Western Michigan vs Ball State prediction, game preview, how to watch. Week 2, Saturday, September 10
Western Michigan vs Ball State How To Watch
Date: Saturday, September 10
Game Time: 2:00 ET
Venue: Schumann Stadium, Muncie, IN
How To Watch: ESPN+
Record: Western Michigan (0-1), Ball State (0-1)
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Western Michigan vs Ball State Game Preview
Why Western Michigan Will Win
The defense might have crashed in the 35-13 loss to Michigan State, but it was the offense that was the bigger disappointment.
Granted, the Spartans were looking to make a defensive statement after struggling last year against anyone who could throw, but the Broncos should’ve done more. On the plus side, WMU is much, much better than that, and now the O will show up.
The ground game should hammer away on the Ball State front – controlling the clock would be nice – and the defense should be able to come up with enough takeaways to get off the field.
Ball State turned it over three times and committed 12 penalties in the 59-10 loss to Tennessee. However …
Why Ball State Will Win
It might have been ugly, but the offense wasn’t that bad.
Any idea of running the ball was abandoned early after the Vols got up fast, but QB John Paddock wasn’t bad. He was able to keep the chains moving – to go along with his two picks.
Tennessee is Tennessee – that offense is going to roll against everyone. Ball State has to get a good day out of the offensive line against a WMU defensive front that got hammered on by Michigan State ground attack.
This might not be a ground-and-pound Ball State team, but it needs to give it a shot.
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What’s Going To Happen
Ball State is going to be better this year than it’ll get credit for, but this is when Western Michigan starts to make some noise.
This is one of the better teams in the MAC, and it’s going to bring enough offensive balance to overcome a few defensive issues. Throw in the motivation of the 45-20 loss to Ball State last year, and it should come up with a good performance.
As long as the WMU offensive line doesn’t give up a ton of plays in the backfield like it did against Michigan State, it’ll get out alive.
Western Michigan vs Ball State Prediction, Line
Western Michigan 34, Ball State 27
Line: Western Michigan -6.5, o/u: 52.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 1.5
Western Michigan vs Ball State Must See Rating (out of 5): 2.5
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