By: Dane Massey
Ball State Sports Link
After suffering a gut-wrenching loss at home to Miami (OH), the Cardinals look to bounce back at Akron this Tuesday as they try to stay in contention for the MAC West title. Ball State currently is tied for second in the division race at 2-2 in conference play with everyone in the division. The one exception being Northern Illinois who sits at a comfortable 4-0 MAC.
So far, Ball State is sitting right now at a .500 record at 4-4, while being 2-2 in conference play and on the road. Akron on the other hand, is 2-6 on the year, while being 1-3 in conference play and 1-3 at home.
However, the Zips will not be an easy walk for Ball State. Although Akron’s offense has proven to keep up with teams despite letting up more than 30 points a game. Sophomore and freshman quarterbacks DJ Meyers and Zach Gibson have proven to be a great one-two punch for the Zips, allowing them to compete with other teams in the Mid-American Conference.
As Ball State gets set to go on the road for their bounce back tour against Akron, here are a few players to keep an eye on.
JAYSHON JACKSON:
Coming off his best game of his career, Jayshon Jackson proved to be another electric player on the Cardinal offense, but not just this year, but for the future as well. The Junior wideout out of Chicago, IL ended his career day with over 120 yards receiving on eight catches and 1 score for Ball State, along with averaging about 15 yards per reception. Jackson is seen as the future of stars Ball State will look to add on to, and it seems we got a little preview of what we have in store from him next year.
“As far as my confidence, my confidence is pretty high,” Jackson said after the game. “But none of that really matters if we don’t get the win…”
Expect Jayshon Jackson to have another career day, as well as be a crucial part of the Ball State offense going forward not only this year but next year.
THE RETURN BRANDON MARTIN:
After sitting on the sidelines due to injury, the senior linebacker got the OK to return for the matchup against Miami (OH). Although his return was spoiled by the loss, Martin still had a productive day racking up three tackles on the day with 1 solo tackle. Although those are not really superstar numbers, it was admirable to see one of the key defensive leaders return to a very strong defensive core.
“It was a really good moment for me,” Martin said. “There was a time where I didn’t know if I was going to be able to come back for this team. So being able to be out there with my guys, I just wanted to embrace that moment…”
Although Martin didn’t have a superstar caliber return to the gridiron, expect Martin to return to that caliber as he gets set to take on the Zips offense.
Ball State and Akron will kickoff this Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. Follow along with @bsusportslink for more updates!
