Ball State brush-up

Hasn't been much discussion on Ball State this week, and I'll take some responsibility for that. Just not as much need for analysis of a team that comes in as almost a four-touchdown underdog.

Ball State does have the ability to make it interesting for a while, though, and that's what Dabo Swinney has been getting at this week.

Like Clemson, they do the up-tempo thing (96 plays last week). Like Clemson, they like to run the ball out of the spread (329 yards on the ground last week).

Based on some video clips of them from last season, they also like to go vertical.

A look at last year's numbers revealed they really struggled when they went up against legit competition.

They produced 214 yards in a 62-6 setback at Oklahoma.

They produced 225 in a 37-7 loss at South Florida.

And they produced 236 in a 42-0 home loss to Temple.

Take those games out, and Ball State averaged 430 yards in the other nine games.

A few other notes:

-- QB Keith Wenning has started the last 23 games for the Cardinals.

-- Five offensive linemen have combined for 114 career starts.

-- Jahwan Edwards is a sophomore tailback from Matthews, N.C., and he's really good. He had three touchdowns in last week's 37-26 win over Eastern Michigan, marking the third multiple-TD game of his career.

A few Ball State links:

-- A closer look at their run game.

“We felt good from the start that we were matching up good up front,” Lembo said. “We have a lot of respect for their defense, which was one of the best in the league last year, especially against the run. Sometimes with the run game you just have to be patient. It’s like pounding a rock with a sledge hammer. You just know that if you hang in there, eventually somebody’s going to break a tackle and squirt through.”

-- More on Lembo.

The bespectacled, soft-spoken 42-year-old Georgetown grad earned a master’s degree at the University of Albany-SUNY in New York. He coached in the Ivy League and until taking the Cardinals’ job last September, Lembo had never been involved in a college game between two Football Bowl Subdivision team — as a player or coach. He holds open practices every day and invites the public to attend.

And now, Lembo, who rebuilt two dormant Championship Subdivision programs, is turning heads in the Mid-American Conference.

Ball State sank from MAC contender under Brady Hoke in 2007 and 2008 to records of 2-10 and 4-8 in its next two seasons. Lembo got the Cardinals within reach of last year’s MAC title game and this year they open Aug. 30 at home against Eastern Michigan.

The Cardinals have been picked to finish fourth in the MAC West Division, but players believe Lembo’s approach will keep them in the championship mix.

“I think when you talk about the guy, you talk about his personality, the character of his kids,” senior linebacker Travis Freeman said. “It’s not always about X’s and O’s, it’s about creating better character, and I think it’s starting to pay off with all of the things we do.”

-- The coach says this team is better than last year's.

LW