Since the Homecoming game against Toledo, Ball State's offense has slowed down its production. During that timeframe, the team has dropped four games and has struggled moving the ball in its sole win over the University of Massachusetts on Halloween day.
Its most recent loss came from Western Michigan, where they held Ball State's offense to 152 yards.
One aspect has been similar since the Cardinals opened Mid-American Conference play, and it was no different in the 54-7 loss against the Broncos.
"Stack the box," head coach Pete Lembo said. "They stacked the box on us tonight. It was one more guy in there, at least one more than we could block. We had to make plays on the outside, and we just didn't do it."
This is something opposing defenses have been doing against freshman quarterback Riley Neal.
To open the season, Ball State had sophomore quarterback Jack Milas start the first three games, with Neal subbing in the last two. In total, the offense averaged 28.2 points per game and 377 total yards of offense per game.
In the last four games, offensive production has taken a significant dip, averaging 16.8 points per game and 312.5 yards per game. The sole 400-plus-yard game came against UMass in the team's lone win in seven weeks.
The rushing attack started off the season strong, the duo of sophomore Darian Green and freshman James Gilbert averaged 128.6 rushing yards per game in the first five weeks of the season. In the last five weeks, however, the couple's production has been cut down to 97.2 yards per game.
Thirty-two rushing yards is significant in the game of football. Lembo and offensive coordinator Joey Lynch began to give Neal the ball more since he became the starter, and he has averaged 39.2 attempts per game compared with the offense's 27.3 attempt average in the first three games of the season.
The 12 extra throws from Neal per game have taken touches away from the running backs, which is a result of opposing defenses' abilities to stack the box against Ball State.
Lembo continues to preach that his young quarterback is still trying to develop and get used to playing at Division-1 speed.
"We're young at quarterback, and we've got a young and very good player there," Lembo said. "He's still settling in and getting comfortable with the position."
Ball State was near the top of the FBS in rushing yards per game in September, averaging more than 230 yards. The month of October has dropped its average to fewer than 165 yards on the season.
Neal has regressed since his 393-yard game against Northern Illinois on Oct. 10 in DeKalb, Ill. He had his lowest statistical game as a starter during the Western Michigan game, completing 12 of 25 passes for only 78 yards.
The young gun has been missing open receivers as of late, particularly on deep routes. On the flip side, his recievers have been dropping more passes in the past few weeks.
The Cardinals will look to snap their offensive woes on Nov. 17 at Ohio (5-4, 2-3), following their bye week.
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