Ball State Preview

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Ball State comes to Michie Stadium tomorrow and tries to right the ship against an Army team hungry for its second win.

Ball State comes in after dropping their first two games this season: a 20-10 setback against North Texas and a 23-16 pillowfight against FCS New Hampshire.

An 0-2 start & revolving door at QB, things aren't going so well for BSU, but there's no need to panick. Right?

Cardinals head coach Stan Parrish doesn't want to play Big Ten schools in back-to-back weeks, and Ball State is scheduled to face Purdue on Sept. 18, followed by Iowa on Sept. 25.

Though the Iowa game is more lucrative for Ball State, which would pocket $450,000 more from Iowa than Purdue, the Purdue contract was finalized in 2005 and includes a three-game basketball series that finishes in December.
Looking back at Ball State 2009, it's clear the cupboard was left bare after their 12-2 bowl season last year, but it looks like new BSU head coach Stan Parrish isn't trying to right the ship, he's trying to bail it out.

Parrish declined an interview request for this story, but the original report said Parrish didn't want to play at Purdue University and Iowa, two Big Ten schools, on back-to-back Saturdays. The Purdue game is scheduled for Sept. 18.
The state of BSU's football program really doesn't matter at all to me other than the point that these distractions and future implications make this game a must-win for Army. The Black Knights would hate to drop this game at home but realistically, Army still has some kinks to work out on offense. The team has to play who's in front of them and I can't help but feel like Ball State is backed into a corner. If you're Army and haven't gone bowling since 1996 there's a lot riding in this game.

Army opens as an 8 point favorite.

USA Today has Ball State's team notes and stats.
Army's team notes are here.

Game notes are here (pdf) - GoArmySports.com

Don't forget to check the radio tab on game day for links to the live Army/Ball State internet gamecast.

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