Posted by ESPN.com's Graham Watson
Ball State coach Brady Hoke wasn't doing cartwheels after the AP poll was released on Sunday, even though his Cardinals popped in at No. 25, the first ranking in the 84-year history of the Ball State football program.
His excitement was contained and even a little guarded as he spoke to the media Sunday afternoon.
"It's flattering obviously, but there's so much season left to play," Hoke said via teleconference. "This is a long football season. We've got six more football games to play and we've got a lot of work to do. We've got the real teeth of our schedule starting this week."
Hoke's attitude isn't surprising considering Ball State entered sparsely charted territory after the 31-0 win over Toledo this past weekend. The Cardinals are off to their best start since going 9-0 to begin the 1965 season. Ball State is 3-0 in MAC play for the first time since 1988. The Cardinals have only been to one bowl game since 1996 and that was last year. After Saturday's win, the Cardinals are bowl eligible and have six wins for only the third time in the past 12 seasons.
It's understandable that Hoke might be a little guarded when it comes to the increased national attention.
Now the chore for Hoke and his coaching staff will be passing the same attitude to the players. Hoke said he'd meet with his team later Sunday evening.
"All we've got to do is throw on the film of Western Kentucky, see the physicalness that they play with," Hoke said. "We've got to go back into our routine of preparing every week to play our best and we have not done that yet."
There are five non-BCS undefeated teams remaining, but Ball State might be the most consistent of the group. The Cardinals have not allowed more than 24 points to any opponent this year and have scored at least 31 points in every game. Prior to the Akron game, Ball State had a three-game streak of 40-points or more. The Cardinals have scored 40 or more points in all but two games this season.
Ball State travels to a 2-4 Western Kentucky team that already has played ranked foes Alabama and Virginia Tech, both were loses. The Hilltoppers have not scored more than 13 points in any game this season.
"Our maturity and the leadership of our football team has been phenomenal," Hoke said. "Our seniors and how they've prepared and how they've kept things in perspective and that's what they need to continue to do."
Watson joined ESPN.com in 2008 after four seasons covering the Missouri Tigers and the Big 12 Conference for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. She also covered college football recruiting for the Dallas Morning News.
