Game Thread: #28 Ball State (9-1) at #15 Northern Illinois (9-0) -- ESPN2

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--tonight, 8:00 PM (ET)

--the two best teams in the MAC, both are undefeated in conference play: Ball State (6-0 in the MAC), NIU (5-0 in the MAC)

--USAToday: "With a victory, Northern Illinois could conceivably move ahead of Fresno State in the BCS standings, taking another step toward securing its second BCS appearance in as many years."

--NIU is favored by 7 to 9, depending on the casino

--Northern Illinois is not to be confused with Eastern Illinois, where Tony Romo played QB before going to the Dallas Cowboys

 

[4down20]

 

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Ball State is the school who had the "WE WANT BAMA" sign recently

Ball State's most famous graduate is probably David Letterman

 

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Accuweather is projecting a RealFeel® of 17° by kickoff

 

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Ball State O
#14 scoring offense
#24 total offense

NIU offense
#5 total offense
#7 scoring offense

Ball State D
#46 scoring D
#85 total D

NIU defense
#52 scoring D
#84 total D

 

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Ball State is led by senior QB Keith Wenning (#10), who is already 234 for 372 (62.9%) for 3,164 yards, 27 TD, 5 INT, 155.6 rating

he rates:
#4 in the NCAA with 27 passing TD
#4 in the NCAA with 3164 passing yards
#9 in the NCAA with 316.4 passing ypg
#17 in the NCAA with a 155.60 passer rating


ESPN, Nov 13:

Since stepping foot on campus at Ball State four years ago, quarterback Keith Wenning has rewritten nearly every notable passing record in school history. He has done it all while wearing a black and orange bracelet that serves as a daily reminder of the man who opened the door for his success. “My high school football coach, John Reed, passed away shortly after my career ended at Coldwater High and I’ve worn a wristband honoring him since the day that he died,” Wenning said. "Coach Reed was like a second father to me. He taught me as much about life as he did about football, and he helped me become the man that I am today.”

he's from Coldwater, Ohio, is a small town that’s only about an hour away from the Ball State campus. His only FBS scholarship offer to play quarterback came from Ball State.

Ball State assistant coach Joey Lynch:
“Being that he wasn't a highly recruited guy, I think that he has always felt like he had something to prove,” Lynch said of Wenning, who has thrown for more than 10,000 yards and 80 touchdowns in his Cardinals career. “Keith has incredible focus...and he works extremely hard every single day to improve himself and our team.”

Having already eclipsed 3,000 yards passing for the second consecutive season and thrown for more touchdowns than Teddy Bridgewater and Jameis Winston this year, it’s safe to say the Cardinals' quarterback is no longer flying under the radar.

“All of the NFL scouts have been through here to see Keith, and he’s going to have an opportunity to play at the next level,” said Lynch. “He has never lost sight of where he comes from and he knows exactly where he wants to go. Our team has truly rallied around Keith because of his toughness and work ethic.

“When people think about Ball State, I want them to think about Keith Wenning. Not just because of the things that he’s done on the field, but because of everything that he represents. Keith has applied the resiliency, command and leadership that he learned from Coach Reed to his role as our quarterback, and those characteristics have truly helped band our team together.”

 

[Texas Jefe]

Good game. Pulling for Ball State...

 

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Ball State senior DE Jonathan Newsome (#11) has 6 sacks, 5 QB hurries, 8.5 TFL, 47 tackles, 1 INT, 1 forced fumble this season

 

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Ball State junior RB Jahwan Edwards (#32) is rushing for 93.6 yards per game (last year he ran for 1,410 yards)

Ball State soph RB Horactio Banks (#4) is rushing for 66.11 yards per game

 

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Ball State junior WR Willie Snead (#3) has already caught for 1175 yards this season (he caught for 1148 last season)

national ranking:
#3 in NCAA -- 12 TD
#3 in NCAA -- 1175 yards
#6 in NCAA -- 117.5 receiving yards/game
#8 in NCAA -- 74 receptions
#13 in NCAA -- 7.4 receptions/game

 

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the two schools have played each other every year since 1975. From 1975-1998, Ball State led the series 15-1. From 1999-2012, NIU leads the series 11-3. NIU has won the last 4 straight

 

[Sox33OSU]

Good for Newsome. He came to OSU and was buried on the depth chart. Glad to hear he is doing well. I remember hearing about the Wenning kid when he was in high school. Coldwater is a pretty good program.

 

[The Eyes Of Texas]

Looking forward to finally watching these two teams.

 

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USAToday rates it the #6 best college football game of the week

 

[psaboy]

Ball U up

 

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USAToday rates it the #6 best college football game of the week

they write: "NIU is in good position to wind up with another BCS berth, but face their toughest test of the season in a mid-week affair

 

[Toucanbird]

Go Ball State! (would probably help out my Badgers in the BCS standings)

...although I expect NIU to win.

 

[psaboy]

Think Fresno State will get the lone "non" AQ bid as long as they remain unbeaten, which I think they will. I've heard Wenning is tracking for NFL, looks to be best QB in MAC this year. Win tonight will further help his cause.

 

[hokiehi21]

Yes! Gonna be a good one.

 

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Accuweather is projecting a RealFeel® of 17° by kickoff

saying there is currently a RealFeel® of 19°