The last time Ball State visited Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo. Mich., to play Western Michigan, was the Tuesday before Thanksgiving in 2009. The Cardinals had won just one game in the season's first 11 weeks and were coming off a dispiriting, 32-point loss at home on Senior Night.
Western Michigan, meanwhile, was on the cusp of bowl eligibility, needing to beat Ball State to keep their postseason hopes alive. It wasn't to be. Ball State upset Western Michigan 22-17, winning the game on cornerback Charlie Todd's punt return for a touchdown in a driving rain.
Now, the roles have been reversed. Ball State visits Western Michigan needing just one victory to secure bowl eligibility for the first time since 2008. It isn't the last week of the regular season and the Broncos aren't in the Mid-American Conference cellar, but neither are they the contenders in the MAC West they were predicted to be during the summer.
Still, Western Michigan presents a challenge for Ball State as it tries to keep pace with the other MAC West contenders. Western Michigan beat Connecticut on the road and has perhaps the conference's best quarterback-wide receiver combination in Alex Carder and Jordan White.
"It starts for Western Michigan with their offense," coach Pete Lembo said. "They can really throw it around. They've got some dynamic skill players."
Carder is stating his case as the MAC's best quarterback, having thrown for 2,053 yards and completed a conference-high 68.1 percent of his passes in the first eight weeks. White is Carder's favorite receiver and leads the MAC in almost every receiving category. His 992 receiving yards account for 45 percent of the team's total.
To counteract Western Michigan's offense, Lembo wants the Cardinals defense to prevent the big plays that have plagued it in recent weeks. In each of the last four games, Ball State has given up a touchdown of at least 60 yards.
"To win a game like this – against some outstanding skill players – we're going to have to tackle better than we did last week," Lembo said.
Cornerback Jason Pinkston said the Cardinals also have to start games better. Ball State has just three first quarter points in four games in October and found itself down 17 points to Central Michigan early in the third quarter last week.
Though the Cardinals have overcome their slow starts in the last two weeks, they know a better start on Saturday would make winning their third-straight game much easier.
"[We need to] come out more focused, don't' come out so lackadaisical," Pinkston said. "Just come out with a lot of energy."
Ball State's other challenge will be conquering its inexperience. Only the Cardinals' seniors have played meaningful games so late in the season and put together even a modest three-game winning streak in college.
While Lembo worries about the rawness of his team, he thinks they can overcome it.
"The big change that I saw on Saturday was getting down, but not being out," Lembo said. "That's something that I really hope to build on, because the other close games that we've won have been more back and forth and not falling behind as we did [to Central Michigan]."
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