Saturday's victory over Eastern Michigan marked the 10th consecutive Saturday Ball State has played. With its next game coming against Mid-American Conference West Division leader Northern Illinois on Tuesday, the team is welcoming a few extra days to prepare for its opponent.
"We have a number of guys that have gone 10 straight weeks and have not been subbed out of games," coach Pete Lembo said. "We've had close games where the starters are in there until the very end. They just need a break right now, and we'll back off of them a little bit this week."
Six of Ball State's 10 games this season have been within 10 points, meaning the starters haven't had much rest this season. The Cardinals will benefit from being able to get players like defensive lineman Andrew Puthoff, linebacker Aaron Morris and center Kreg Hunter healthy to play against Northern Illinois.
The coaching staff won't take it easy the entire week as the few extra days allow the Cardinals to fix issues and develop players. Lembo said the week will have more of a preseason approach.
"We've got another segment of our team that really needs to take these few extra days to get into preseason mode," he said. "We've got a lot of issues to address in our pass defense. One thing we always try to do year-round is develop our players."
In the final possession on Saturday, quarterback Keith Wenning took some hits that Lembo said he doesn't know how he got up from after being hit. Wenning's taken big hits in other games, but after 10 straight weeks, he's looking forward to having a Saturday off.
"[The break] is going to help me, it's going to help a lot of guys," Wenning said. "Try to get healthy, try to get back to where we used to be health-wise. It's going to be a great week and a half off or whatever it is. We're looking forward to it."
Northern Illinois plays tonight against Bowling Green, and by the time it plays Ball State next Tuesday, it will have played on three consecutive Tuesdays. Last Tuesday, Northern Illinois won a shootout on the road against Toledo 63-60.
Now bowl eligible, Ball State is also in the hunt for the MAC West title being just a half game behind Northern Illinois and Toledo. The two remaining games left on the schedule are against those two teams, so the bye couldn't come at a better time.
"We need it badly, Lembo said. "We've been playing 10 straight weeks with a thin squad, a lot of injures and a lot of guys who are holding it together with tape, shoestring and whatever else we can muster."
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