Ball State opened up its season with a 31-21 victory over Football Championship Subdivision opponent Western Illinois.
While the Cardinals are 1-0, head coach Mike Neu and company noted postgame and throughout this past week that there are areas the Cardinals need to improve upon moving forward.
On Saturday, Ball State will play in front of more than 100,000 fans in a nationally-televised game against its toughest opponent of the season. Can the Cardinals pull off an upset against No. 11 Penn State, which is coming off an emotional win at Wisconsin?
Here are five things to keep an eye out for as Ball State travels to Happy Valley Saturday:
Establishing the run
Ball State's offense played two different halves against Western Illinois: One where it ran the ball effectively and one where it didn't.