In coach Pete Limbo's first year, the Ball State Cardinals exceeded expectancies as they beat Indiana and took down MAC East champ Ohio en route to 6-6 season in 2011. Ball State is still hunting for their first bowl win in school history, and Lembo may be just the bloke to get them over the top.
This team obviously has the talent to shock, as they have 13 starters and 30 lettermen returning in 2012. But it will be difficult this season in the hard MAC West, which is simply the better division in this league.�
Offense
The Cardinals were decent last year, averaging 25.3 points and 379 total yards/game. Their experienced offense carried them last year, and that should remain the case with eight starters returning on offense in 2012. They ought to at least be able to duplicate last year's numbers.
Junior QB Keith Wenning is back after a good sophomore year where he completed 63.9% of his throws for 2,786 yards with 19 touchdowns and 11 picks last year. He also rushed for 182 yards and 3 touchdowns and he'll definitely be one of the finest quarterbacks in the league.
The backfield is loaded as the best three rushers from last year all are back. Leading the way will be sophomore RB Jahwan Edwards. Tennessee transfer Toney Williams could challenge him for the lead spot however. They also bring back junior Barrington Scott and senior Dwayne Donigan.
The biggest departures on offense are at receiver, where Ball State loses their best 2 in Briggs Orsbon and Torieal Gibson. They do return four able pass catchers in junior Jamill Smith, junior Jack Tomlinson, sophomore Willie Snead and junior Connor Ryan.
The offensive line returns four starters including senior T Cameron Lowry, who had 5 starts last season before going out for the season with an injury. Their 115 career starts coming back is the most in the college football coming into 2012. This group will be one of the finest in the conference and the returnees include senior C Dan Manick, senior G Kitt O'Brien, junior G Jordan Hansel and senior T Austin Holtz.
Defense
Their defense last season was nearly nonexistent, allowing 34.7 points and 510 total yards/game. With such abysmal numbers, you'd think that they can't get any worse. Nonetheless with only five starters returning, this unit could once more tread to averageness.
The defensive line loses three productive players in DE Andrew Puthoff, NT Adam Morris and DE Ryan Hartke. The only returning starter up front is junior DT Nathan Ollie. Coach Lembo has secured a couple of transers to fill out the line.
The linebacker corps loses its best tackler in Aaron Morris, who is academically ineligible. However , they bring back their best tackler in second-team All-MAC MLB Travis Freeman as well as senior WLB Tony Martin. St. Joseph's transfer Kenneth Lee looks primed to win the starting SLB job.
The secondary loses its 2 best players in first-team All-MAC SS Sean Baker and FS Joshua Howard. This group returns two starters in junior CB Jeffery Garrett and senior CB Jason Pinkston. This unit figures to be much weaker than they used to be a year ago as they have got a pair of green players in freshman Chris Pauling and sophomore Brian Jones starting at the safety positions.
MAC West Prediction - 6th Place
Ball State will once more be competitive in 2012 and they're going to have a good opportunity to make the postseason. Their offense should continue being the high point of this team behind Wenning, a gifted backfield, and the most experienced offensive line in the nation. Their defense may have a drop off though as they lose 3 of their top 4 tacklers. They've got a controllable schedule as all of their tough conference games will be played at home, and their weakest opposition comes on the road. They have got a difficult road in front of them though and the schedule will be the real reason why this team will finish in the basement of the conference.
This team obviously has the talent to shock, as they have 13 starters and 30 lettermen returning in 2012. But it will be difficult this season in the hard MAC West, which is simply the better division in this league.�
Offense
The Cardinals were decent last year, averaging 25.3 points and 379 total yards/game. Their experienced offense carried them last year, and that should remain the case with eight starters returning on offense in 2012. They ought to at least be able to duplicate last year's numbers.
Junior QB Keith Wenning is back after a good sophomore year where he completed 63.9% of his throws for 2,786 yards with 19 touchdowns and 11 picks last year. He also rushed for 182 yards and 3 touchdowns and he'll definitely be one of the finest quarterbacks in the league.
The backfield is loaded as the best three rushers from last year all are back. Leading the way will be sophomore RB Jahwan Edwards. Tennessee transfer Toney Williams could challenge him for the lead spot however. They also bring back junior Barrington Scott and senior Dwayne Donigan.
The biggest departures on offense are at receiver, where Ball State loses their best 2 in Briggs Orsbon and Torieal Gibson. They do return four able pass catchers in junior Jamill Smith, junior Jack Tomlinson, sophomore Willie Snead and junior Connor Ryan.
The offensive line returns four starters including senior T Cameron Lowry, who had 5 starts last season before going out for the season with an injury. Their 115 career starts coming back is the most in the college football coming into 2012. This group will be one of the finest in the conference and the returnees include senior C Dan Manick, senior G Kitt O'Brien, junior G Jordan Hansel and senior T Austin Holtz.
Defense
Their defense last season was nearly nonexistent, allowing 34.7 points and 510 total yards/game. With such abysmal numbers, you'd think that they can't get any worse. Nonetheless with only five starters returning, this unit could once more tread to averageness.
The defensive line loses three productive players in DE Andrew Puthoff, NT Adam Morris and DE Ryan Hartke. The only returning starter up front is junior DT Nathan Ollie. Coach Lembo has secured a couple of transers to fill out the line.
The linebacker corps loses its best tackler in Aaron Morris, who is academically ineligible. However , they bring back their best tackler in second-team All-MAC MLB Travis Freeman as well as senior WLB Tony Martin. St. Joseph's transfer Kenneth Lee looks primed to win the starting SLB job.
The secondary loses its 2 best players in first-team All-MAC SS Sean Baker and FS Joshua Howard. This group returns two starters in junior CB Jeffery Garrett and senior CB Jason Pinkston. This unit figures to be much weaker than they used to be a year ago as they have got a pair of green players in freshman Chris Pauling and sophomore Brian Jones starting at the safety positions.
MAC West Prediction - 6th Place
Ball State will once more be competitive in 2012 and they're going to have a good opportunity to make the postseason. Their offense should continue being the high point of this team behind Wenning, a gifted backfield, and the most experienced offensive line in the nation. Their defense may have a drop off though as they lose 3 of their top 4 tacklers. They've got a controllable schedule as all of their tough conference games will be played at home, and their weakest opposition comes on the road. They have got a difficult road in front of them though and the schedule will be the real reason why this team will finish in the basement of the conference.