245 yards per game. With the talent in the defensive backfield, a pass rush would do wonders.
That’s why …
Key Ball State Cardinals Player To A Successful Season
DE James Jennette, Sr.
The pressure in the backfield will come from the outside linebackers – Christian Albright and Jordan Williams should lead the team in sacks – but more pressure coming from Jennette would make a world of difference in the 3-4 alignment.
The 6-3, 271-pounder is more of a tackle than a normal pass rushing defensive end after beefing up before last year, but he’s a good veteran who can get off the ball and get into the backfield – he came up with 3.5 sacks and eight tackles for loss.
The more he does, the less pressure on Albright and Williams.
Key Game To The Ball State Cardinals Season
Western Michigan, Oct. 3
A whole lot will depend on how the schedule ends up shaping up, but the Cardinals are scheduled to open up the MAC slate at home against Western Michigan, one of the favorites to win the division.
With a trip to face a loaded Buffalo team to follow, Ball State can make a massive early statement by beating what should be two of the league’s top teams. Beat the Broncos – after losing five of the last six in the series – this is the MAC West team to beat.
– Ball State Cardinals Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2019 Ball State Fun Stats
– Sacks: Opponents 29 for 167 yards – Ball State 15 for 95 yards
– Punt Return Average: Opponents 15.1 yards – Ball State 8 yards
– Rushing TDs: Opponents 34 – Ball State 27
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Ball State Cardinals Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
1. College Football News Preview 2020: Ball State Cardinals Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
Nothing is going to be normal this season across the college football world, so let’s make this crazy season even wackier.
Ball State really and truly might have the best team in the MAC.
The program hasn’t come up with a winning season in the last six years after going 10-3 in 2013 – the end of an impressive three-year run of 25 wins – with bowl games and positive campaigns not the norm.
Ball State football has come up with just four winning season in the last 23 years, and it has been a fight to get everything going under Mike Neu.
The former Ball State quarterback took over in 2016 and has just 15 wins, but sometimes it takes a massive overhaul – like a full recruiting cycle – to get everything in place.
And now it’s there.
The team had the offense last year, and the defense wasn’t next-level miserable, but a brutal run of close losses in the second half of the year kept the team out of a bowl.
This year’s version has the best offense in the MAC again – be very disappointed if it doesn’t – and enough defensive all-stars are back to be just good enough to start winning all the close games.
So go ahead, Ball State football, and think big. Neu and his staff might have put together the best team in the MAC.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– Schedule Analysis
