Ball State Cardinals NCAA Football News Archives

MUNCIE -- Members of Ball State's offensive line had a premonition before last Saturday's football game at Eastern Michigan that something good was about to happen for the group.

One of the elementary fundamentals in football is to take care of the ol' pigskin.

Latest line: WMU by 1. Notable: KSU puts its pass-rushing defense up against a WMU team averaging 27 points a game.

Cory Sykes rushed for 203 yards and three touchdowns and Ball State beat Eastern Michigan 29-27 Saturday.

Ball State's rushing performance Saturday in its football game against Eastern Michigan was historical on a national level.

A classic goal-line stand by Ball State in the second quarter of Saturday's football game became a major reason why it was able to win for the first time this season.

A return home was just what Stan Parrish needed. Parrish, the Ball State University football coach, hadn't won a game since accepting the job last December.

Ball State had two touchdowns and a safety in the third quarter to overcome Eastern Michigan's 14-point lead and win 29-27 on Saturday at Rynearson Stadium in a game between winless Mid-American Conference teams.

The culture of losing sometimes is a difficult habit to break for a sports team.

So go ahead, then, ya bums. Yank out his fingernails. Give the thumbscrews another turn.

At last, the running game produced a credible result for Ball State's football team.

If two teams play a football game and nobody seems interested, does it count? It will for Ball State and Eastern Michigan on Saturday when two of the nation's six winless teams will square off and probably view each other as their best chance for a victory this season.

Twice during Saturday's postgame press conference after Ball State's 31-17 loss to Bowling Green, Cardinals' coach Stan Parrish conceded that his football team isn't very good right now.

It seemed more like mid-November rather than mid-October in Muncie as the Falcons Tyler Sheenhan threw for 376 yards and three touchdowns on the way to a 31-17 win over Ball Sate.

The nation's leading receiver, Bowling Green's Freddie Barnes, is eating up Ball State's secondary, and the Cardinals trail 24-0 at halftime of today's game at Scheumann Stadium.

Ball State's football team has nothing against the mother of Bowling Green receiver Freddie Barnes, but it would like to erase the smile she's been beaming this week.

Last spring, Ball State's football team had a logjam of players at wide receiver and a lack of bodies available to play cornerback.

Auburn linebacker Eltoro Freeman knocks the helmet off Ball State offensive tackle Austin Holtz Sept.

Change is in the air this week for Ball State's football team. A starting cornerback is being benched, the rugby punting style will go on the shelf, and a new kickoff and field-goal kicker is being considered.

Ball State's plan Saturday in its football game against Temple included an attempt to tire out the Owls' physical defensive front by speeding up its offense.

The manner in which Toledo quarterback Aaron Opelt scalded Ball State's pass defense in last Saturday's football game sent up a warning flag for the unit.

MUNCIE -- Charlie Todd admits it has taken him awhile to adjust to the level of football Ball State competes at after playing the past two seasons in junior college.

Ball State's seven-game losing streak in football ties for the second-longest skid in school history, behind only the ignominious 21-game streak of almost a decade ago.

Ball State's seven-game losing streak in football ties for the second-longest skid in school history, behind only the 21-game streak of almost a decade ago.

There's a reason why football is the greatest game ever devised. It's simple. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out what's going on down on the field.

MUNCIE -- Ball State made two rallies in the fourth quarter to take the lead Saturday in its football game against Toledo.

Section: SPORTS Originally published: 10/4/09 at 12:36 AM EST Last update: 10/4/09 at 1:57 AM EST Media Credit: Running back MiQuale Lewis escapes from a Toledo defender during the first half of Ball State University Homecoming game against Toledo.

Five scoring drives - all of them 80 yards or longer - propelled Saint Francis to a 42-14 victory over Malone on Saturday at Fawcett Stadium in Canton, Ohio.

Ball State head coach Stan Parrish knows talented Toledo quarterback Aaron Opelt well - he once recruited him to play for the Cardinals.

While on an afternoon jaunt across campus Monday, University of Toledo senior defensive tackle Maurice Hill and Rockets coach Tim Beckman got to talking.

Starting the football season with four consecutive losses seems to have caused Ball State coach Stan Parrish to rein in the availability of his players to local and state media outlets.