After a big win over Indiana the Ball State Cardinals head to Tampa, FL for a game against Big East foe South Florida. Both teams knocked off teams from Indiana, when South Florida held on to beat ND last week 23-20. ND outgained USF by nearly 300 yards, but won the turnover battle 5-0. Neither Ball State nor USF turned the ball over last week.
Quarterbacks:
Ball State: Keith Wenning had maybe his best day as a Cardinal last week, throwing 23-29 for 173 yards, and 2 TDs. He also ran for 61 yards and a TD. Don’t be mistaken, Wenning isn’t a mobile quarterback, but he’s a good runner when needed. Will Wenning be able to keep the high completion percentage up against a high pressure defense?
USF: BJ Daniels is one of the best dual threat QBs in the nation. He went for 128 and a TD passing, and ran 12 times for 37 yards vs. a good ND defense. He’ll likely try to exploit the BSU D, who in the past has had trouble with running QBs
Advantage: 
Runningbacks:
Ball State: The Cardinals were missing their top 3 running backs from spring ball, two due to injury, one to transfer. As it turns out, Brown is leaving the football team due to a lingering injury that won’t heal aswell. But that didn’t matter against IU. Walk-on transfer Barrington Scott, and true freshman without another BCS offer Jahwan Edwards dominated IU for a combined 145 yards. Sykes is questionable again this week.
USF: South Florida uses two backs, Demeitrious Murray and Darrell Scott. Neither had great games vs. ND. Scott is the former #1 RB recruit in the nation, and transferred from Colorado, however he hasn’t panned out yet. Murray is a nice RB with decent breakaway speed.
Advantage:
Wide Receivers:
Ball State: It was a group effort vs. Indiana with no receiver going over 60 yards. Gibson had maybe his best game as a Cardinal after being forgotten about in the old regime. Orsbon was solid as well. We expected Tomlinson to be a bigger part of the offense, but it was clear that he was the guy IU was shutting down.
USF: Landi is the top WR, although he was for the most part shut down by ND. Griffen had the big game with 75 yards receiving and 8 receptions on the day. There’s no game breaker for USF, like IU’s Belcher, but as a unit they do a good job
Advantage:
Offensive Line:
Ball State: The Cardinals had a very surprising effort from the OL, dominating IU in the trenches. BSU has started to get some experience in the OL for the first time since 08. Cam Lowry played some at tackle last week, but still isn’t 100% after his ACL tear almost a year ago.
USF: Coach Lembo said it best, USF on the OL is what we hope to be. A lot of experience, and a lot of size. USF’s LTs are 340, and the backup is 335. They only have one OL below 300lbs.
Advantage:
Defensive Line:
Ball State: The Cardinals DL was another huge surprise last week. The DTs Adam Morris and Nate Ollie were great combining for 3 sacks. The DE’s didn’t make a ton of noise, but they didn’t need to with blitzing LBs and Safety’s making a big difference.
USF: USF’s DL was their weakness on D against ND. The LBs were great, the DBs were great, but the DL combined for just 7 tackles and no sacks. 5 USF D players beat the OL by themselves. Hampton, one of the DEs is a tiny 234 and potentially could be manhandled by a stronger OL.
Advantage:
Linebackers:
Ball State: This may be the Cardinals best starting position. Freeman was great at MLB, Morris came in from S and had a sack and was all over the place with 9 tackles. Martin had a good game too, and nearly had a pick six, which went in and out of his hands. Cruz is a good backup, but has been strained by injury.
USF: As good as BSU is here, USF may be even better. Their trio of Lattimore, Barrington, and Lanaris combined for 28 tackles and 2 INT vs. a good ND team, and ranked the 42nd best LB by Phil Steele. Their linebackers are a little undersized, but what they lack in size they more than make up for in speed. USF’s LBs are very quick and ballhawk with the best of them.
Advantage:
Defensive Backs:
Ball State: The BSU DBs were pretty good against IU, and minus the big TD to Belcher, I’d say they were very good. Baker had 8 tackles in maybe a bit of an off game. Pinkston completely shut down Demarlo Belcher. Garrett showed a lot of promise, but also showed if the WR is 7 inches taller, he probably isn’t the guy to put on him. I was very impressed with Josh Howard despite his taunting foul.
USF: The USF DBs were the reason they beat ND last week. Jon Lejiste is the closest I’ve seen a player to Sean Baker, very similar players. at the other safety Jarrell Young won Big East player of the week with 7 tackles, an INT, and a forced fumble. Quenton washington is also a nice tackler.
Advantage:
Special Teams:
Ball State: The special teams absolutely shined vs. IU. Schott went 2-2 from FGs, and hit all of his XPs. Kovanda averaged 44+ yards punting, including a 57 yard bomb with no return. Ball State outgained IU in kickoff returns, and punt returns as well.
South Florida: USFs kicker Maikon Bonani went 3-4 on PKs, his only miss from 52 yards. Brockhaus-Kann punted for just 36.6 ypk, with a long of 46. Their kick returning game was solid, but nothing too flashy.
Advantage:
TOTALS: USF: 4 Ball State: 2 Even: 2
Ball State could very well give USF a run for their money, but 1. BSU has never beaten a BCS team not named IU, and 2. USF is 14-0 at Raymond James openers. USF takes this one 35-23