Speaking of Our Defense...

[Captain Kangaroo]

The one thing that strikes me positively about our 2008 defense is its' "bend but don't break" steadiness. After playing two BCS opponents, the longest TD we've surrendered is 35 yards. The rest were under 15 yards. We get beat up...pushed around...but at least we're making tackles and making the opponent work a bit.I think that bodes well vs a team like Ball State, who thrives on the big play. The couple times Syracuse threw deep, the WR was blanketed by two Zips. If we take away BSU's deep play and make them work, Davis can, and will make mistakes. I have to believe Bryan Williams has Dante Love's picture above his locker. That should be an epic matchup.Can we get pressure on Davis? Maybe. I keep waiting for Christmas when we get our top 2 DL's back on the field. It really sucks not having Lively, Bain and, to a lesser extent, Deni Odefin anchoring our line. Sewell and Grant aren't nearly as disruptive as they could be.I also think our offense's sustained drives are helping our D stay fresh. To-date, we haven't seen the maddening 3-and-outs from last year. I hope it continues. Back in the earliest Lee Owens days we played Marshall w/Chad Pennington. Pennington/Marshall were all the hype that this 2008 BSU team is, and then some. We had a freshman DL named John Lutz that came out of nowhere and had an awesome game. He had 2 sacks, and then he hurt his neck. Unfortunately, he never played again. To beat Ball State we need some defensive "unknown" to step up and wreak some havoc. Maybe it is one of our AWOL DL's...maybe Sewell or Grant goes Virginia Tech-Jason Taylor on Davis' ass. But someone really needs to play at a higher defensive level.It should be an awesome, WAC-type shoot out Saturday afternoon. My grill is packed, the beer's awaiting the cooler and my rifle-like arm is ready to toss some balls around the Rubber Bowl lot!Go Zips!!