Ball State 31 CMU 24

So now that I'm done dancing on the ceiling (thanks Lionel) and have rewatched the BSU game from last night, I have decided that Ball State's game last night was the epitome of frustration. First and foremost, my frustration has a name... Ray Bentley. I understand that the color analysts on most major networks are former players. Kirk Herbstreit, Mark May, Andre Ware, etc. are all examples of guys who have transitioned into the booth after their playing days were done. Ray Bentley is another example of former player turned broadcaster.

That being said, there is a reason why alumni should not call the games of their alma mater. It is extremely hard to be impartial given the sacrifices you made to play there and the passion for which you should love your school. I do not fault Ray Bentley for being passionate or a CMU fan. I instead fault Ray Bentley for being an incompetent cackling douchebag and the asshats at ESPN who thought mixing him and a CMU broadcast would be a good idea. Between the announcers last night and the buffers on the commercials, you would have thought it was CMU that was undefeated and the higher ranked team. "Stay tuned folks to see if Ball State's season comes crumbling down". Really? Really?!? From now on I'm going to end each radio interview I do with "Stay tuned folks to see if Ray Bentley actually asphyxiates himself while masturbating to kiddie porn." Thumbs down for ESPN for their broadcast, their segues, and giving this guy a job. (Ed. Note: Apparently Ray Bentley writes children's books. Hard to believe since that's probably above his reading level)

Ray Bentley... King of the Douches. And author!

Once you get past the douchery of the broadcast team (and Todd Harris can eat a great big Bowl-O-Dicks as well) you get to the officials. Quite frankly, the officials last night were terrible. Inconsistent in what they would allow one play to the next, inconsistent in what they chose to flag and didn't. Inconsistent in the quality of the spots. Etc. etc. etc. ad nauseum. CMU fans were raising WVU-esque hell after the game claiming the MAC wanted Ball State to win this game, how the referees were on the take, how CMU got cheated. I watched the game again today and can safely say that just as many shitty calls went against BSU as they did against CMU, you simply didn't notice it because Harris and Bentley were too busy messing their pants over Dan LeFevour's bruised elbows (Sorry, Ray, that wound is too small for you to fuck... even with your tiny little pencil dick). Shitty? Yes. Equal? Also yes. It's a shame that a game that was extremely important in the MAC title race got this officiating crew.

As for the game itself, here were some other things I noticed...

• MiQuale Lewis is a beast. He finished with 177, a career best, and won the OTP Liveblog Player of the Game. Should he win it again we may have to rename it the MiQuale Lewis OTP Liveblog Player of the Game. Nice runnin' 33.
  MiQuale Lewis... OTP Player of the Game
• The Central fan that works in my office was congratulatory and complimentary today despite the loss for the Chips. The same cannot be said about the fans on messageboards who wished injury on Nate Davis, and threw snowballs at BSU players while the plays were ongoing. You stay classy, Mt. Pleasant. Incidentally, he played football for Central with the aforementioned Ray Bentley. I learned this after I told him I thought Bentley is a douchebag.
  
• The BSU linebackers need to learn how to cover a man in the flats. I lost count somewhere around a dozen of the times a wide open running back rattled off a 8-10 yard gain on a swing pass.
  
• Speaking of the defense, how about you limit third down conversions. That would be awesome.
• BJ Hill looked lost most of the night in the secondary. Perhaps it was the wind and poorly thrown passes from LeFevour, but Hill just got embarrased out there. Poor showing for sure in his last game against the Chips.
• I would like to know why Dan LeFevour always has big games against Ball State.

I am thrilled we got out of Mt. Pleasant with a victory. It won't silence any of the critics, it won't move us up much in the BCS, but it sure feels good for this dream to continue. Up next is Western, and we'll be checking in soonish with some WMU content, but for now, it's ceilin' dancin' time.

Hoke-O-Meter
(1-5 Bradys, with 1 being happy enough to burst into song,
5 being filled with murderous rage)

2 Bradys

As has been the mantra several times this season so far, a win is a win. Happy for the victory but hungry for more, especially from his expertise area... the defense. HokeManBeast remains perfect this season, but a tough test awaits with Western Michigan.