College Football: Anatomy of a Ten Year Turn-Around

Fans at every school that is down on its luck, would love to look forward to the upcoming ten years and know that their team is going to be on the rise. But is their hope misplaced?

For Ball State, absolutely not. Last year, they capped off a ten year adventure that most would have not seen coming.

In 1999, Ball State, under Head Coach Bill Lynch, went an abysmal 0–11, and was ranked dead last in most standings with the other winless teams of 1999 Buffalo and South Carolina.

Now, one could argue that all three of these teams have had great rides to the 2009 season, but Ball State's 12-2 record last year was a beautiful run.

1999 saw Ball State only three years removed from a Bowl Game and a 7-1 MAC record; however, the fans endurred the fruitless season. The team gathered itself and turned away from the winless record and went on to amass a seven year run that only saw one speed bump in 2004.

And then came 2007 and 2008, in which the team had their first back-to-back winning records of the decade, and would see the Cardinal competing for the 2008 MAC Championship. Arriving at the game with a 12-0 record, Coach Brady Hoke had the nation looking at his team in disbelief.

But with two losses to end the season, a new head coach, and a red-shirt freshman starting QB, the 2009 Ball State Cardinals will have their hands full to continue the wonderful run. So What is the good news for the Munice, Indiana team? The new coach is long-time assistant Stan Parrish, who installed the offense responsible for the 38 point per game offense last year, and a stunning 21 point margin of victory during its undefeated stretch in 2008.

But what most students are standing and cheering for is Lewis. MiQuale Lewis an explosive game changing running back is, once again, being held out of contact drills to insure that his body will hold up under the pressure of knowing that every defense will be lined up to meet him in 2009.

The schedule in 2009 isn’t favorable for an undefeated run. With four games on ESPN and a near certainty of being 3-0 heading into a showdown at Auburn, the chances for Parrish and company to prove that 2008 was just a sign of things to come are just around the corner. If they can make games four and five (Auburn and Toledo) a good fight, heads just might turn, leaving football lovers across the nation asking,

"Who are these Cardinals?"