Obviously everyone has a different opinion on who they think will win this game. They return a lot of players and will be much more experienced this year. I personally think LU wins by a touchdown and a field goal: Notes from last week and looking ahead to Ball St from Chris Lang:
—The injury report is short this week, at least so far.
* ADJ Danny Broggin was suffering with “a leg thing,“ as Flames coach Danny Rocco put it after the St. Francis game, and Broggin didn’t practice Tuesday. He was dressed out and spent the afternoon running, and I’d expect that he’s going to play Saturday at Ball State.
* S Corey Lillard didn’t practice Monday or Tuesday and isn’t expect to go Wednesday as he recovers from a pulled hamstring. He might be the one guy who is in danger of missing Saturday.
* WR Ervin Garner was back in practice Monday wearing a red no-contact jersey, and Rocco said he looked “like the freshest guy on the field.“ Expect him to go Saturday.
—Some Rocco quotes from today:
* On Ball State: “I have great respect for coach (Stan) Parrish, his career and his program and his offensive experiences and his resume through the years. I think the first thing that I acknowledge about Ball State as I started to do some offseason study and some summer study is that they have new energy, and they have new enthusiasm. They have new expectations for this season. I think some people will say, well, they’re down, they only won two games, as if they’re not looking to rebound. The year before, they won 11. So they are also looking forward to this season. They’re coming into this season with great expectations and hopes for the outcome of this 2010 season and Ball State football.
“Offensively, they are very good. We won’t see a better offensive football team this year, bar none. They are big in the offensive line, experienced in the offensive line and physical in the offensive line. They’ve got three running backs that are very good, as good as anybody we’ll play against this year. MiQuale Lewis was re-instated for a sixth year of eligibility and has put up amazing numbers there at Ball State, conference-record type numbers. Corey Sykes is a little bit smaller in stature, kind of a jet sweep type of player. Very dynamic. Then Eric Williams is another very talented athlete. They use these running backs in the backfield, in the slot and in the Wildcat formation.
“The receiving corps may not be as deep as other teams in the MAC conference, but they certainly have speed and size, and they certainly have some weapons. Kelly Page is a returning quarterback. So you’re really looking at an offensive team that’s returning an awful lot of people.
“Defensively, they play a four-down scheme and they’ve got a couple of game wreckers on defense. Robert Eddins, 6-3, 242, is a disruptive penetrator and pass rusher, a really good football player, a senior out of Detroit, Mich. Defensive tackle Rene Perry is an outstanding interior player. Linebackers 42 Jones and 8 Freeman cover a lot of ground and make a lot of tackles. One of them had 100-plus tackles a year ago. And then the secondary they’ve got good size and good depth. This is a good football team we’re getting ready to play. Make no mistakes about that. It’s a team that has high hopes and high expectations for their 2010 season, as do we.“
* On Ball State’s special teams: “It’s a huge factor. Today, Tuesday, is the day that I always spend in the morning with our special teams coordinator Marshall Roberts. Every Tuesday I go through all of the special teams pictures with him, the game plan, and what have you. It certainly caught my attention. They have athletes on the field on both of their coverage teams. They’re very athletic. The punter can move the ball. They bring pressure. They block punts. The return game is scary. They certainly have those elements right there that get your attention. It’s a critical part of the game.“
* On Ball State’s use of the Wildcat formation. The Cardinals didn’t show much of it against SE Missouri State last Thursday, but Rocco said he expects to see more of it Saturday in Muncie: “We’re going to see it, no doubt, and we’re probably going to see quite a bit of it. They certainly had a lot of success with it a year ago. We’ll have to be very much prepared for it, very disciplined in our assignments defensively when they do go to it, and we’re going to have to have some better answers than we’ve had in the past, because we really haven’t been able to control that system of offense.
“A lot of people haven’t been able to control that system of offense. A year ago against Charleston Southern, they were able to just control the ball. That’s all they wanted to do. Four yards here, six there, maybe a chunk—seven or eight or nine—on the perimeter. They kind of just controlled the ball right there and moved the ball, changed the field position and gave themselves a chance to win. (Ball State) is extremely dangerous when they are in this offensive formation. And I think it’s probably one of the ways they get their playmakers with their hands on the ball more often. We certainly have to be prepared for that on Saturday.“
* On tight end Tommy Shaver, who had two drops in Saturday’s game against St. Francis: “It’s not to the point where we’re going to make a move positionally. Tommy’s been in our program for a long time and has been very successful. He didn’t quite seem himself out there Saturday. A lot of guys adopted new roles out there Saturday for the first time. Like I said, first-game jitters, there’s no excuse for them, but a number of guys performed a little as if they had their head in the fog for a bit, especially early. Tommy’s off to a good start this week. I sat him down and talked to him earlier. We certainly expect him to have an outstanding season.“
—QB Mike Brown talked about how his experience as a receiver is paying off for him at quarterback: “It’s paid off a lot. When you see things from a receiver’s perspective, it’s a world of difference, just knowing how corners will play. It’s just more up close and personal. Where as at quarterback, you’re just seeing it at a distance. But you learn how they play you, and that’s why it’s good to communicate with the receivers, because they may see something that I might not see on a particular play, a specific technique, or something like that.“
—RB SirChauncey Holloway spoke a bit about what St. Francis did to slow the Flames’ run game early on Saturday: “They stacked one side of the ball. I guess where the tight end was, they knew we were going to run that way. They were always in there, No. 31 and No. 44. Those two linebackers, they were pretty good ball players.“
—S Chris Mayo was a situational starter Saturday against the Red Flash, moving past Brandon Robinson on the depth chart. This wasn’t a knock against Robinson. It was Rocco making a personnel decision based on strengths, much like a baseball manager who looks for situational matchup, like loading a lineup with left-handers against a right-handed pitcher. Mayo’s strength is his run support and his ability to run downhill hard and tackle. Robinson is better in pass coverage, and with Rocco knowing St. Francis was going to try to pound the Flames with the run, Mayo seemed like the better choice. Mayo led the Flames with 10 tackles Saturday.
—Rocco also talked a bit more about St. Francis’ first play from scrimmage Saturday, a 17-yard run by tailback Kyle Harbridge that nearly turned into a touchdown. The Red Flash opened the game in an empty set, with no backs in the backfield, a look Liberty wasn’t expecting at all. So the Flames made some checks at the line and moved into more of a pass protect defense. Only St. Francis then made some quick changes and moved back into a traditional power set, catching the Flames in a bad situation.
“From what I was told, Stony Brook runs that type of offense,“ Mayo said. “They shifted out. They put us back to Tony, and that caught us off guard. Obviously, being back in the deep half, you can’t be in on run support. He almost broke it on the first play. I had to hustle across the field to make the tackle. I didn’t think they were going to continue to drive as they did, though. We had a wake-up call. We knew we had to get in gear fast, or the game could have gotten out of control.“
Although there may be a lot of hype and expectations on Ball States side, they beat a not so great SEMO team by only 17 points. Had SEMO had more depth and not gotten so worn down it may have been a closer ball game. Historically I don't think Liberty has been that great at stopping the run and Ball St knows it and will probably use that to their advantage, I'm hoping (and believe) Liberty will focus on stopping the run this week. SEMO had 3 fumbles and lost all 3 which obviously helped Ball St take the lead. Ball St. QB Kelly Page passed for only 85 yds with only Otis Brown getting more than 20 yds receiving. This team is obviously a running team with not much of a passing game at all so I think LU will be able to focus its efforts on the run. LU rushed for 147 yards and passed for 452 yds for 599 total offense yards. Mike Brown threw for 338 yds in just 2.5 quarters while Tyler Brennan threw for 114 the remainder of the game. Mike Brown was 17-22 with 4 TD's and 75 long, while Tyler Brennan was 9-10 with 2 TD's and 27 long. Summers, Hayes, and Kelly all gained more than 100 yds receiving (129, 110, and 115 respectively). LU is has a lot of depth in the running game with Barnett rushing for 56 on 8 attempts, Holloway for 49 on 7 attempts, and Davis for 39 on 10 attempts. Mike Brown at QB also gained 23 yds in rushing in 5 attempts. SEMO is better than St Francis but not by much. Ball St only had rough 10,000 fans at their game and Liberty is use to playing in front of much more than that so it will not be a factor in the game. All this said, I think LU has a great chance of beating Ball St. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, so we'll see what happens on Saturday
should be a GREAT game I can't wait!!!!
I guess I'll find out Saturday night!
haha
