Football: A Look at the Rockets' Tenth Opponent - Ball State
8/31/2000 12:00:00 PM | Football
"Ball State football is rich in tradition, and we plan on returning the Cardinals to their rightful place in the Mid-American Conference," sixth-year head coach Bill Lynch says. "The 1999 season was a disappointment, but our players have worked extremely hard in the off-season conditioning program to ensure that we don't suffer through that type of season again.
"We had 22 student-athletes who were juniors or seniors in 1999, while our 2000 team will have 42 juniors and seniors. The bottom line is we are maturing as a football team. We went from a great deal of experience on our 1996 championship team to a young inexperienced team. It is very, very difficult to win in this league consistently without experience. Now, going into this season, we will have quite a few fourth- and fifth-year players, and that's where the experience needs to pay off. We need to turn negative experiences into positive experiences."
Ball State returns 48 letterwinners, including 14 starters from its 1999 team. Seven starters return on both offense and defense plus the Cardinals return their top placekicker from the last two seasons.
Leading the list of returning starters on offense are quarterback Brian Conn, tailback Nick Dunbar, fullback Scott Volk, and offensive linemen Aaron Johnson, Chad Ludwig, John Moore and Jeff Thiel.
"We are looking for our offensive line to be our strength in 2000," Lynch says. "Brian Conn started all 11 games, while Dunbar started the final seven and Volk the last six. We have some young receivers who have seen ample playing time and this is their season to step into the offense and become key components. Overall, we return some quality young men who have played a lot of football at Ball State and we will need their skills and leadership to guide this program."
Conn, who completed 150-of-257 passes for 1,525 yards with 10 touchdowns and 14 interceptions on the season, made significant progress in the Cardinals' second half of the season. In his last five games, he completed 76-of-121 passes (.628) for 753 yards with five TDs and three INTs. In the second to last game of the season, Conn completed a career-best 18 passes for a career-high 254 yards. Against Ohio, Conn completed his first 14 passes and 17-of-19 for the game. The .895 completion percentage is the second-best single-game mark in BSU annals.
Last season, Conn was backed up by Clay Walters, who has moved to wide receiver this year. Jermaine Jordan is the team's top returning receiver with 15 catches for 234 yards and two touchdowns, while David Westbrook grabbed 14 catches for 125 yards and two TDs.
Defensively, Ball State welcomes the return of 21 lettermen, including seven starters. Three defensive linemen -- Rachman Crable (end), Mark Zackery (tackle) and Sunungura Rusununguko (tackle) -- will anchor the Ball State defense. Shaka Johnson is the lone returning starter at linebacker, while Chikosi Bell, Pete Smith and Jade Winchell are returning starters in the defensive backfield. Steve Monson, who was a true freshman in 1999, started the final five games of the year.
Johnson was second on the team with 98 tackles plus added four tackles for loss, including one sack. Winchell was third on the team with 91 tackles plus tied for team-high honors with four pass breakups.
"Our young 1999 football team faced a lot of adversity," Lynch says. "But, we competed each week and never quit working. No matter how positive a spin we put on it, we lost. But our football team stayed together. There is a new season ahead of us. There is a lot of work to be done, but we are battling back."
