CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2007 Ball State

7–⁠6 (5–⁠2 Mid-American Conference), coached by Brady Hoke.

Schedule and results

Ball State in 2007, game by game: lost vs. Miami (OH) 13–14; won at Eastern Michigan 38–16; won at Navy 34–31; lost at No. 24 Nebraska 40–41; won vs. Buffalo 49–14; lost vs. Central Michigan 38–58; won vs. Western Kentucky 35–12; won at Western Michigan 27–23; lost at Illinois 17–28; lost at Indiana 20–38; won vs. Toledo 41–20; won at Northern Illinois 27–21; lost vs. Rutgers 30–52+35−22Lost 13–14 vs. Miami (OH)-1Miami (OH)Won 38–16 at Eastern Michigan+22Eastern MichiganWon 34–31 at Navy+3NavyLost 40–41 at No. 24 Nebraska-1No. 24 NebraskaWon 49–14 vs. Buffalo+35BuffaloLost 38–58 vs. Central Michigan-20Central MichiganWon 35–12 vs. Western Kentucky+23Western KentuckyWon 27–23 at Western Michigan+4Western MichiganLost 17–28 at Illinois-11IllinoisLost 20–38 at Indiana-18IndianaWon 41–20 vs. Toledo+21ToledoWon 27–21 at Northern Illinois+6Northern Illino…Lost 30–52 vs. Rutgers-22Rutgers
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsMiami (OH)L 13–⁠1463%
Sep 8atEastern MichiganW 38–⁠1657%
Sep 15atNavyW 34–⁠3132%
Sep 22at24NebraskaL 40–⁠4128%
Sep 29vsBuffaloW 49–⁠1476%
Oct 6vsCentral MichiganL 38–⁠5859%
Oct 13vsWestern KentuckyW 35–⁠1271%
Oct 20atWestern MichiganW 27–⁠2340%
Oct 27atIllinoisL 17–⁠2845%
Nov 3atIndianaL 20–⁠3844%
Nov 13vsToledoW 41–⁠2061%
Nov 24atNorthern IllinoisW 27–⁠2157%
Jan 5Bowls & playoffvsRutgersInternational BowlL 30–⁠5239%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Rutgers 52–⁠30 in the International Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 21st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 61 on file).

MAC West champions5–⁠2 in the conference, shared with Central Michigan

Record
7–⁠6
Conference
5–⁠2 tied for 3rd in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
409–⁠368
Coach
Brady Hoke
Elo
1475 +17 this season
SP+ rating
-4.6 No. 75 of 120; offense No. 57, defense No. 82, special teams No. 61
SRS
−2.6 No. 70 of 119 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 88
Offensive coordinator
Stan Parrish
Defensive coordinator
Mark Smith

How good, play by play

  • Offense18th of 119
  • Defense110th of 119
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0944%0.9718th of 119
Defense0.1245%0.91110th of 119
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 322% allowed
Defense0.0own 283% caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Top recruits in the 2007 class

Jerrod Gray SDE★★★No. 608
Frank Edmonds APB★★★No. 755
Renee Perry DT★★★No. 879
Brendan Choy TE★★★No. 1162
Jafe Pitcock SDE★★★No. 1312

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2007 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs13.00.844
Receivers42.50.779
Offensive line32.00.737
Defensive line52.60.801
Linebackers52.00.746
Defensive backs32.00.760
Athletes and specialists22.00.722
Whole class232.30.766

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

2007 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Central Michigan6–⁠18–⁠6
Bowling Green6–⁠28–⁠5
Ball State5–⁠27–⁠6
Miami (OH)5–⁠26–⁠7
Buffalo5–⁠35–⁠7
Ohio4–⁠46–⁠6
Temple4–⁠44–⁠8
Western Michigan3–⁠45–⁠7
Eastern Michigan3–⁠44–⁠8
Toledo3–⁠55–⁠7
Akron3–⁠54–⁠8
Northern Illinois1–⁠62–⁠10
Kent State1–⁠73–⁠9

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.