Entering Friday night’s MAC Championship game against Buffalo, Ball State had won every game it had played this season — including two over Big Ten opponents — and came in at 12-0. Led by QB Nate Davis and RB MiQuale Lewis, the Cardinals were an offensive juggernaut that many people were clamoring to see in the BCS.

I did not watch the game, but I just glanced at the box score, and it was clear to see that the Cardinals continued their dominant ways on Friday night. Nate Davis was 31-48 for 351 yards and a touchdown. MiQuale Lewis ran the ball 30 times for 131 yards and scored two touchdowns.

Just look at the team statistics and you will see how much Ball State dominated an overmatched Buffalo team that few people game much of a chance to win the game:

First Downs: Ball State – 30 | Buffalo – 18

Total Yards: Ball State – 503 | Buffalo – 301

Passing Yards: Ball State – 351 | Buffalo – 206

Rushing Yards: Ball State – 152 | Buffalo – 95

Time of Posession: Ball State – 34:18 | Buffalo 25:42

Final Score: Ball State – 24 | Buffalo – 42

Wait — what? Ball State lost? Say it ‘aint so!

Oh…it be so, sadly for fans of the Cardinals, for David Letterman, and for fans of football in the state of Indiana in general.

The most important stat of the Ball State-Buffalo game was the one that often determines the outcome of football games: turnovers. Ball State turned the ball over five times, while Buffalo only turned it over twice. Compounding the problem was that Buffalo scored off of all five Ball State turnovers.

According to the ESPN recap, Buffalo returned fumbles 92 and 74 yards on consecutive drives in the third quarter. Ouch. And superstar Nate Davis was involved in all four fumbles. The other turnover was a Davis interception.

After the MAC Championship debacle was over for Ball State, Nate Davis said that is coming back to school for his senior season. That is probably a good move. A putrid game like that on a big stage, when you are already fighting an uphill battle by not coming from one of the “big schools”, cannot be good for the draft stock.

On the bright side, only 12,871 fans were in attendance at Ford Field in Detroit to watch the game. My conjecture would be that this total exceeds the cumulative total of fans who have watched all Lions home games this year, but I have not been able to confirm that.

With the victory and MAC Championship, Buffalo and new head coach Turner Gill will be playing in the International Bowl, located in Toronto. Coincidentally, the Buffalo Bills are playing the Miami Dolphins in a “home” game in Toronto this weekend. And soon, if you are mailing letters to friends who live in Buffalo, you will just be able to address them to Toronto.

Ball State may end up back near the 8 Mile if they end up in the Motor City Bowl, which is played in Detroit. If the Motor City Bowl does not work out, they could always go on David Letterman and participate in his skit where people drop things off the roof and watch them splatter.

If they do, they might want to grab a watermelon and write “OUR UNDEFEATED SEASON” in big letters on it. Then they can drop that and watch it splatter all over the place…just like their chances for an undefeated season splattered tonight.

I am not sure why, but I have ended each of the last four paragraphs with really lame one liners. I think it is because I am tired, and aggitated, and can no longer write the post I had been planning about Ball State ducking a potential matchup of the under-appreciated unbeatens against Boise State.

I guess it’s a moot point now. But I was looking forward to saying that Ball State should change its name to “Tate University” — because they had no balls.

Now, of course, that joke just seems lame and sophomoric. So let’s just say that Ball State should change its name to “Drop the Ball State University”, because that is definitely what they did tonight; and it’s not a ball joke.

Who thinks ball jokes are funny anyway?

Damn you Ball State. I’m a Browns fan, a Tennessee Volunteers fan, and an Indiana grad. Combined, I’m not sure those three teams would have enough wins to be bowl eligible. I was clinging to Ball State and hopping on the bandwagon in hopes that they could give me something to cheer for. If you are a MAC team and you aren’t shooting for an undefeated season, you’re just another team with a good record that played a poor schedule.

And I’m just a tired, lonely blogger writing about MAC football and ball jokes on a Friday night.

It’s time for bed. Both for me, and for all the talk of Ball State in the BCS.

Ball State still has to play Western Michigan (9-2, 6-1) next weekend, so they aren’t guaranteed of anything if they win tonight. Still, tonight’s game represents one more giant hurdle on Ball State’s improbable journey to BCS consideration. A serious discussion of their chances is grossly premature, what with the two toughest conference games on their schedule still in the front of Cardinals, as well as a potential conference title game. But getting a little excited about it seems just fine by me.

Standing in the way of the mighty Ball State Lettermans tonight is Central Michigan and defending MAC Player of the Year Dan LeFevour. The starting quarterback leads Central Michigan in both passing and rushing. Last season, LeFevour treated the Ball State defense like it was warm butter. He knifed through the Cardinals for 506 yards of total offense (including a career-high 146 on the ground) and six total touchdowns. The Chippewas won that game 58-38.

So I don’t think anyone has to worry about Ball State overlooking Central Michigan or taking LeFevour lightly. He has proven himself to be the most talented and accomplished individual player in the conference (no offense to Nate Davis). Containing LeFevour will be imperative tonight if Brady Hoke and Ball State are to keep their magical undefeated season alive.

For Ball State, they are hoping to play the solid, disciplined football that has gotten them to this stage in the season without a blemish on their record. The Cardinals are currently the least penalized team in the nation and have not committed a penalty in three games. For the season, Ball State is averaging 2.6 penalties per game. Penn State is second in the national at 3.2 penalties per game. Pretty impressive.

In addition to being disciplined, Ball State’s stars will have to play like stars. Quarterback Nate Davis and running back MiQuale Lewis have had oustanding seasons thus far. They have racked up stats and highlights, while leading the Cardinals to a combined 40 touchdowns. Dan LeFevour is going to lead Central Michigan up and down the field. For Ball State to win on the road, Nate Davis will have to match him.

And after saying that, I look at the stats and realize that Ball State is 15th in nation in scoring offense, while Central Michigan is only 44th. The biggest difference is the ground game. Ball State averages 194.2 yards per game on the ground while Central Michigan averages only 131.3. In big games, the team that controls the ball and clock with a solid running game is usually at a significant advantage. The team with fewer penalties also usually has an advantage.

However, the team with the best player and the home field has a couple of significant advantages in its favor too. So by now means is it a foregone conclusion that Ball State will waltz into Central Michigan and win just because they are ranked in the top 20.

In fact, remember: Central Michigan has won the last four meetings. And they spanked the holy hoke out of Ball State last year in Muncie. According to MiQuale Lewis, that result has stuck with the Cardinals players. “What they did to us last year in our stadium — everybody’s got that in the back of their heads,” running back MiQuale Lewis said. As long as they can channel that revenge in the right way, it could be a tipping point that puts the game in Ball State’s favor.

My gut tells me that Central Michigan will win this game. LeFevour and the home field advantage and the four straight wins are tough to overcome. However, I am rooting for Ball State. And Monday night, I picked the Browns to beat the Bills even though my gut said pick the Bills. I’ll stick with what’s working.

The gut says Central Michigan, but the fingers are typing Ball State.

Prediction: Ball State 42 | Central Michigan 38

[tags]ball state cardinals, central michigan, MAC, college football[/tags]