Week 5: Kent State at Ball State

The Cardinals move on and look to take the second step towards a potential Mid-American Conference championship, but they do so understandably preoccupied with events off the field. In the 42-20 rough up of the Big Ten’s Indiana Hoosiers, Ball State scored what might be a Pyrrhic victory — senior wide receiver Dante Love was seriously injured in the game and is out for the season.

Love, a 100-catch receiver last season who is always the first option for Ball State quarterback Nate Davis, took a big hit early in the second quarter and laid on the field for several minutes, reportedly with numbness and tingling in his extremities. His condition has improved slightly in the days since, but the loss of Love has shaken this program. At the time of the injury, he was leading the nation with 144.3 receiving yards per game.

Ball State still has plenty of weapons and enough firepower to dispatch Kent State and eventually win the MAC’s West Division. The wild card in all this is how the loss of the popular team leader will impact the Cardinals over the long haul.

Kent State comes into its MAC opener a little punch drunk after getting whacked by Louisiana-Lafayette. The Golden Flashes got outscored 44-27, and gave up a whopping 667 yards in the process. That kind of loosey-goosey defensive performance against the likes of the ultra-talented Davis and Ball State will produce similar results.

The Flashes have some talent of their own in the offensive backfield in quarterback Julian Edelman and running back Eugene Jarvis, but this offense can’t operate on the premise it has to score every time to keep Kent State in the game.

Notes:

Ball State tailback MiQuale Lewis ran for 166 yards and four touchdowns in the dominant win over Indiana, and will assume more of the offensive load after the loss of receiver Dante Love.

Kent State tailback Eugene Jarvis missed just his second career game, sitting out the contest at Louisiana-Lafayette with a sprained ankle he suffered the previous week. He is fourth on Kent’s  career list with 2,674 yards rushing.

Ball State’s win over Indiana was its first-ever against a BCS-conference school. The victory also ended Indiana's 20-game winning streak against MAC teams, which dated to the 1977 season.

Kent State quarterback Julian Edelman has completed 52.6 percent of his passes and thrown for 488 yards in the first four games. He is also the team’s leading rusher with 304 yards.

Key Player (Golden Flashes) — Derek Burrell, LB

With the Kent State defense under pressure to upgrade its performance level in MAC play, Burrell needs to be the leader of that movement. He leads the MAC and is seventh nationally with 11.0 tackles per game.

Key Player (Cardinals) — Nate Davis, QB

It can’t always fall on the quarterback to be the difference-maker, but with the loss of Love, the junior quarterback becomes the most visible leader for the Cardinals. Davis has the opportunity to establish himself as the league’s premier player.

Ball State by 14