Ball State at Indiana

The coaching staff has been waiting a long time for the Indiana defense to show some improvement and they did in the opener, holding Florida International to 13 points on the road last week while picking off three passes. Now they come home against a rebuilding Ball State team. Ball State was 3-9 last year and the offense was dreadful, #104th in the country in passing efficiency while averaging just 23 points per outing. New coach Mike Neu wants to run and uptempo attack, hence this high total, but it needs time and there are still major problems to work through. Their best receiving targets graduated, along with four starters on the offensive line. Ball State is 8-2 UNDER the total in non-conference games. New defensive coordinator Tim Daoust brings in a 4-3 scheme and the 'D' is much further along with 10 starters back, led by senior LB Sean Wiggins, a good pass rusher with a terrific motor. Indiana has lost the last three games in the series, with two of those defeats coming in Bloomington, so the improved defense will be sky-high to exact some revenge. Play Ball State/Indiana UNDER the total.