Cardinal Roundtable: Indiana

(We're back once again with the Cardinal Roundtable with the other two kids who do the whole Ball State Cardinals sports blog thing, Over The Pylon and Ball U Nation. OTP provided this week's questions. Enjoy.)

1.) So it's Indiana week. Do you see this game as a rivalry? If no, why not. If so, why?

Well, it's kind of like the Yankees-Red Sox thing circa 2003. It's not a rivalry unless you can actually beat the other team. We're still looked at as the red-headed stepchild—and more or less, rightfully so. The sting of the 2006 game still lingers with me and we were never really in last year's matchup.

So, no, I don't see this as much as a rivalry. The Mighty Bird is 0-4 against IU lifetime. But if there's ever a year we need to beat them, it's this year.

2.) What player on Indiana's team concerns you most?

I'm not going to be all supercool and pull someone random out of the hat. It's certainly Kellen Lewis. The Cards have never stopped a running quarterback ever, and if you remember, Lewis has his coming-out party against us in 2006. No one could tackle him, it's like he was wearing PAM.

In order to win this game, Ball State will basically have to have one or two spies on him at all time. No one else on this team remotely scares me besides Marcus Thigpen. And thankfully, there's no James Hardy this year. And if the defense has improved like we all believe, we'll find out Saturday.

3.) Bill Lynch. Thoughts?

When I think of Bill Lynch, I remember that he drove our program into the ground. He never went after elite prospects and we were getting players that were choosing between us and the University of Indianapolis. Really? And you want to win a MAC title that way?

Here was Bill Lynch's offensive strategy: run, run, pass, punt. Ugh. And in 2001, when we were a quarter away from getting to the MAC title game, we pissed down our leg against Northern Illinois. My first two years at Ball State, I experienced the 21-game losing streak, as did OTP and maybe Ball U Nation too (I don't know when he matriculated there).

But it appears he's actually getting pretty good prospects in this year's recruiting class, so I ask: Where the hell was this at Ball State? But he's a great guy, one of the nicest guys I've ever talked to. And I can't say enough about Joey, a class act all the way around.

4.) What one player on Indiana's roster do you want to snap up for Ball State and convert to good instead of evil?

I pulled the "Dan LeFevour so he could be on our bench thing" last week, so I wont' do it again. But I will stick to the defensive side and say Greg Middleton. It never hurts to have more quality athletes on the defensive side, especially in the MAC, and he did lead the nation in sacks a year ago. He'd tear the MAC up, for sure.

5.) Since it's IU Hate Week, what is the one thing you dislike most about the IU football program?

I don't know if there's anything I hate specifically, in all honesty. The only thing that rubs me wrong is the fact that IU fans are delusional in that they view their program as far superior to ours. And that's certianly not the case.

All four games have been relatively close, so it's not like they're Kansas State beating us 76-0. I don't know where they get the idea that they're a lot better than the kids in Muncie. Especially on the football field.

Here's everyone else's answers:
Over The Pylon
Ball U Nation