In 1989, Mike Neu and five other Ball State youngsters were redshirting freshmen who got to travel with the team to the California Raisin Bowl at Fresno State. They got everything that the other team members got except the satisfaction of playing. Perhaps because of that experience five years ago, Neu and his Cardinals have made it against the odds to Las Vegas Bowl II.
"Even though we did get a ring and were part of the team," says Neu, who started nearly every game since then and is now a senior and the Most Valuable Player of the Mid-American Conference, "we didn't feel like we contributed."Getting here now fulfills a goal we've had for ourselves for five years.
"It's much more appreciated now," says Neu.
He adds, however, that when the Cardinals came back to school to practice following Thanksgiving break, "We re-evaluated our goals" to include winning the bowl. "This is a business trip for us," Neu says.
Ball State, 8-2-1 and MAC champion after being picked preseason to finish sixth in the league, plays 6-5 Big West co-champion Utah State Friday at 6 MST in Las Vegas Bowl II at UNLV's Sam Boyd Silver Bowl.
The Cardinals thought preseason that they were title material, but everyone told them they weren't. "I guess it surprised us," Neu said about Ball State's rise to the top of the conference. It started with two tough MAC road wins that told the Cards they were right and the critics were wrong and got them believing in themselves. Then they came from a 30-3 deficit in their first MAC home game to win 31-30. "We were at an all-time high," Neu says. The next week, a 44-12 loss at Cincinnati put them at "an all-time low," he says. The Cards haven't lost since, though they tied Bowling Green, last year's LVBII winner.
"The attitude of this team," Neu says, "is that we had only 10 seniors, and we're a very close group. We told ourselves all year we could accomplish anything if we play together. That's what got us to this point."
Neu has a pass-efficiency rating of 143.65 for the season and has thrown for 2,148 yards on a team that considers itself rush-oriented. The Cards actually average 197 yards a game through the air, 160 on the ground, but Schudel says, "I'm still a running coach. If we're forced to throw, then we will."
Neu's top receiver is Brian Oliver, with 10 touchdowns on 62 catches for 1,010 yards. Tony Nibbs (777 yards) is the top rusher, but freshman Mike Blair had 738.
Defensively, the Cardinals give up 381 yards a game in total offense (USU gives up an average of 50 more), and they have not allowed a touchdown in the last 15 quarters while outscoring opponents 90-12. Junior linebacker Kevin Johnson led the MAC and set a school record with 204 tackles (141 solo). He had a 29-tackle game Nov. 13 at Akron.
The Cardinals won their last four games.