On the defensive line, the Cardinals have added a star pass rusher with junior Jonathan Newsome (6-3 236-pounds) who transferred from Ohio State and has been labeled a freak by his teammates He was suspended the first two games of the year but will be ready to make life tough for Daniels. At the other defensive end position is sophomore Nick Miles (6-2 265-pounds) who has 6 tackles and 1 sacks this season. At the defensive tackle position is junior Nathan Ollie (6-1 296-pounds) who has 6 tackles, 3 tackles for loss and a sack and behind him is senior Donovan Jarrett (6-3 327-pounds) who has 3 tackles. At the other tackle position is senior Brandon Newman (6-0 315-pounds). Overall, the Cardinals have good size on the line, but lack a lot of experienced depth up front. There are 8 freshmen on the roster on the front line and just two seniors and one junior. The Bulls offensive line needs to take advantage of this and continue to run the ball and wear them down late in the game and get them out of position with the young roster they have.
At middle linebacker is senior Travis Freeman (6-0 235-pounds) who leads the team with 33 tackles and 1 tackle for loss. Behind him is senior Justin Cruz (6-0 224-pounds) who has 10 tackles so far. At outside linebacker is senior Kenneth Lee (6-2 224-pounds) who has 23 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, and 1 sack. Behind him is sophomore Julian Boyd (6-2 220-pounds). At the other outside linebacker position is sophomore Tony Martin (6-0 225-pounds) who has 22 tackles and 1 tackle for loss. Overall, the linebackers have a lot more experience than the front 4 and will be a key in this game in stopping the Bulls offense. Look for USF to use their speed with the smaller backs and receivers to create a lot of headaches for the Cardinal defenders. While they are seniors, Ball State does not see the kind of speed the Bulls have every week and it should prove to be a big advantage.
In the secondary, starting at cornerback is senior Jason Pinkston (6-1 183-pounds) who has 7 tackles. Behind him is fellow senior Andre Dawson (6-0 189-pounds). At the other cornerback position is junior Jeff Garnett (6-0 186-pounds) who has 11 tackles and 1 tackle for loss. Behind him is junior Quintin Cooper (5-7 184-pounds) who has 9 tackles. At free safety is sophomore Brian Jones (5-10 195-pounds) who has 14 tackles. Behind him is sophomore JC Wade (5-10 195-pounds) who has 7 tackles on the year. At strong safety is sophomore Chris Calloway (5-11 202-pounds). Behind him is freshman Chris Pauling (5-9 183-pounds) has 13 tackles so far as well. The Ball State secondary has a lot of talent, but as you look up and down the roster, there is a height advantage the Bulls can use (plus none of them have recorded an interception this season). With Landi, Shields, McFarland, Price, and Montgomery, the Bulls have a stable of receivers over 6’2”and the tallest defender is Pinkston at 6’1”. USF really needs to attack the seams in this game and go to the vertical passing game, taking advantage of the height of the Bulls receivers.
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