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Ball State Cardinals 2014 NCAA Football Gambling Odds & Predictions

2014-15 Football Previews – (MAC) – Cardinals

Ball State last made the MAC Championship Game in 2008 where they lost to Buffalo (42-24). Could this be the year they win the MAC? Last year they went 10-3 (7-1 MAC) and finished 2nd in the West.

Ball State Cardinals

  • Head Coach: Pete Lembo
  • 2013 Record: 10-3 (7-1 MAC)
  • Gambling Odds to Win National Championship: N/A
  • Gambling Odds to Win (MAC): 20/1

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The West will be wide open this year. Toledo improved while Ball State and Northern Illinois both need to replace their QB. Keith Wenning graduated and now Ball State needs to find a new QB quickly.

Strengths

Pete Lembo signed a long-term deal with the Cardinals and will remain the head coach at this program for the foreseeable future. This is a huge plus, as Lembo has turned the program around in a short time.

Last year the Cardinals won 10 games for just the second time in thirty years. On offense the Cardinals will have a strong running game, as RB’s Jahwan Edwards and Horactio Banks are both returning.

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Edwards and Banks combined for 1559 rushing yards and 20 rushing TD’s last season. The o-line will bring back three starters in Jacob Richard, Jalen Schlachter and Steven Bell, which is good news.

Replacing RG Jordan Hansel will be tough, but I expect the Cardinals run game to be more of a vocal point and they’ll average more than 152.9 RYPG (80th), which was what they averaged last season.

At WR the Cardinals lose Willie Snead, Jamill Smith and Zane Fakes. Losing three of your top four WR’s is hard for any team, but Ball State still has Jordan Williams and a number of players to contribute.

The secondary will be the strength for Ball State on defense. Last year the team allowed 420.8 YPG, but a lot of those were rushing yards. The secondary only allowed 226 PYPG, which isn’t that bad.

The secondary loses SS Brian Jones and CB Jeffery Garrett, but other than that the unit is in tact. The LB position is also in tact except for the loss of Kenneth Lee, so we should see an improvement at LB.

Weaknesses

The biggest weakness will likely be at QB, as replacing Wenning’s production won’t be possible this year in my opinion. Ozzie Mann and Jack Milas will fight for the starter position this year.
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Last year the Cardinals ranked 13th in passing yards (324.2 PYPG), which won’t be replicated. However, as long as the starting QB can play relatively well the experienced RB’s will keep the offense running.

Stopping the run was a problem last year, as the Cardinals allowed (194.8 RYPG). With only one starter on the d-line coming back (DE Nick Miles) that’ll likely be the weakness on defense again this season.

Field position may be a bit of a problem early on as well. Jamill Smith was a great return man and now it’ll likely be up to Edwards in the return game. Expect the return game to struggle early in the season.

2014 Ball State Schedule

  • Aug 30th vs. Colgate
  • Sept 6th @ Iowa
  • Sept 13th vs. Indiana State
  • Sept 20th @ Toledo
  • Oct 4th @ Army
  • Oct 11th vs. Western Michigan
  • Oct 18th @ Central Michigan
  • Oct 25th vs. Akron
  • Nov 5th vs. Northern Illinois
  • Nov 12th @ Massachusetts
  • Nov 22nd vs. Eastern Michigan
  • Nov 28th @ Bowling Green

Winning ten games again this year will be tough, but not out of the question. It’ll mainly come down to the QB position and whether or not Ball State can get any production out of their QB.

I expect them to win a minimum of eight games this season due to a weak schedule. In fact, Ball State has one of the weakest schedules in the nation although so do division rivals Northern Illinois.

Win Total Gambling Prediction: Over 7.5 (-185)

I’ve only seen the one win total on the Cardinals at offshore bookmakers this summer. I don’t like betting high juice, but O7.5 wins should hit. I can see a lot of handicappers betting the under at plus money.

I wouldn’t though. Ball State has a strong run game on offense and the passing defense should be strong on defense.

If the run game can hold opposing teams and make some big stops they’ll win 8+ games.

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By Scott Jack

Scott is new to Cappers Picks, but has been in the industry for 7 years and he’s only 25 years old. He lives in Toronto, Canada and bleeds blue and white. He grew up playing sports and still has a love for the competitiveness.