For the second consecutive season, Ball State is 3-3 after starting the season 3-1. Four of its next six games are on the road, including a non-conference game on Oct. 27 at Army.
And at the halfway point, coach Pete Lembo said he knows his team has hit a rough spot in the season after losing the last two games, and he knows his team will have to recover if it wants to be bowl eligible again.
"There's a little bit of adversity for us right now," Lembo said. "We're a rebuilding program - a program that's trying to grow and get better at what we do. Miracles don't happen overnight."
If Ball State wants any positives out of the last two losses, it's that they had the opportunity to win both games and could be sitting at 5-1 instead of 3-3. The offense has been superb in Mid-American Conference play and is currently averaging a league-best 491.5 yards per game. The Cardinals are also fifth in the MAC in scoring with 33.7 points per game.
And the defense that has been often criticized after the first five weeks of the season played one of its better games in Saturday's loss to Northern Illinois. Ball State's defense limited Northern Illinois' run game for the exception of quarterback Jordan Lynch who totaled 207 yards and three touchdowns.
Linebacker Travis Freeman said he felt his defensive unit did well in stopping Lynch and the Northern Illinois' defense until later in the game.
"I thought we did a great job of holding them," Freeman said. "[Northern Illinois] wants to run [Lynch] all game, and he didn't get a chance to pop any early. I thought we did a great job of containing him."
While the defense played near its best it has all season, the offense couldn't execute like it has a, especially in the red zone. A complete game from all three phases of the team probably could have delivered a win against Northern Illinois for the first time in four years.
But the loss is old news to Ball State as it moves on to its next game.
Ball State's game on Saturday is the Homecoming game against Mid-American Conference West rival Western Michigan, which could determine how high Ball State finishes in the division. After the Broncos, the team goes on the road for three straight games against Central Michigan, Army and Toledo.
There is still the chance that Western Michigan quarterback Alex Carder will not play against Ball State. He suffered an injury to his middle finger on his throwing hand and has not played the last two games. If Carder doesn't play, it would surely be an advantage for Ball State's defense.
But Lembo said he doesn't want to rely on opposing teams missing players or having off-games. He wants his Ball State team to play a complete game and continue to make progress in becoming a better team. But even after two straight losses, Lembo said he still feels confident his team can respond from the adversity.
"I certainly anticipated at some point this season we would hit some adversity," he said. "I feel good about our kids and feel really good that they're going to continue to fight."
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