The Ball State Cardinals and UConn Huskies meet Saturday in week 7 college football action from Scheumann Stadium. UConn is fresh off a matchup versus FIU. In that one the Huskies managed a blowout victory. As for Ball State, they played Central Michigan in their last game. The Cardinals ended up eking out a one-point win. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place.
UConn fell to Utah State 31-20 in their opener this year, but bounced back for a 28-3 win over Central CT State the next week. The Huskies followed that up with losses to Syracuse, Michigan and NC State before taking a 19-14 win over Fresno State.
In the FIU matchup, the Huskies were up 20-0 by halftime and cruised to a 33-12 win. QB Zion Turner logged 102 yards off 14-of-19 passing. Devontae Hudson led the rushing attack with 12 carries for 135 yards, and Justin Joly added 62 yards off five grabs.
Over on the Ball State side, they fell to Tennessee 59-10 and Western Michigan 37-30 before getting a 31-0 blowout win over Murray State. The Cardinals hit the loss column again in the next game versus Georgia Southern, then took out Northern Illinois 44-38 in OT.
Back on Saturday versus Central Michigan, Ball State was down 16-14 going into the final quarter and ended up with a tense 17-16 victory. QB John Paddock put up 122 yards with a score, and Carson Steele led the rush with 124 yards off 28 carries.
PICK: I’m probably going to take a stab on UConn. The Huskies did a great job on the ground versus FIU over the weekend, finishing with 295 rushing yards, 6.1 yards per play, 20 first downs and zero turnovers in a nice effort. Defensively UConn gave up 409 total yards but also came up with three turnovers and held the Panthers to 4-of-14 on third-down tries.
As for Ball State, they pulled off a gutsy win against a Central Michigan team they probably should have beaten by a touchdown or two. The Cardinals had two lost fumbles and went 0-of-13 on third downs but still came up with the win. UConn should be a tougher matchup.