[Raji]

The Line



Some books opened this line with Ball State set as low as -15.5, but it's since moved up to 17 or 17.5 at most betting shops. The early total is 54.5.



Ball State turning up intensity



After picking up their ninth straight win, the Cardinals are beginning to slip into BCS conversations. Ball State could be a dark horse selection for either the Orange Bowl or Sugar Bowl if Boise State and Utah fall out of favor.



With that in mind, the Cards' defense has turned the dial up to BCS wattage. They've allowed an average of 302.6 yards and 11.4 points over their last five games, including an impressive effort against Northern Illinois last week.



Ball State gave up 14 points on 275 total yards with just 62 of those yards in the first half. It collected two sacks and picked off one pass in the 45-14 victory as an 8-point favorite. However, Cardinals coach Brady Hoke is still asking for more from his team knowing that bowl season will demand a better performance.



"The 275 yards and 14 points, those would be acceptable, but if we want to win a championship those aren't acceptable," Hoke told the Star-Press.



"I'm pretty demanding on how I think the game should be played,” he said.



The most the team has allowed over the last five contests is 20 points to Kent State Sept. 27. The Cardinals’ most impressive stand was a 31-0 shutout of Toledo Week 6 in which they gave up just 157 total yards to the Rockets.



Injured QB a blessing for Redhawks?



Everyone gasps when the starting quarterback goes down with an injury. But in the case of Miami-Ohio, an injury to freshman QB Clay Belton may be for the better with Ball State waiting on the schedule.



Belton left in the fourth quarter of the Redhawks’ loss to Buffalo last week and is out for this Tuesday's tilt with an undisclosed upper body injury. That puts the ball in the hands of junior Daniel Raudabaugh, who leads the team in passing with over 1,200 yards.



Miami head coach Shane Montgomery told reporters that having an upperclassman behind center against the Cardinals defense is a smarter decision.



"He doesn't make many mental mistakes," Montgomery told the Oxford Press. "It's good, with Clay going down, to have a guy who's played a lot.”



Raudabaugh started the first six games of the season but completed more passes to defenders than to teammates. He's thrown for four touchdowns and five interceptions. He came in versus the Bulls when Belton went down, passing for 63 yards on 8-for-14 completions.



Belton has compiled 639 yards through the air with two touchdowns and three picks. The freshman took a hard shot in the ribs during last Tuesday's game and was nursing a banged-up shoulder heading in. Sophomore Mike Scherpenberg will be the backup Tuesday night.



The Redhawks have the ninth-ranked passing offense in the MAC and have found the end zone just six times through the air this season.



Johnson stepping up for Cards



A spinal injury to Ball State receiver Dante Love was one of the scariest moments of the college football season. The senior was carted off the field against Indiana in Week 4 and made his first public appearance last week.



In Love's absence, fellow senior Louis Johnson has stepped up as one of the team's top weapons. He's caught 15 balls for over 300 yards – 165 of those yards coming against Northern Illinois last Wednesday. Johnson had a career day versus the Huskies adding a touchdown to his impressive stat sheet.



Johnson was Ball State's go-to guy last season. He averaged over 24 yards per catch on 17 receptions, but was bumped down to the third option this year with Love and freshman Briggs Orsbon getting regular looks.



In the past three games, Johnson has reeled in 13 receptions for 275 yards and two touchdowns. Before that he caught just five passes for 30 total receiving yards.



Redhawks setting new goals



A disappointing loss to Buffalo last week officially eliminated the Redhawks from conference title contention.



But with the 18th ranked Cardinals coming to Oxford, Coach Montgomery is treating this East vs. West MAC matchup as the team's title game.



"Most of the goals we set this year are unattainable," Montgomery admitted to reporters, "but as long as we've got some games left, we've got motivation ... We have a lot to play for (against Ball State). It's a chance to be on national TV and a chance to improve as a football team. By the time we hit the field next Tuesday we'll realize how big of a game this us."



Miami would relish the role of spoiler, taking the Cardinals out of the BCS bowl hunt. It edged Ball State with a 14-13 win last year with a rushing touchdown in the final minute of the game.



The Redhawks have won seven of the last 10 meeting straight up with a 5-5 mark against the spread.


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[Raji]

As one of five undefeated teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision, Ball State is drawing closer to a BCS bowl berth. To reach that goal, the Cardinals need to avoid looking ahead to a couple of crucial Mid-American Conference games.

The 14th-ranked Cardinals look to open with 10 wins for the first time in school history and avoid a letdown when they visit struggling Miami of Ohio on Tuesday. Oddsmakers have the Cards set as lofty 17.5-point favorites and a handful of books released an early total of 54.5.

Ball State (9-0, 5-0) cracked the AP poll at No. 25 for the first time in school history Oct. 5, and has been climbing the rankings ever since. With Wednesday's 45-14 victory over Northern Illinois, the Cardinals moved up two spots in the poll and three places to No. 14 in the BCS standings.

"Everybody talks about going undefeated, but we just talk about trying to make every play that we can,'' Ball State quarterback Nate Davis said.

"The biggest thing is we've got to keep our heads straight."

Despite being unbeaten, the Cardinals don't have much room for error in their conference.

Ball State is tied with Central Michigan atop the West Division, a half-game ahead of third-place Western Michigan. The division will likely be decided in the next two weeks, as the Cardinals visit the Chippewas next Wednesday and then wrap up the regular season Nov. 25 against the Broncos.

Not only would those two games determine whether Ball State wins the division, they could also end up being the reason the Cardinals don't get a BCS berth, as one loss would almost certainly knock them from contention.

Despite what's likely to be at stake in those games, coach Brady Hoke isn't worried about his team overlooking Miami of Ohio (2-7, 1-4).

"I think our seniors have done a fabulous job of leading this team and a great job understanding what our goals and what we want to do as a program," Hoke said. "And we haven't achieved any of those."

If Hoke's players seem unfocused going into Tuesday, the coach could show them tape of their 2007 season-opening 14-13 home loss to the RedHawks. Brandon Murphy's 6-yard touchdown run with 17 seconds remaining lifted Miami to the victory Aug. 30.

That defeat was the first in a 7-6 season for the Cardinals, but much has changed since then. Ball State is off to its best start since the 1965 team opened with nine straight wins.

The Cardinals are led by an offense that's averaging 38.3 points and 458.4 yards, both 11th in the FBS, and had little trouble picking apart the conference's top-ranked defense last week.

Ball State amassed a season-high 529 yards against Northern Illinois and scored its most points since its season-opening 48-14 victory over Northeastern.

Davis completed 18 of 22 passes for 300 yards and four touchdowns, breaking Mike Neu's school record for career completions in the process. The junior has 592, eclipsing Neu's 580.

MiQuale Lewis recorded his seventh 100-yard game of the season, rushing for 119 yards and one score on 19 carries.

Lewis, 10th in the FBS in rushing yards with 1,108 and tied for fourth in running touchdowns with 15, has been at his best on the road. He's run for 589 yards and nine TDs in four games away from Muncie.

The junior rushed for 91 yards on 25 carries in last season's loss to Miami, but should have a good chance to exceed that total Tuesday. The RedHawks have allowed a total of 521 rushing yards in their last two games.

Miami gave up a season-high 476 yards of offense in last Tuesday's 37-17 defeat to Buffalo, and has been outscored 91-38 in losing its last two games.

Freshman J.R. Taylor ran for 69 yards and a touchdown against the Bulls, and has rushed for 309 yards and two TDs on 54 carries in his last three games.

The RedHawks have lost their last two against ranked opponents since Ben Roethlisberger led Miami to a 49-27 win over then-No. 20 Bowling Green on Dec. 4, 2003.

The RedHawks have won three of their last four against Ball State, but have lost the last two meetings in Oxford.

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