No. 104: Ball State

[CrimsonPhantom]

It shouldn’t be so easy. Look at Ron English and Eastern Michigan, for example. While the Eagles won six games last fall, it was the end result of many years of painful and unsteady progress: English went 2-22 over his first two seasons with the program, and before that, you’d have to go back another 13 years to locate Eastern Michigan’s last six-win finish. Perhaps Ball State, which won the MAC West in 2008, was closer to regaining its past competitiveness. Nevertheless, the ease with which Pete Lembo led the Cardinals to the cusp of bowl eligibility last fall was remarkable for its… ease. True, Ball State beat only one team of any consequence, two if we count Eastern Michigan. And true, all but one of the Cardinals’ six losses came by 10 or more points. But is it supposed to be this easy? And if the first step is the hardest, how good can Ball State be under Lembo in year two, year three, year four?

More at- www.presnapread.com/no-104-ball-state/