SEMO is a big target on Ball State's radar

The Ohio Valley Conference's coaches might not hold Southeast football in high regard this season, but Ball State sure is.

OVC coaches in the preseason picked SEMO to finish near the bottom of the league, but Ball State has been focused on Southeast from the time it stepped on the field for 15 days of spring practice back in March. Even now, Ball State's focus through the fall has been squarely on Southeast.

That's the outcome of the Cardinals' 2-10 record last season, one in which Ball State got caught looking at big-picture goals rather than week-to-week achievements.

SEMO goes to Muncie, Ind., to play Ball State in the opener for both teams Sept. 2.

"We need to be 1-0, that's the whole thing," Ball State coach Stan Parrish said of the Cardinals' focus on Southeast, which itself was 2-9 last season. "Last year, we thought we could run our stuff pretty much against whatever you got in the opener.

"You can do that to a degree, but we weren't good enough," he told Muncie's Star-Press this week. "There's no question our guys are focused on the first game. They all know it."

Ball State opened the season with seven straight losses last year, including a 20-10 season-opening loss to North Texas in Week 1 and a 23-16 loss to New Hampshire in Week 2. Southeast opened with a 72-3 win over Quincy last season.