Looking Ahead to Ball State

Ball State comes in 0-2 with a full fledged QB controversy.

Speaking at his weekly press conference, Parrish said Justice should have come in during Ball State's 23-16 loss to the University of New Hampshire to give freshman Kelly Page a break.

"Hindsight is 20-20, but I probably should have done that Saturday night," Parrish said.

For a team that struggled in a big, big way against an FCS opponent last week, I'm not sure breaking in a new QB on the road is the best way to go. Add to the mix that Army boasts a statistically top 25 rated defense and signs could point to a good day for the Black Knights. Josh McNary and Victor Ugenyi both remain high on the NCAA sacks list and looking across the line, Ball State is breaking in some young linemen.

After showing a little bit of promise at the end of last week’s game against North Texas, Page struggled mightily – completing 15-of-34 passes for 114 yards.Page never looked comfortable in his second career start. He was jittery and had trouble staying in the pocket – partially due to an inexperienced offensive line and partially due to Page himself being inexperienced.

Jitters aside, the Black Knights bring a load of bad news for the Cardinals... Army's coming off a big loss, the Black Knights defense is the strength of the team, and they run the option. Ball State had trouble with the option two weeks ago against North Texas, and Army is looking to polish their offensive game.

Realistically, this has to be looked at as a must win for both teams, but going into week three Army has a big psychological edge over Ball State, and they have an even bigger tactical edge.

Army opened as an 8 point favorite.