2008 International Bowl Preview

Rutgers (7-5, 3-4; Big East) vs. Ball State (7-5, 5-2; MAC)

January 5, 2008 @ 12 PM (EST) – ESPN2 – Toronto, Ontario

After a 3-0 start and a Top 10 ranking, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights looked to be a force yet again in the Big East and the nation, but 5 losses in their final 9 games brought Rutgers, one of the up-and-coming programs in the NCAA's Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly I-A), to a disappointing 7-5 finish and a spot in the International Bowl. The Scarlet Knights' opponent, the Ball State Cardinals, finished 5-3 in the MAC and 7-5 overall. Like Rutgers, Ball State was up and down all season and were 5-3 in mid-October before losing back-to-back games against BCS conference opponents Illinois and Indiana of the Big Ten.

Both teams feature strong offenses with Rutgers ranking 30th nationally in total yards (443.8) and Ball State ranking 33rd (440.9). Ball State averages 31.6 ppg while Rutgers comes in just below at 31.2 ppg.

The Rutgers offense is propelled by Junior RB Ray Rice. Rice rushed for 1,732 yards and 20 TDs on the season and eclipsed the 100-yard mark 9 times in 12 games with a season-high 243 yards @ Army on November 9th. Junior QB Mike Teel battled injuries late in the season and threw 3 TD passes vs. 6 INT in the Scarlet Knights' final 5 games of the season. Teel's favorite targets are Kenny Britt and Tiquan Underwood. Britt led the team with 1,107 yards receiving and 7 TD on 56 catches which Underwood had 1,028 yards and 6 TD along with his team-leading 62 catches.

Ball State's offense is centered around Sophomore QB Nate Davis. Davis threw for 3,376 yard and 27 TDs against just 6 INTs. Interestingly enough, Davis had 11 TDs and 6 INTs against non-conference opponents compared to 16 TDs and 0 INTs against MAC opponents. Davis completed a season-high 26 passes for 422 yards and 3 TDs @ Nebraska in a 41-40 loss on September 22nd. Freshman RB Frank Edmonds led the Cardinals with 526 rushing yards but rushed for 100+ yards just once all season. Like Rutgers, Ball State's passing offense is dominated statistically by two receivers. Junior WR Dante Love leads Ball State into the International Bowl with 87 catches, 1,229 yards and 9 TDs. Junior TE Darius Hill is tied with Love for the team lead in TDs with 9 TD catches of his 56 receptions on the season and has 837 receiving yards.

The common opponent for Rutgers and Ball State is Navy. The Poinsettia Bowl loser, Navy fell to the Scarlet Knights 41-24 on September 7th and Ball State defeated Navy 34-31 just eight days later on September 15th. Ball State was 0-3 against BCS Conference opponents this season and has yet to defeat a single BCS Conference team in their program's history. While this has been a crazy season in college football, don't expect to see Ball State's defense hold down Ray Rice and the Rutgers offense. Ball State's offense will keep them in it, but the defense will not be able to stop Rutgers when it counts.

2007-2008 College Football Bowl Game Previews

Rose Bowl preview | Sugar Bowl preview | Fiesta Bowl preview | Orange Bowl preview | BCS Championship preview

Poinsettia Bowl preview | New Orleans Bowl preview | PapaJohns.com Bowl preview | New Mexico Bowl preview

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Liberty Bowl preview | International Bowl