Over The Pylon

Hyperbole in sports is one of the most overused things from a journalism perspective and a marketing slant. Every game is a big one. Every game has an angle that makes it must watch. Every player is a star. Seldom does reality live up to the billing, because most times, it’s just that: fiction forced on the public through a clumsily constructed narrative to ensure plenty of eyeballs and channel clicks to the game in question. Tonight, though, in Dekalb hyperbole isn’t needed one bit. This one is massive and everyone knows it. We don’t need Chris Fowler or Kirk Herbstreit to educate us dimwitted simpletons about why we should watch it. We all know the deal.

When BSU and NIU finish up in the late evening hours of Wednesday night, one of two things will have happened. Either it is a coronation and confirmation of NIU being the current class of the MAC and head and shoulders above their conference brethren, or it will signal a changing of the guard in the MAC with an announcement that one BCS bid a year ago does not a dynasty make. No matter who wins, a statement is made, a program cemented or defined, and a coach’s legacy written in ink. It’s not hyperbole. It’s fact.

The underdog Cardinals come in with a loss on the record, a chip on the shoulder, and no ranking in front of their name. The MAC headlines this season have been almost exclusively about the undefeated Huskies and their Heisman hopeful Jordan Lynch. With good reason, too, as Lynch has set records left and right while leading the Huskies to a #15 ranking and a spotless 9-0 record, after taking NIU to the Orange Bowl last season. But down the road in Muncie resides a QB that has rewritten his share of records and defined a program along the way as well. For Keith Wenning, tonight’s contest could be the impressive cherry on an otherwise already impressive sundae. He’s led the Cards back from the brink of irrelevance to what will be their 2nd consecutive bowl at the conclusion of this season. A win tonight means the Cardinals clinch the MAC West and will be vying for the MAC Championship in Detroit on December 6th. Suffice to say, tonight is big. Huge. Massive. Insert your favorite adjective. It’s time to count you down to NIU…

5 Things to Know

• Surprisingly enough, and even with the recent dominance by NIU, Ball State leads the overall series with the Huskies 20-18-2. However, the road team fares quite well when these two match up. The Cardinals have a 11-8-2 advantage in Dekalb and the Huskies lead 10-9 in Muncie.
• When it comes to streaks, NIU has a few of the most commanding you’ll find. The Huskies have won 22 straight conference games, dating back to 2011 for the longest in-conference win streak in the nation. The Huskies have also won 24 straight home games, dating back to 2009, meaning the current senior class has never lost a game in Dekalb.
• Speaking of streaks, if the broadcast coverage is any indication it could be a big night for NIU. The Huskies have won 6 consecutive games of theirs televised on ESPN2. The Deuce has coverage tonight as well.
• Some offenses start slow and close late while others come out of the gate fast and take their foot off the gas once they can. NIU is neither. The Huskies have scored a touchdown in 12 straight quarters and have put points on the scoreboard in 35 of 36 quarters this season.
• This is the 6th year that this game has a trophy that is given to the winner in The Bronze Stalk. Since the Bronze Stalk has been created and given, NIU is 4-1, winning the last 4 against BSU. The Cardinals did win the inaugural Bronze Stalk in 2008.

4 Players to Know

• QB Jordan Lynch – Anyone that follows college football has heard of Jordan Lynch. A dual-threat senior QB that has more career rushing yards than anyone else in college football currently. He’s a Heisman candidate, 21-2 as NIU’s starting QB, and has 22 straight games with a touchdown pass. He’s good, we get it.
• DT Ken Bishop – Bishop has been named MAC West Defensive Player of the Week twice in the 2013 season, and leads all defensive linemen in tackles, and also picked up his first interception this season as well.
• S Jimmie Ward – Is tied for 6th in the country with 5 INTs this season and is a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the nation’s best defensive back. He also ranks second on the team in tackles behind Bishop.
• RB Cameron Stingily – Though clearly the second rushing option behind Lynch, Stingily is extremely capable of creating chaos for the BSU defense. Perhaps most troublesome is his ability to remain upright and gaining after contact, getting 563 of his 784 yards after the first hit. He is also capable of shouldering the load, as he did against Kent State, rushing 37 times for 266 yards.

3 Ways We Win

• Understand that stopping Jordan Lynch is not possible and limiting him may be hard to do – Jordan Lynch is going to get yards tonight. Mobile QBs usually do against this defensive unit, and he’s quite good. So that means stopping him becomes impossible for a lengthy game. However, stopping him in big spots like critical third downs is doable and needs to happen. Not letting him bust an untouched 70 yard TD would be nice as well.
• Win the turnover battle – Both these teams are top 15 nationally in turnover margin with BSU at +10 and NIU at +9 for the season. In a shootout as this game may become, possessions are critical and wasting opportunities by turning the ball over puts a team behind the eight ball.
• Limit penalties and let NIU beat themselves – BSU is one of the least penalized teams in the nation and NIU is one of the most. As we talked about on this week’s OTPcast, when two teams are so similarly built and matched up, it’s often the intangibles that mean the difference between winning and losing. BSU has to limit penalties on their end and allow NIU to make their normal amount, extending Cardinal drives and bettering BSU field position in the process.

2 Cardinal Questions

• Can Rod Carey and the Huskies beat Pete Lembo three straight times? If I’m an athletic director I take Pete Lembo over Rod Carey every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Tonight, Pete Lembo is facing NIU for the third straight time with the first two being losses. Good coaches don’t lose three straight times to a conference rival.
• Does Keith Wenning take this opportunity to announce his own excellence to a national audience that may not be familiar with him? The eyes of the nation are going to be all over ESPN2 for this showdown. Most will have already heard of Jordan Lynch. This is Keith Wenning’s opportunity to put his name next to Lynch’s in the conversation of Best MAC QB.

1 Bold Prediction

On this week’s OTPcast, I predicted a very specific outcome, and one that I’ll stick with. I think it’s a back and forth shootout throughout the night with ebbs and flows that may see either team up by 10 to 14 at various points. Inevitably it tightens up and the fourth quarter becomes a shootout in every sense of the word. The final BSU drive gets extended by an NIU penalty and that moves the Cardinals into field goal range for a Scott Secor kick as time expires, winning the game for BSU 52-49 and sending BSU to Detroit for the MAC Championship.

No liveblog tonight for the festivities because I’m going to be a nervous wreck, but you can follow along with us on Twitter here. You can also join us and Friends of the Pylon with the official OTP BSUvNIU Drinking Game found here and tweet us with #BSUDrink. We’ll keep you abreast of the festivities with that hashtag as well. 8pm ET, ESPN2, Go Cards!!

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The term “must win” gets thrown around an awful lot in the sporting world, and most times those “must win” moments are being oversold. I struggle to say the Ball State versus Toledo showdown on Saturday is a must win game for the Cards, but I would say it’s awfully important in the grand scheme of this season if the Cards are to have a chance at the MAC Championship. When 2013 opened, I said there were two games that would ultimately define the season and keep the title hopes alive for this season, those being Toledo and Northern Illinois. And lo and behold, Toledo is this weekend, now less than 24 hours away. NIU is what people are talking about and what the experts are pointing to, but Toledo is as important and up first. A win and the NIU game may very well be a de facto MAC West Championship game. A loss and it’s not lights out for the championship hopes, but it’s certainly on life support. Time to count you down to Toledo…

5 Things You Should Know

• In somewhat surprising news to me, Toledo and the Cardinals are historically neck and neck. The Rockets hold a 19-18-1 record over the Cards but have won three of the last four. The good news is Pete Lembo is .500 against the Rockets, and his win over them in 2012 snapped a three-game series win streak for Toledo. The other bit of good news is that the Rockets trail the series when it is in Muncie, with an 8-11 record.
• Toledo certainly keeps their QB’s jersey clean. The Rockets are 2nd in the nation in sacks allowed at just two total on the season. And that’s after having opened their season against two SEC schools (Florida & Missouri) on the road. The offensive line for Toledo, coupled with QB Terrance Owens’ escapability and mobility, make the Rockets a difficult challenge for the d-line of the Cardinals.
• Toledo’s run game should worry you as much as their protection. Rocket running back David Fluellen gained 197 yards and two scores last week against Central Michigan as the Rockets picked up their first MAC win. He’s a shifty back that in some respects reminds me of a poor man’s Quale Lewis. Not quite as contact seeking as Quale, but violent cuts and following his blockers do remind me a bit of Lewis.
• In a bit of good news in terms of what the BSU offense will be lining up against, the Toledo defense is talented but relatively unproven. There are 13 freshmen or sophomores in the 22-man two-deep roster for Toledo and as they cycle in to the game in spot relief, BSU will need to take advantage of their inexperience. As we’ve seen in games before, Wilie Snead and Jamil Smith create matchup nightmares for untested and unproven secondaries. Let’s hope it continues Saturday.
• If you’re at all close to Muncie, this is a game you should be moving heaven and earth to get to in person. In the two games at the Scheu, attendance dropped by 8% from the season opener to the second game, and considering the first game was a Thursday that’s surprising. The weather in Muncie this weekend is supposed to be absolutely picture perfect, and a large crowd is needed. For those that want a championship product on the field it’s time to have a championship product in the stands. My hope is we see around 18k. I’m optimistic that happens.

4 Players You Should Know

• QB Terrance Owens – Though Toledo’s run game causes a bit of worry, their passing attack is their bread and butter and Owens is what makes that possible. He’s third all-time on the Toledo passing touchdown list, and will finish his career in second barring some sort of freak injury.
• WR Bernard Reedy – This senior is currently fifth in receiving yards in UT history and could feasibly be in second by the time he graduates. He’s also 8th all-time in receptions and is a favorite target of Owens. At 5’9″, he isn’t tremendously taller than the defensive backs he’ll be facing, but his speed and hands make him a dangerous weapon, a la Jamil Smith.
• RB David Fluellen – We mentioned Fluellen above, thanks largely to his monster game last week against CMU. I think most everyone would agree that even with our defensive struggles early this season, the Cards’ defense is significantly better than the Chips. So while a 200-yard performance may not be the goal, Fluellen will be just enough of a threat to keep the defense on their toes and facing a balanced attack.
• DT Jayrone Elliott – Anchoring that young and inexperienced defense is this senior defensive tackle who has made life challenging for opposing offenses in this young season. Through only four games, Elliott already has five tackles for loss and three sacks and has surpassed his season total for tackles from last year. If there was a Toledo defensive player capable of making the day go poorly for Keith Wenning and the offense, Elliott is the guy.

3 Ways We Win

• Force Toledo to pick either run or pass, not both – The defense for the Cards is serviceable when it can force an opponent to pick their poison. The teams that are balanced and methodical are the ones that have given BSU fits over the years. Throw in the big play capability of Owens and his receivers and that’s an issue.
• The offense has a few long and sustained drives – The quick scores are great and they are great fun, but they don’t allow the defense much time to catch their breath and may very well be the lion’s share of the reason why the defense drops off a bit in the second half. The one thing missing from the BSU battle plan so far this season has been an ability to just march it down the field a little at time and punch it in. Those kinds of drives grind a defense down, and to do it against Toledo is big.
• Capitalize on scoring opportunities when they present themselves – First and foremost, the special teams need to be special. No missed extra points, no missed field goals. Speaking of field goals, when BSU hits the red zone it needs to be for 6, not 3. This game doesn’t seem like one that will come down to whoever scores 50 first or whoever has the ball last, but if it does, those points matter. Make ’em count.

2 Cardinal Questions

• Which BSU defense is going to show up? Is it the defense we saw against Army or the defense we saw against North Texas? I’d even settle for something in the middle a la Illinois State.
• Who turns the ball over? As turnovers go, so will go this game. Both teams are capable of creating turnovers, so whoever does it more and capitalizes most will be in the driver’s seat.

1 Bold Prediction

I would be lying if I said this game didn’t at least make me a little nervous. Part of that is because of what it could mean for this program and its future. A victory means the Cards are one step closer to the MAC West title and the opportunity to play for the MAC Championship in December and that is an exciting and scary thought all at the same time. Could it be that in just year three under the leadership of Pete Lembo the Cardinals are title contenders? Yes, they are. The first step of that contending comes Saturday, where I think the Cards use a raucous crowd to drive them onward to victory. Another 300 yards for Keith, another 100 for Quake, another W for BSU. 31-21 good guys.

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To me, the most interesting thing in the college football world is the case study of a fanbase after the first loss of the season. In my mind, there’s no better barometer to tell you how fans self-evaluate the importance of their football program than their reaction after the first “L” goes on the books in a young season. The pessimists will gather their angry mobs on messageboards and radio shows and demand that the coach be beaten, fired, then beaten again. It matters little to those people who beat them, just that a loss occurred, and by God, someone had better pay for it (See: Georgia). There’s the Eeyores of the bunch who trudge away from a loss with their collective heads held low, feet shuffling, and a “Well, we knew that was going to happen” (See: Kentucky). Then there’s the conspiracy theorists about how the officials screwed them, the locker room was too hot, the other team played dirty, etc. (See: Indiana). It takes a special program to combine all of them into one fanbase for a week, but that’s exactly where BSU has found itself.

But you know what cures those ills better than anything else? Alcohol. But if that’s not an option because it’s Friday morning and you have to work, then the next best thing is a beatable opponent to take the focus on the bad and back on the good, of which there is plenty. Because of that, it’s time to Countdown to Eastern Michigan!

5 Things You Should Know

• Eastern Michigan does have a 1-2 record, but that record wasn’t earned against schmucks. EMU’s two losses were on the road, against Rutgers and Penn State, and neither were blowouts. I’m wary of using the margin of victory against a team to somehow justify a loss, but the fact remains that though this EMU team may very well be awful, their record (and statistics) just don’t show it conclusively.
• The storyline for this game from some will be former BSU head coach Stan Parrish now serving as EMU’s offensive coordinator. While troubling, what’s even more so is the connection between BSU and EMU GA Michael Switzer. Whereas Parrish and offensive line coach Brad Wilson simply worked/played at BSU, Switzer is perhaps the most dangerous connection when it comes to counterintelligence. Switzer is well-versed in Lembo’s schematics and was a 2012 captain for BSU. If there was ever anyone who knew the ins and outs of the Lembo/Skrosky offense and how to beat it, it’s him.
• In some respects, EMU’s defense is feast or famine. The Eagles run a blitz heavy defensive package that either allows for opportunities for the opposing offense or creates sack opportunities for EMU. The Eagles are 9th nationally in sacks, so suffice to say, keeping Keith Wenning protected is a fairly big bullet point on the Cardinals’ to-do list.
• Parrish’s impact is being felt almost immediately as EMU has suddenly drifted away from the power running game they were known for and instead now air it out. Last week saw the Eagles throw for 335 yards against Rutgers which certainly kept them in the game. The Parrish offense is reliant almost entirely on a QB capable of airing it out and making plays. Whether Tyler Benz is capable of that on a consistent basis remains to be seen, but doing it against Rutgers would seem to indicate he is.
• Like last week, OTP will be running a Liveblog for the contest beginning at 12:30 Saturday. It’s a good time to discuss the goings on of the game with fellow Cardinal fans, and if last week was any indication, critique our student media. It’s a hoot and a half and kicks off at 12:30 here at OTP.

4 Players to Know

• QB Tyler Benz – As mentioned above, Benz is in the driver’s seat of the Parrish system and it’s made a big difference for him through three games. He’s certainly capable of airing it out, but the question is whether he’s capable of doing it consistently and accurately. His completion percentage would say that’s the case, as he’s yet to have a game under 60% but he’s also thrown two INTs. Truthfully, the game Saturday may very well come down to Benz and whether or not he can beat the Cards through the air.
• RB Bronson Hill – For a team that’s long been known as a run first football program, no one has to be more flummoxed by the shift to a pass first spread than Bronson Hill. With only 169 yards through three games, that’s not the kind of output EMU or Hill is used to. His average yards per carry is a shade north of 3, so he is someone BSU needs to be aware of.
• LB Hunter Matt – Matt certainly announced his presence with authority at Penn State, as the sophomore recorded two sacks, forced a fumble, recovered it, and then scored with it. Not a bad day at a giant office.
• TE Tyreese Russell – Russell caught nine passes on Saturday against Rutgers, so Jay Bateman may want to let his defense know about this fella. As we saw when Parrish was here as our offensive coordinator, the tight end position is a vital one to the success of his offense. As Benz gets more familiar with it, that position and Russell’s impact will only grow.

3 Ways We Win

• The mistakes of last week turn out to be a one-week anomaly. Suffice to say, the easiest way to win would be to limit things like injuries, penalties, and turnovers. Perhaps that simplicity is why I never made it as a football coach. Though “Don’t turn the ball over, don’t get hurt, don’t make mistakes” always seemed like a solid gameplan to me.
• The defense forces EMU to either run it or pass it, preferably run it. The thing that BSU’s defense seems to struggle with, like most teams, is versatile teams that don’t necessarily have a tendency or a trend. Teams that you can pinpoint what they’re doing (like Army), BSU does well against. They also struggle with versatile QBs, not that Benz is one of those, so slanting the opposition’s production to one particular method would be awesome.
• BSU plays like BSU and EMU plays like EMU. At its most basic point, this is a game between a good football team and one that isn’t. Some Saturdays, that doesn’t matter as upsets are known to happen, but when the rubber hits the road, if this game is played 10 times, BSU wins 8 of them easy. If both teams play to potential then the Cards win going away. But that’s a massive qualifier at the front of that statement.

2 Cardinal Questions

• With Jahwan Edwards back does the BSU offense change all that much? In the games that Quake sat out, Horactio Banks was certainly productive, but I don’t think it’s a coincidence that BSU seemed more pass heavy than normal against the likes of North Texas and Army. Once an offense establishes an identity it’s hard to reboot mid-season, but I would think a return to the balanced attack of years past is coming and I am tremendously grateful for that. The offense has slowly gone done in production from 51 to 40 to 27 and this will be arguably the best defense they will have faced.
• What kind of aggression will we see at the line of scrimmage? This EMU team has made its bones so far this season making life difficult for opposing QBs. The BSU offensive line has performed well this season, but not necessarily dominant. That has to change on Saturday. Same goes for the defensive front. At times, the likes of Ollie, Cox, Newsome, and Miles have looked like a formidable group. Other times? Not so much. The line play on both sides has to improve.

1 Bold Prediction

On the OTPcast this week, I said that there was something about this pending contest that was giving me a bit of the willies for no particular reason. After some significant hemming and hawing, I picked the Cards to win by a point. One single solitary point against the EMU Eagles. I can’t do that again, and like Lee Corso, I’m about to drop a “Not So Fast My Friend” on myself. For two games this season, BSU looked like world beaters. Even if that was a combination of their talent and an overmatched opponent, they still looked like a significantly good football team. Last Saturday, that wasn’t the case, for three quarters. Finally this season, the coaching staff has had a week full of learning opportunities and the players’ attention. Throw in that it’s the conference opener and against some familiar faces in EMU that stir up some considerable emotion in some players, fans, and staff and I think the intangibles are just too much. Call me nuts, but I’ll go with BSU 42 EMU 21, and that’s with Lembo being gracious and taking his foot off the gas midway through the 4th.

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They always say the first road game of the season is when a team can define themselves and what is possible for the remainder of the year. It was only a few years ago when that “first road game” was a foregone conclusion and that an eminent beatdown at the hands of a top-tier program left us all wanting an injury-free game as we took our payday shellacking at the Michigans, Nebraskas, and Floridas of the world. The last few seasons’ first road trips have been a bit different as the Cards have made winnable trips to the likes of Indiana, Army, etc. and this season’s first road trip sees the Cards take flight to Denton, TX to battle the North Texas Mean Green. It’s time to countdown to UNT!

5 Things You Should Know

• Normally, the first bullet point on the list is the most important thing to know. This week, the most important thing to know is that not much is known at all about the Mean Green from UNT. Their first contest against Idaho was, in my mind, a completely unusable point of evidence. Not only was it the first game, it was against arguably the worst team in the FBS division. The next week they went on the road (their first road game) and lost to Ohio. Closely. After coming back and making it a game. Are they a team capable of competing in the MAC and thus capable of giving a game to BSU? Was it a fluke comeback because Ohio took their foot off the gas? I don’t know. You don’t either. And that’s what’s infinitely worrisome about this contest.
• This is the first time the Cards will travel to UNT, but not the first time they will play the Mean Green. Remember 2009? If you have blocked it out as I advised you to do, you may have forgotten that North Texas beat the Cards at the Scheu to effectively whip the fanbase into an angry mob directed at everyone associated with the program. But, as I always say, there is no dish quite like revenge, served in your own kitchen. Coach Lembo has been cleaning up the last regime’s stench for the last couple years. Might as well take care of this, too, while he’s at it.
• Ball State may be Punter U, but North Texas could make the claim they’re Punt Returner U (at least for this season). Brelan Chancellor leads the nation in punt return average at 34.5 yards per return. So there’s that.
• It will be a match of wills when the Cards hit the red zone as it is one of those strength-versus-strength situations. BSU is #1 in the nation in red zone efficiency for the offense and North Texas is 4th in the nation on defensive efficiency when their opponents hit the red zone. As we mentioned, the opponents they have played may have had a bit to do with their stats being a tad misleading. This weekend that 4th-best ranking can be put to the test.
• Even though it’s on the road, BSU fans still have plenty of ways to feel connected to the game. To match your viewing experience on the television, we’ll be running a trademark OTP Liveblog tomorrow for this game. The game kicks off at 4:00 on Fox Sports Net and our Liveblog will be up and running an hour before at 3:00. For those that have been a part of the Liveblog experience, it’s always a ridiculous good time and this one is sure to meet those expectations as well.

4 Players You Should Know

• QB Derek Thompson – A three-year starter, he’s the engine for the offense. He’s five completions and 51 passing yards away from being in the Top 5 in eight different offensive categories. Talented North Texas quarterbacks scare me as Riley Dodge still gives me nightmares after 2009.
• OL Cyril Lemon – This space eater has started all 24 games of his freshman and sophomore years. That’s rare. Which means, he’s also pretty good. Really, the whole offensive line is experienced with three of the five starters having 25+ starts under their belt. Lemon just gets the nod because of his awesome nickname of “Rev”.
•  MLB Zach Orr – For a CUSA player to be named to the Lombardi Award Watch List is decent. To follow that announcement with two games with double-digit tackles, that’s solid. Orr’s bloodline is a good one, the son of former Washington Redskin Terry Orr, and he is of utmost importance for the offensive line to keep an eye on.
• S Marcus Trice – Second on the team in tackles, Trice is also capable of picking off passes and looking for the end zone after he does. He will likely have the unenviable task of being the deep protection for Willie Snead go routes and how he is able to perform will ultimately lead to BSU offensive success or retooling.

3 Ways We Win

• Start with our foot on the gas pedal and never remove it – North Texas in each of their last two games has allowed an opening drive TD for their opponent and has trailed before their offense has even touched the ball. If Idaho and Ohio can do it, then this BSU team is certainly capable of it as well. For BSU, in similar fashion, they have allowed their opponents to score first in each of the first two games. So someone’s streak is getting busted. Unless it’s a 0-0 tie that goes on forever. And boy, would that suck.
• Avoid the need for defensive adjustments and gumption midway through the game – The hallmark of the first two wins was a porous defense to start and adjustments made to it after the bloodletting. In the season opener, it was after halftime. Last week saw a defensive improvement after only one drive. How sweet it would be for the defense to come out guns blazing and have no need for the in-game adjustments that led to this 2-0 start?
• Leave no points on the field – Pete Lembo has made a habit of excelling in special teams and penalties during his time in Muncie. I’d say when you’re playing your first road game, that’s even more important. BSU cannot afford to stall drives with penalties or create unfavorable down and distances of their own accord. That’s obviously a bullet point every week, but doubly so on the road.

2 Cardinal Questions

• What is the injury situation with Jonathan Newsome and Jahwan Edwards? Both are listed as questionable on the depth chart this week and both are extremely needed. Newsome more so than Edwards if only because that NT offensive line is experienced and talented. If both are out, then it becomes critical for Horactio Banks to turn in another solid performance and open up the passing game for Wenning and company.
• What kind of environment will BSU face in Denton? Unlike BSU teams of years past, this team hasn’t had an experience like a Michigan or Nebraska to make everything else pale in comparison. The seniors had Auburn, but that’s a small number of the team. At the season opener, UNT drew 22,000 to Apogee Stadium and that was for Idaho which has approximately 38 fans and none of them travel. It’s entirely possible that 27,000 people could be there for this game, most of them Mean Green faithful, and based on the few Texans I know they take their football rather seriously. Remember Lance Harbor’s dad?

1 Bold Prediction

These are the games that worry me. Not that I trust Las Vegas or people who bet there, but usually strange things are afoot when my heart and head are so different from what the “experts” who make the books deem to be a viable point spread. When the line opened at -3.5 for the Cardinals, I was shocked. I expected at bare minimum a double-digit favorite status for the Fighting Football Cards in the face of the Meanness and Greenness from UNT. North Texas is a relative unknown, having beaten a terrible Idaho team and losing to Ohio but making a game of it. That was also on the road. But at some point, unlike 2009, talent and skill has to win out, and it does this Saturday. BSU handles North Texas thanks to another stellar afternoon by Keith Wenning en route to a 38-17 victory moving the Cards to 3-0 before they open conference play next week.

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