By Alan Gerould, Senior Columnist

NAPLES, FL — The Western Michigan Broncos (4-1, 1-0 MAC) return to Waldo Stadium fresh off a 24-17 win over Buffalo in its conference opener. Next up for the Broncos are the Ball State Cardinals (2-3, 0-1 MAC) coming off a win over the previously undefeated Army at West Point. This is a big opportunity for the Broncos to avenge a last minute loss at the hands of the Cardinals last season that propelled BSU to a MAC Championship and left the Broncos still seeking its fourth MAC Title. Robby General of the Muncie Star Press covers the Cardinals and has agreed to field a few questions for us. Robby, you are now on the BroncoBlitz hot seat.

BroncoBlitz: The Cardinals are largely playing with the same team that took them to the MAC championship. What are the biggest differences between this year‘s team and last year’s? How has head coach Mike Neu adapted to any key changes in personnel?

Robby General: Through four weeks, Ball State really didn’t look like the same team from a year ago. Last week, the Cardinals did. Personnel-wise, there wasn’t a whole lot of changes coming into the season but players in freshman running back Carson Steele, redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Tavion Woodard and junior wide receiver Jayshon Jackson have been impressive. Other new faces include junior linebacker Clayton Coll, who’s been playing Mike for the injured Brandon Martin and redshirt junior Cole Pearce, who had a career-high 14 tackles against Army and received a scholarship Sunday. There have also been guys filling in on the offensive line due to injury. Overall, I think Neu and company have done a good job of putting players in the right place to succeed.

BroncoBlitz: The offense has been directed by fifth year senior Drew Plitt and features one of the best receivers in the nation in Justin Hall. Who, besides these two, makes the Cardinals offense fly and where have they shown a tendency to get its feathers ruffled?

Robby General: There are several, though it took a while to see some of them step up. Through the first four weeks, Plitt didn’t look good and teams keyed-in on Hall as he seemed to be Ball State’s only consistent offensive weapon. Offensively, though, Steele (200 rushing yards, four TDs) and Jackson, a Cincinnati transfer (241 receiving yards, one TD), have added new dimensions to the offense. Senior receiver Yo’Heinz Tyler and redshirt senior running back Will Jones will also be two guys to watch Saturday.

BroncoBlitz: The defense has several leaders, but the play of junior linebackers Cole Pearce and Clayton Coll, who had 14 and 12 tackles respectively versus the Black Knights, have stood out. The defense as a whole did a good job slowing down the Knights vaunted running game. After five games what grade would you give the BSU defense and where do they need to show improvement?

Robby General :Coming into the Army game, it was hard to judge Ball State’s defense. I think, as a whole, it played decent at times – shutting down Penn State’s offense in the second half being an example – but the offense, which threw three combined pick-sixes against Penn State and Wyoming, didn’t help them. Big plays, poor tackling and not being able to force turnovers were a concern early on, but the Cardinals certainly sharpened that up against Army. Overall, I’d give the defense a B-. Against Army, it was an A-type performance, but there needs to be more consistency.

BroncoBlitz: The aforementioned Hall, a likely high NFL draft choice, opened last Saturday’s game with a 99-yard kickoff return. What other elements of special teams have stood out, both good and bad?

Robby General: You haven’t seen a lot of teams kick to Hall (and for good reason). Otherwise, Ball State’s used a number of different kickers this year. Jake Chanove (5-for-6 FG, 9-9 PAT) and Jacob Lewis (2-for-2 FG, 0-1 PAT) have both been solid kicking field goals. Jonathan Hagee was the predominant kickoff guy, but Lewis handled those duties Saturday. Lucas Borrow and Nathan Snyder have split punting duties, as well. As odd as it seems, Ball State appears to have a luxury of riches in the special teams department. All of them have been solid.

BroncoBlitz: The game is certain to be a battle as both teams fight for the MAC West title. The Cardinals loss to Toledo has put them in a “must win” situation. The Broncos are still smarting over last seasons season ending heartbreaker that they led by 17-points in the second half. The oddsmakers have WMU favored by 10 but I don’t see it. What must BSU do to pull this one out and keep a repeat run at the championship alive? What do you predict the final score to be when the smoke clears at Waldo Stadium?

Robby General: This is absolutely a must-win for Ball State, you can’t lose the tie-breaker to both of the other MAC West front-runners. I think Saturday’s win over Army was the momentum-boost Ball State needed. Ball State’s offense is going to need to continue to utilize more weapons than just Hall and the defense is going to need to keep playing like it has and limit the big plays. This game will be close (just look at the scores from the last three years), but I think Ball State is finding its stride at the right time and finds a way to pull it out. Ball State 24, Western Michigan 21.