Ball St. stands in the way of SJSU’s perfect season
Only one team stands between San Jose State and a perfect season, the Ball State Cardinals, the team SJSU will face in the Arizona Bowl on New Year’s Eve.
SJSU (7- 0) earned its spot in the Tucson-based bowl game, established in 2015, by beating Boise State 34-20 in the Mountain West championship game Saturday in Las Vegas. It is the fifth postseason game in 30 years for the Spartans, their first since 2015 when they beat Georgia State 27-16 in the AutoNation Cure Bowl.
Ball State’s appearance in the Arizona Bowl comes as a bit of a shocker. The Cardinals (6-1) upset undefeated No. 23 Buffalo 38-28 in the Mid-American Conference championship game on Saturday for their first conference title since 1996. The Cardinals have won six straight games since losing their opener 38-31 at Miami (Ohio).
Like San Jose State, Ball State is experiencing success for the first time in several years. The Cardinals’ last winning season came in 2013 under Pete Lembo, who led the Cardinals to a 10-3 record and a bowl appearance.
Under fifth-year coach Mike Neu, the Cardinals’ calling card is the run game. Ball State ran the ball more than any team in the MAC, averaging 45 rushing attempts per game. For comparison, SJSU averaged 30.6 rushes per game.
Ball State will be without star running back Caleb Huntley. He opted out of last Friday’s MAC title game to prepare for the NFL draft. In three games this season,
Huntley had 440 rushing yards and six touchdowns.
With Huntley gone, Tye Evans and Will Jones will receive the lion’s share of touches on the ground. Ball State also likes to incorporate receiver Justin Hall, who averages 7.7 yards per carry, into its run offense. Evans picked up 94 yards on 18 carries in Friday’s MAC title game.
Ball State complements its run game with quarterback Drew Plitt, who carried the load for the Cardinals against Buffalo. Plitt threw for three touchdowns and ran for another, all in
the first half. After halftime, though, the Cardinals offense stalled, scoring just a first-possession field goal before finishing with seven empty drives (six punts, one interception).
Plitt ranks third in the MAC in completion percentage (65.8) and passing yards per game (278.1). On the flip side, shares the league lead in passes inter
cepted (6), having thrown one in six of BSU’s seven games.
San Jose State, which ranks 13th nationally in scoring defense at 17.86 points per game, had its most impressive showing yet on Saturday. The Spartans held Boise State, the Mountain West’s most potent offense, to 12 rushing yards and 13 points. (BSU returned a punt for a TD.)
On defense, Ball State is headlined by linebacker Brandon Martin, the codefensive player of the year
who led the conference with 85 tackles. The Cardinals also feature two other conference first-teamers in outside linebacker Anthony Ekpe and defensive back Bryce Cosby.
But they have allowed the ninth-most passing yards per game in the nation (295.8 yards per game) and they will be facing a passing game, triggered by quarterback Nick Starkel, that put up 453 yards against Boise State and ranks 20th in the nation with 301 yards per game.