Mat Mikesell is a senior journalism major and writes ‘Miked Up’ for the Daily News. His views do not necessarily reflect those of the newspaper. Write to Mat at mlmikesell@bsu.edu
Forget the win over the University of Virginia. Forget the win over the University of South Florida. Forget the last two wins against Indiana University.
Tonight’s game against Northern Illinois University is more important to Ball State than all of those.
Sure, head coach Pete Lembo called the 48-27 win against Virginia on Oct. 5 the biggest in the history of Ball State football. With fair reason, too, as not many mid-major teams go on the road and beat a BCS team by three touchdowns.
Mat Mikesell
Northern Illinois also did that earlier this season with a 55-24 thumping of Purdue University on Sept. 28.
Everyone following this Ball State football team knows what’s at stake tonight at Huskie Stadium with the Mid-American Conference West Division title and a spot in the MAC Championship game. Northern Illinois won’t give up the West Division title easy, as the two-time defending MAC champions are on a 24-game home win streak. The last home loss was a 34-31 game against University of Idaho on Sept. 26, 2009.
Think about that. The Huskies’ four-year seniors haven’t experienced a home loss.
Along with the home-win streak, Northern Illinois hasn’t lost a MAC game since losing to Central Michigan University in the conference opener in 2011.
Ball State is in a position tonight to get its biggest win since the 2008 season. That year’s team also had a similar situation with a road game against then-defending MAC champions Central Michigan. Ball State won en route to winning the West Division and a trip to Ford Field.
A win tonight and Ball State will make its first trip back to Detroit since 2008.
The Cardinals have an opportunity to seal the division title and knock off the defending MAC champion, but the team can do a lot more with a win.
Beating Northern Illinois is a major step in turning around the Ball State program that won a combined six games in the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons. A win wipes away those seasons for good as Keith Wenning, Zane Fakes, Jamill Smith and Jeff Garrett, among others, were on the roster during those years. The buzz around this team that was missing during those years are back, as the buses sending students to Northern Illinois are full for the general student population and some have been put on a waiting list.
Ball State hasn’t beaten Northern Illinois since 2008. Beating the Huskies on the path to a division — and perhaps the MAC championship — would make winning tonight that much more satisfying.
Games of this magnitude at Ball State don’t come around often, the last being the game against Western Michigan University in 2008.
Tonight in DeKalb, Ill., the stakes are just as high, if not higher.
A chance to beat the defending MAC champion. A chance to win the MAC West.
A chance to claim the biggest win in Ball State’s recent history.
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