Mat Mikesell is a senior journalism major. His views don’t necessarily reflect the views of The Daily News or its Unified Student Media affiliates. You can contact Mat at mlmikesell@bsu.edu.
Ball State came with plan to stop triple-option
Every team in the country knows that Army will run the triple-option offense, no matter if its up 30 points or down 30 points. The question is how will teams defend the triple option. Ball State tripped up on the triple-option offense on the third play of the game - a 71-yard touchdown run by Larry Dixon. From there, Ball State's defense was on lockdown. Nate Ollie led Ball State's defensive charge against Army, bottling up the middle of the field. Army did find success running the ball to the outside, but the majority of the time the Black Knights found themselves in third-and-long situations and never got a flow on offense.
Turnovers doom Black Knights
After playing a penalty-free, turnover-free game in a win against Morgan State in the season opener, Army committed two costly turnovers deep in their own territory. The first fumble came in the second quarter and Quinton Cooper recovered at the Army 21-yard line. Ball State turned the fumble into a 34-yard Scott Secor field goal. A hit by Chris Calloway in the third quarter forced the second Army fumble on a kickoff return and Ball State recovered at the 11-yard line. On the next play, Keith Wenning hit Zane Fakes for a touchdown pass to put Ball State up 37-7 in the game.
Ball State now 2-0
The Cardinals are 2-0 to start the season for the first time since 2008. In the two games, Ball State has eclipsed the 40-point mark. The next two games are both on the road at North Texas and Eastern Michigan. It's not unrealistic to think that when Ball State returns to Scheumann Stadium on Sept. 28 against Toledo that the team is 4-0. Ball State will take learning points as North Texas plays fellow Mid-American Conference opponent Ohio today, who Ball State has beaten twice in the last two seasons.
