Clearly the news from Muncie from the Cards or about the Cards comes at a snail’s pace this time of year. We’re in that lull between the National Signing Day fiestas with the hopeful optimism of years to come through stellar recruits, and the excitement and passion of spring practice, the spring game, and albeit briefly, being able to focus on football. Last year we were blessed with Cardinals that were being looked at by the NFL, and hearing several names on draft day and the days that followed through free agent signings kept the football Cards on the minds of the faithful. This year? Not so much, but Monday brought with it a bit of information that even those focused on the basketball Cardinals or baseball Cardinals would want to take notice of.
Because of the caliber of our program, games get scheduled well in advance, taking most of the mystery out of the schedule game as the spring marches on. When the MAC officially announced the schedule yesterday, there were no major surprises, and really the only thing that was worth checking out was how the conference would schedule the MAC contests for Ball State. Next fall’s schedule brings some reason to hope but also plenty of reason to be concerned.
Ball State’s 2010 Football Schedule
9/2 (Thurs) South East Missouri State
9/11 (Sat) Liberty
9/18 (Sat) @ Purdue
9/25 (Sat) @ Iowa
10/2 (Sat) @ Central Michigan
10/9 (Sat) Western Michigan
10/16 (Sat) Eastern Michigan
10/23 (Sat) @ Toledo
10/30 (Sat) @ Kent State
11/6 (Sat) Akron
11/12 (Fri) @ Buffalo
11/20 (Sat) Northern Illinois
The only game slated for television so far is the 11/12 contest at Buffalo, though the MAC and ESPN make the call later in the year as to what games are going to be showcased. Considering how there are no Thursday or Wednesday night games, I would say the odds of one of our Saturday contests being picked up by ESPN or ESPN2 are fairly slim, but who knows.
Gone from the schedule this season is Temple, Ohio, and BG, and all those teams closed last year solid and look to be just as good in 2010. Kent State, Akron, and Buffalo replace them, going a combined 9-15 last season in the MAC. That’s the good news.
The bad news comes early for the Cardinals, as after two warm up games against I-AA opponents, they hit Purdue, Iowa, and Central Michigan, all on the road. While CMU looks to have a bit of a down year compared to their last few, battling the Chips after two straight road Big 10 teams makes me nervous… and not in the good way.
Truthfully, if BSU can get through that three game stretch 1-2, then the season isn’t lost. Going 0-3 though puts us a bit behind the 8 ball in terms of Bowl eligibility. Because of the scheduling genius of 2 FCS programs, BSU will need to be 7-5 this season for Bowl eligibility. 6-6 with 2 FCS wins ain’t gonna cut it.
Of other special note is the fact there is no bye week this season for the Cardinals. Happy we don’t play short weeks with Wednesday or Tuesday games, but somewhat disappointed there wasn’t an opportunity to squeeze some sort of extended time off or bye week into the mix. The only “bye week” would come should the Cardinals make the MAC Title game, as there is 13 days between the season closer against NIU and the MAC Championship. Here’s to hoping we actually need the rest.
Filed under: Ball State |
Over The Pylon 
Yikes. @Purdue, @Iowa, @cmu. That isn’t too bright of a start. Certainly gives an opportunity to start the annual Purdue slide to mediocrity a little earlier than normal.
We’re probably a year away from competing against Iowa or Purdue again…those could get ugly.
We may be a year away from competing against Iowa (who project as a top five team next year), but Purdue ain’t that good. We’ll hang with them. We put up 30 points against a team a lot better than the Boilers this past fall.
I’m no fan of the two I-AA teams, but let’s face it, if we go 6-6 with two I-AA wins, there’s no guarantee that we would have beaten whatever I-A team you threw in that slot.