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Date/Time: Thursday, September 2 at 6 PM (Central time)
Location: Scheumann Stadium, Muncie, IN
Weather Forecast at Kickoff (as of 8/31) - 71° and clear, 0% chance of rain, ~5 mph wind (I don't think you could ask for better weather for a season opener)
WIU Radio: Mixlr
BSU Radio: WLBC
TV/Video Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats: https://goleathernecks.com/sidearmstats ... ll/summary
Game Notes: Western Illinois, Ball State
First game of the season, so obviously we don't know too much about either team yet. When last we saw our Leatherneck football team on the field, it was early April, and we'd just come off our first/only win of the season against Youngstown State. Overall, WIU finished 1-5 in the spring season and didn't have much to be real excited about. We did finish 11th in the FCS in passing offense, putting up 293.5 yards per game (ypg) through the air with an overall completion percentage of .646 (13th in FCS). Otherwise, our run game was 95th (out of 97 teams) only averaging 56.3 ypg, and our defense gave up 444.5 ypg (86th). We allowed 32.8 points per game, while only putting up an average of 20 ourselves, and we finished last in the FCS in time of possession. You can view our full stat breakdown here.
Ball State meanwhile, played their games in the late fall/early winter, kicking off with their only loss of the season against Miami (OH) on November 4th. They would go on to win the rest of the regular season (5 conference games), the MAC championship gamea against Buffalo, and then win their bowl game against San Jose State to finish 7-1. BSU has a few strengths, with their defense forcing a number of turnovers...10 intercepted and 8 fumbles recovered...leading to 3 defensive TDs (7th in the FBS). Overall, they were 6th in the FBS in turnover margin. Their offense was 27th in the FBS, putting up 447.2 ypg and was 25th in scoring, with 34.2 points per game. Overall, the offense was pretty balanced, with 269.2 ypg through the air and 178 ypg on the ground. You can view their full stat breakdown here.. BSU was picked to win the MAC again this season and is returning 10 of their 12 All-MAC players from last year.
So, we have our work cut out for us this year. Ball State was ranked in the AP Top 25 at the end of last season, and was one of the best of the G5 teams on the field. We, meanwhile...did not perform up to what most of us probably were hoping for. We do actually have a decent record against Ball State, leading the series 3-1, but our last matchup was 21 years ago, when we won a 24-14 contest in 2000 against them. 7 of our 8 FBS/I-A wins have come against MAC teams, so we do have a history of performing fairly well against the conference. That being said, I don't see it being likely that we'll win this one. So really, I'm just hoping for a strong performance from the team, specifically improvement in the ground game and time of possession.
Current Predictions
Massey Ratings gives us about a 17% chance of winning this game, with a predicted score of 35-17 for the Cardinals.
Sagarin Rankings lists us at #186 out of all DI teams, with BSU at #48 (https://sagarin.usatoday.com/2021-2/col ... ings-2021/) and they're giving us about a 4% chance of victory in this game.
Scott Lawson - Board Admin