College Football Rankings 2020: Projected AP Top 25 final rankings
By Zach Bigalke
player. 405. Pick Analysis. 7-1. Ball State Cardinals. Scouting Report. won 34-13 vs. No. 19 San Jose State (Arizona Bowl). 22
Ball State played their way into the final AP Top 25 of the season after toppling San Jose State from the ranks of the unbeaten. On the heels of their upset blowout of Buffalo in the Mid-American Conference championship game, the Cardinals routed the Mountain West champion Spartans 34-13 to complete a 7-1 campaign as the top team from the MAC. That will be enough to land Mike Neu’s team one of the final few spots in the last AP poll of 2020.
Against San Jose State, Drew Plitt threw for one touchdown and ran in another as he finished with 217 yards through the air on 12-of-19 passing. The Cardinals racked up 402 total yards of offense and controlled the clock for more than 31 minutes of game play. Ball State’s defense forced three Nick Starkel interceptions and earned a fourth pick after Nick Nash replaced the veteran under center. San Jose State managed only 69 rushing yards after averaging averaging more than 141 yards per game in the regular season.
If not for a season-opening loss at Miami University of Ohio, Ball State likely would have already been ranked by the AP ahead of their showdown against San Jose State and playing for a perfect record of their own. As it is, they will find their way onto the list at the final opportunity after stringing together two straight upsets of formerly-undefeated teams.