Almost from the day he arrived on campus there's been a slight, but noticeable, sense of awe surrounding Ball State University's sophomore quarterback Nate Davis.
He was the No. 1 recruit the Mid-American Conference had to offer when he committed to Ball State. He rated three stars out of five according to the recruiting Web site Rivals.com, something no Cardinals recruit in recent years could claim. To make him even more impressive, rumors flew as soon as he arrived that he was destined to unseat the senior captain, Joey Lynch, sooner rather than later.
From day one Davis lived up to expectations. In his first collegiate game he threw only eight passes, but completed seven of them for a total of 103 yards and three touchdowns.
By game five of the season he held the starting job.
By game seven he was, for a short while, the NCAA leader in quarterback rating.
In game ten he completed 18 of 34 passes for 250 yards and a touchdown, leading a furious rally that nearly resulted in the greatest victory in school history against the University of Michigan. The effort fell just six feet short.
In game twelve Davis shredded Kent State University for 268 yards. The Golden Flashes would have appeared in a bowl game if not for the 30-6 drubbing the Cardinals handed them on that day.
Despite all that brilliance, Davis was not even the most impressive freshman quarterback in the MAC West Division to wear the number 13 last year. That honor fell to Central Michigan University's Dan LeFevour, who started from the beginning in 2006 and guided the Chippewas to the MAC title last season.
LeFevour beat Davis in every major statistical category last year, save a minuscule advantage for Davis in quarterback rating. These advantages were mainly thanks to attempting 140 passes more than Davis did.
However, entering 2007, there can be no question that both signal-callers are the men for their respective teams. Which begs the question: Which leader will be more effective this year?
A look at their one head-to-head meeting shows little. Both coaches played it conservatively in the Central Michigan-Ball State battle last year, leading to quarterbacks throwing a lot of short passes. Neither threw a touchdown, and both threw an interception. Thanks to a more effective running game than Ball State could muster, the Chippewas came out on top in the game, but it answered little in terms of who is the better quarterback.
The edge so far has to go to LeFevour, however, in terms of sheer success. As mentioned, Central Michigan won the MAC last year, going 7-1 in conference games. Davis only managed to go 4-3 in league games as a starter. Although it's worth noting LeFevour clearly had a stronger nucleus around him, that's quite a large disparity.
What will happen this year, though? That is the question on many MAC observers' lips. Although Western Michigan University and the University of Toledo are also both expected to compete for the MAC West division title, the conference season is inescapably going to be defined by Davis versus LeFevour.
The guess here is, apologies to Cardinals fans, LeFevour will slightly outperform Davis this year and Central will edge out the Cardinals for the West again. Ball State is on the verge of becoming a consistent MAC powerhouse, but it may take another year for the team to make the big leap to the top.
Although there won't be any complaints on this end if Davis makes me eat a large plate of crow at the end of the season.
Write to Andy at ndistops@hotmail.com
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