Ball State has arrived, baby

by Jason Whitlock

Maybe there's a kernel of truth in the latter.

I haven't been this amped about a college football season ever. Not even back in my mediocre playing days. It's weird, the game means more to me now than it ever did when I was trying to open holes for Bernie Parmalee or keep Joel Smeenge from ending Wade Kosakowski's career.

But I've always been an undisciplined gossip. There are few (printable) things that turn me on more than knowing a secret and the freedom to spill it to whomever I choose. And, boy, do I know a doozie about the college football season that kicks off tonight.

My Ball State Cardinals have the personnel, the maturity and the schedule to win 12 straight games and crash the BCS party.

Oh, that's not a joke. I'm not drunk or high. Yeah, I'll be loaded tonight watching my Cards slap I-AA Northeastern, but the Ball State Fighting Cardinals will be loaded all season.

We have the most explosive, talented and experienced Mid-American Conference football team since Ben Roethlisberger led the Miami of Ohio Redhawks to a 13-1 season and No. 10 ranking in 2003. Those Redhawks won 12 straight after losing to Iowa in the season opener. They spanked Louisville in the GMAC Bowl, and Big Ben promptly bolted to the NFL after three seasons as the starter.

Ball State has its own Big Ben.

Nate Davis is the Cardinal with the most upside since "Late Show" host David Letterman pounded Old Milwaukee on frat row and cooked up his first Top 10 at Papa Lou's Chug.

"The Nate Show with Dante and Darius" has a chance to be the best thing to hit the MAC since Randy Moss and Chad Pennington trampled the conference in 1997, connecting for 25 touchdown passes on their way to the MAC crown.

There's no question that Nate Davis can be every bit as good as Pennington. Davis has a far superior arm, a quicker release, sturdier frame and more athleticism than Pennington. In his breakout sophomore campaign, Davis tossed 30 touchdowns and just six interceptions. He threw for 3,667 yards.

Darius Hill, a 6-foot-6 tight end, caught 11 TD passes last season. (Andy Lyons / Getty Images)

The only thing he lacked was top-flight accuracy, completing just 56 percent of his passes. He has a tendency to overthrow his long ball. In my opinion, that's because he wasn't supported by a running attack and Ball State's play-action passing rarely left a receiver streaking deep with separation. Davis tried to pinpoint his deep balls.

No matter, at 6-2 and 220 pounds, Davis will reveal himself in his junior season as the best pro quarterback in college football. He's a compact Big Ben.

In wide receiver Dante Love and tight end Darius Hill, the Cardinals have their very own Randy Moss. Love (100 receptions, 1,398 yards and 10 TDs in 2007) has the speed and big-play ability. He's Wes Welker small, but he also has Welker's work ethic and desire to compete.

Hill (65, 926 and 11 TDs in '07) has the size (6-6, 240 pounds) and the catch-it-anywhere hands.

Trust me, "The Nate Show with Dante and Darius" could easily match the 25-TD, 1,820-yard season Moss used to finish fourth in the 1997 Heisman race behind Charles Woodson, Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf.

And Ball State's offense could overwhelm the MAC the way Marshall's did when it entered the league.

The Nate Show has more support than just Dante and Darius. Right tackle Robert Brewster has started every game of his career and is on the watch list for the Outland Trophy. The 6-5, 315-pound senior is one of the nation's top drive blockers. Center Dan Gerberry is entering his fourth year as a starter. Senior left tackle Andre Ramsey has started since he was a freshman, too. If not for an injured ankle last season, he would have the same starting streak as Brewster.

In Madaris Grant, the Cardinals have a solid No. 2 tight end. They have a stable of young receivers to complement Love, including true freshman Briggs Orsborn, who should replace Love as the school's top playmaker.

But what should really make Ball State's offense super deadly is the return of running back Quale Lewis. Last season in week 3, Lewis ripped Navy for 161 yards. He followed it up the next week with 122 yards on 19 carries against Nebraska. The Cards were well on their way to upsetting the Cornhuskers on the road when Lewis went down with a season-ending knee injury.

He's back. He's healthy, and he'll add a great dimension to Ball State's rushing attack.

OK, we know the Cardinals are going to score points. They averaged 31.6 per game last season, they return all of their offensive starters and coordinator Stan Parrish (Tom Brady's mentor at Michigan, a former D-I head coach and the QB coach for the Buccaneers when they won the Super Bowl) really knows what the hell he's doing.

The real question is can the Cardinals stop anyone. The opposition had no problem running on us last year, averaging 5 yards per carry and 204 yards per game. Watching us play defense at times last season was embarrassing, particularly a home game against Central Michigan when we gave up 58 points and couldn't get signals in from the sideline to combat CMU's no-huddle offense. Wow. That still hurts.

We're better this year. Much better. We have three very good senior corners. B.J. Hill and Trey Lewis each picked off five passes last season. They have great instincts and soft hands. Trey Buice, the nickel last year, beat out Lewis for the starting job in fall camp. Buice is a hitter with good coverage skills. Their ability to play man-to-man gives the rest of our defenders freedom to be aggressive.

We've upgraded our linebacking corps as two second-year players have come into their own -- Davyd Jones and Loren Womack. They can run and make plays all over the field. Senior Bryant Haines is on the Butkus Award watch list. A bad back will force him to split time with Womack.

Up front, 32-year-old former Marine Brandon Crawford is our best player. He's an all-conference candidate. Justin Woodard and Robert Eddins, a couple of sophomores, are our pass rushers. They'll improve our overall defensive speed.

We're probably not going to be great defensively. Luckily we don't have to be. We need the offense to stake us to a lead, our All-American punter (Chris Miller) to pin the opposition deep and our corners and linebackers to create turnovers.

It's a simple recipe, a formula that I truly expect to produce a minimum of nine or 10 victories. Then I expect momentum, chemistry and experience to be the difference in games against Navy and Indiana and to get us through a season-ending stretch at Miami of Ohio, at Central Michigan and at home against Western Michigan.

Yep, on paper, those are our toughest games. There's no Michigan (who we almost beat in 2006) or Illinois (we scared them last year on the road) or Nebraska (a dropped pass separated us from victory) on this year's schedule. We play Northeastern, Western Kentucky and the rest of the MAC.

We have the personnel and the schedule to do the impossible.

Will I be upset if we run the table and get left out of the BCS bowl picture? No.

I'll be too busy celebrating, telling you I told you so and begging Nate Davis to stick around for one more year of The Nate Show to even care.