2008 Woodie Awards
FOOTBALL: Cardinals confident in quarterback
Ball State to face Chippewas' former Freshman of the Year
Ryan Wood
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Cardinals' coach Brady Hoke knows in order to make a run at the title, his team will need to take care of business within the MAC West Division.
Perhaps the most important game for Ball State, if it wants to win the West Division and earn a ticket to the MAC Championship game, will come Saturday against Central Michigan University.
The Chippewas are the defending West Division champions, winners of last year's Motor City Bowl and they haven't lost to Ball State since 2003.
"[Our players] know that the last couple of years we haven't executed the way we need to so we can come out on top," Hoke said. "We've had some opportunities and didn't finish. They understand this is Central Michigan, this is a West Division game and all those things that go along with it."
An added element to the Central Michigan-Ball State rivalry is the emergence of both team's quarterbacks. The Chippewas are led by last year's MAC Freshman of the Year Dan LeFevour, while the Cardinals' Nate Davis leads the MAC with 1,436 passing yards and 14 passing touchdowns. He also has the fewest interceptions in the conference with two.
Despite the showdown between two of the top quarterbacks in the league, Hoke said the winner won't be the team with the better quarterback. Instead, he said the final outcome would be dictated by the play at the line of scrimmage.
"They're both outstanding quarterbacks, but this game is going to be decided by the front seven on defense and the front seven on offense," Hoke said. "In some peoples' minds it's going to be about two quarterbacks. But it's not about the quarterbacks. It's about the surrounding cast. If [the quarterbacks] don't have time to throw the ball and [the offenses] can't run the ball effectively, nothing else will matter."
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