2008 Ball State Cardinals Football Preview

2008 Ball State Cardinals season preview from Maddux Sports. Below you can find our official Ball State Cardinals football preview as well as the 2008 Ball State Cardinals Football Schedule. Get Free football predictions against the sportsbooks college football betting line.

Coach: Brady Hoke (6th year at Ball State)
Team Name: Cardinals
2007 Overall Record: 7-6
Returning Starters: 18

The Ball State Cardinals (7-6 overall, 5-2 MAC West) finished the 2007 season second in the MAC West. In the post-season, the Cardinals played the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in the International Bowl. The Knights hammered the Cards 52-30.

QB Nate Davis (478 ATT, 270 COMP, 3,667 YDS, 30 TDs, 6 INT), who is now a junior, had a lot of hype when he came to the Ball State program. Well, that hype has quickly become fact. Davis is an amazingly accurate passer and fine decision-maker, throwing 30 touchdowns and just six picks in 2007. Senior WR Dante Love (100 REC, 1,398 YDS, 10 TDs) caught 37-percent of Davis’ completions and one-third of his TD throws. The top returning rusher is Frank Edmonds. Edmonds, now a sophomore, had 140 carries for 529 yards and six scores in his first season. Nine starters return, including the entire formidable frontline.

The defensive front is the weakest part of this team. Ball State gave up an average of 204.3 rushing yards per game. The guys may be small, but they are determined. And the group is deep, and it includes DE Brandon Crawford (8 sacks), who is a tough team leader. The O-line should be improved this year. The linebacking squad is one of the best parts of this team. WLB Bryant Haines (125 tackles, 65 solo), now a senior, leads that group. The secondary is also nicely tooled, with veteran corners B.J Hill and Trey Lewis making skilled and smart plays. Alex Kripp, at SS, returns as the team’s third leading tackler.

The Cardinals will play their first swing game on September 5 versus Navy. They finish the season with three straight tossups, including two on the road. On November 11, the team travels to play Miami (Ohio) and the next week they are at Central Michigan. Their final game of the season is versus Western Michigan. If they can win three of four swing contests, they could be division champs.

Last season, Ball State went to its first bowl contest since 1996. With returning talent and a fairly easy non-conference schedule, the Cardinals should be highly competitive and will contend for the MAC West title. Head coach Brady Hoke (22-37 in five years) has fashioned the program into one of the best in the conference.

Read up on the rest of the non BCS ncaa football teams below.