Ball State University NCAA News

Force third-and-long: The Huskies are averaging just 135 passing yards per game, last in the MAC, and have been without starting quarterback Chandler Harnish the past three games.

MUNCIE -- Ball State finds itself in a drastically different role heading into its first November football game this season than it was just a year ago.

The locker room is a special place for athletes. It's where they bond, where they can act like kids, and where a rookie can get himself in hot water with the "kangaroo court" if he's not careful.

Auburn's Antonio Coleman sacks Ball State quarterback Kelly Page during a game earlier this season.

MUNCIE -- Members of Ball State's offensive line had a premonition before last Saturday's football game at Eastern Michigan that something good was about to happen for the group.

MUNCIE -- Ball State has used its passing attack to complement its running game the past two contests, but the aerial focus might have to become more prominent as the season shifts to November's slate of tough opponents.

One of the elementary fundamentals in football is to take care of the ol' pigskin.

Latest line: WMU by 1. Notable: KSU puts its pass-rushing defense up against a WMU team averaging 27 points a game.

So, the Ball State men's basketball team was selected to finish fourth in the West Division by the Mid-American Conference News Media on Wednesday.

Ball State's rushing performance Saturday in its football game against Eastern Michigan was historical on a national level.

A classic goal-line stand by Ball State in the second quarter of Saturday's football game became a major reason why it was able to win for the first time this season.

The culture of losing sometimes is a difficult habit to break for a sports team.

A return home was just what Stan Parrish needed. Parrish, the Ball State University football coach, hadn't won a game since accepting the job last December.

Cory Sykes rushed for 203 yards and three touchdowns and Ball State beat Eastern Michigan 29-27 Saturday.

But for teams that haven't had success, there could be more pressure in the fourth quarter trying to hold a lead than rallying from a deficit.

At last, the running game produced a credible result for Ball State's football team.

MUNCIE -- The starting quarterback for Ball State on Saturday in the football game that appears to offer the Cardinals their best chance for a victory this season will be ... Cardinals coach Stan Parrish would like to know the answer to that riddle, but he'll have to wait until today to find out the result of the MRI performed late Monday ...

CIE - Six letterman and eight players in all return for Ball State men's basketball in 2009, led by Mid American Conference Freshman of the Year last season, forward Jarrod Jones, who averaged eleven points and seven rebounds last season.

If two teams play a football game and nobody seems interested, does it count? It will for Ball State and Eastern Michigan on Saturday when two of the nation's six winless teams will square off and probably view each other as their best chance for a victory this season.

It seemed more like mid-November rather than mid-October in Muncie as the Falcons Tyler Sheenhan threw for 376 yards and three touchdowns on the way to a 31-17 win over Ball Sate.