Having a few extra days of practice could not come at a better time for Ball State. In the team’s first nine games, eight of them have been on consecutive Saturdays.
Those eight weeks have put a strain on the team, which has caused it to battle injury problems. The secondary has had several players miss games including Armand Dehaney who is out for the rest of the season.
If anything, having the upcoming Saturday off will give the team a chance to heal, but also prepare for the Nov. 6 game at Toledo.
“We’ve got some extended time this week to heal up and catch our breath and refocus before getting ready for a terrific Toledo team,” coach Pete Lembo said.
Having the extra time also allows Ball State to throw away the defensive playbook it had to use against Army to prepare for the quick-paced Toledo offense. The Rockets are averaging 34.3 points per game and averaging more than 450 yards on offense per game.
Those few extra days is something Ball State will take advantage of to prepare and will try to get back to full health.
“We have to get back to preparations for a team that’s more like ourselves,” Lembo said. “Your defensive players get cut blocked all day [against Army] so having an extra couple days to heal up with the bumps and bruises is certainly beneficial. But we did hold up physically very well.”
Overall, the health of the team has been much of a factor in games this season. Running back Horactio Banks has missed the last two games due to a knee injury and center Dan Manick missed the Army game with an ankle injury.
For Toledo, Manick is listed as doubtful and cornerback Chris Pauling is listed as questionable. Banks is not listed on the injury report.
Much of the health of the players is attributed to strength coach Dave Feeley and the workouts he gives the team. In the last two years, not only has the team improved in strength and conditioning, its durability has improved.
“He’s done a wonderful job with our team the last two years,” Lembo said. “You see the benefits after a game like [Army].”
