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Pete Lembo has been hired as Ball State head coach and will be formally introduced at a news conference Monday.

Lembo spent the last five seasons at Elon, where he went 35-22. The FCS program had won only 30 games the previous seven seasons before he took over. His 2010 team averaged 435.2 yards of total offense -- the fourth straight year it averaged more than 400 yards a game. He led Elon to its first ever playoff appearance in 2009.

"We are extremely excited to have Pete Lembo join the Ball State family,” Ball State athletic director Tom Collins said in a statement. “The search for our next football coach included talking to a number of people in the football world. Coach Lembo’s name and credentials continued to surface as an outstanding candidate for Ball State University. We are looking forward to his contribution to the program and looking forward to getting started in preparation for Ball State football 2011.”

Lembo was head coach at Lehigh from 2001-05 and has a 79-36 overall head coaching record. He has never been a head coach or an assistant on the FBS level.

Lembo takes over for Stan Parrish, who went 6-18 in two seasons as head coach.

The MAC has a long and proud history of sending its head coaches on to bigger jobs. But even this season is a bit unusual in its attrition rate.

Three of the top coaches in the league have left for jobs at automatic qualifying conferences in the past few weeks, more than at any time in the past five seasons. Miami (Ohio) coach Mike Haywood became the latest to leave Wednesday, moving on to Pittsburgh. Northern Illinois coach Jerry Kill (Minnesota) and former Temple coach Al Golden (Miami) have also left.

Last season, the league lost two coaches to AQ jobs -- Butch Jones went from Central Michigan to Cincinnati, while Turner Gill went from Buffalo to Kansas. That means former MAC coaches are in the Big East, Big Ten, ACC and Big 12.

There will be at least five new head coaches in the league once again. Kent State is looking to replace Doug Martin, who resigned, while Ball State fired Stan Parrish. There were also five new coaches to start the 2009 season. But only one coach went on to a job at a bigger school -- Brady Hoke left Ball State at the end of 2008 for San Diego State.

In fact, the last four winners of the MAC Coach of the Year Award are now gone: Gill in 2007, Hoke in 2008, Golden in 2009 and Haywood in 2010.

Several other coaches have left the MAC in recent years for bigger schools -- the late Terry Hoeppner left Miami (Ohio) in 2005 for Indiana, Urban Meyer coached at Bowling Green, Brian Kelly coached at Central Michigan and Gary Pinkel and Nick Saban both were head coaches at Toledo. Miami (Ohio) is, of course, known as the Cradle of Coaches.

With all the movement, Ohio coach Frank Solich and Western Michigan coach Bill Cubit will be the most experienced MAC coaches going into 2011. Both are headed into their seventh seasons.

As for the college football landscape, no other league will have more new head coaches than the MAC. The Sun Belt is the only one that comes close, with three.

There have been plenty of head-coaching moves among the non-AQ teams so far this offseason. Here is a quick primer on who is out and who is in:

Arkansas State

Who's out: Steve Roberts.

Who's in: Hugh Freeze. He served as offensive coordinator under Roberts, and this past season, Arkansas State broke nine school records on offense. His previous head-coaching experience came on the high school level and at Lambuth (Tenn.) College.

Ball State

Out: Stan Parrish

In: The Cardinals have yet to make a hire, and athletic director Tom Collins has refused to comment about his search. A few names mentioned in the local newspaper in Muncie include Stanford special teams coach Brian Polian, Indiana offensive coordinator Matt Canada and New Orleans Saints assistant Mike Neu.

Kent State

Who's out: Doug Martin.

Who's in: The Golden Flashes have not made a hire yet, but have reportedly showed interest in West Virginia offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen, who has coaching experience in the MAC as an assistant at Ohio. Ohio State assistant coach Darrell Hazell is rumored to be a candidate as well.

Louisiana

Who's out: Rickey Bustle.

Who's in: Mark Hudspeth. He spent the past two seasons as an assistant at Mississippi State, as receivers coach and passing game coordinator. His previous head-coaching experience came at Division II North Alabama, where he went 66-21 with five NCAA playoff appearances in seven seasons. A news conference is scheduled for later today to introduce him.

North Texas

Who's out: Todd Dodge.

Who's in: Dan McCarney. After the Dodge experiment failed miserably, the Mean Green decided to turn to somebody with previous head-coaching experience. McCarney spent 12 seasons at Iowa State, taking the Cyclones to five bowl games. He most recently served as an assistant at Florida.

Northern Illinois

Who's out: Jerry Kill.

Who's in: Dave Doeren. The Huskies have scheduled a news conference for later today to introduce their new coach, and ESPN.com reports the choice is Doeren. He has been a Wisconsin assistant since 2006.

Temple

Who's out: Al Golden.

Who's in: Temple must search for a replacement for Golden, who left Sunday for the University of Miami. Expect defensive coordinator Mark D'Onofrio to be a candidate.

Enjoy your final serving of Lunchtime Links for the week with an extra side of gravy.

San Diego State coach Brady Hoke has met with a University of Minnesota official about its open head-coaching job.

Boise State kicker Kyle Brotzman has a leg up on scoring.

A look at the top 10 and how those teams' schedules and performances compare with TCU.

Starting right guard Brandon Campbell has been dismissed from the Marshall football team, days away from Senior Day.

BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall and Utah coach Kyle Whittingham have kept a professional relationship.

Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick says Friday's game against Boise State is the biggest of his career.

Fresno State RB Robbie Rouse broke his left hand against Boise State and will try to play with a cast on against Idaho.

Here is a list of potential candidates at Ball State to replace fired coach Stan Parrish.

Troy's seniors have some harsh words about the state of their team.

More Tuesday MACtion tonight, when Temple plays at Miami (Ohio). The RedHawks still have slim East division hopes, but I am taking Temple 24-13.

Now on to some links:

Coach Stan Parrish is reportedly out at Ball State.

Nevada has to get off to a much faster start to have a shot against Boise State.

Fresno State tries to rebound after its 51-0 loss to the Broncos.

BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall asks for more civility from fans headed into rivalry week against Utah.

Southern Miss is starting to settle back into normalcy after an emotional week.

Hawaii linebacker Aaron Brown got the first interceptions of his career.

Akron is down to one last chance to get a win.

Louisiana Tech is not looking ahead to Nevada.

Kent State players were stunned when coach Doug Martin broke the news he would resign after Friday night's game.

FAU and Middle Tennessee play with bowl eligibility hopes on the line.

Let's take a look at the good and the bad for the non-AQs in Week 6.

The good: The elite non-AQ teams have done their jobs midway through the season. TCU put together an impressive 45-0 win. Quarterback Andy Dalton, who has been up and down this season, was 14-of-17 for 270 yards with three touchdowns. In three home games this season, Dalton is 50-of-61 (82 percent) for 719 yards with six touchdowns and no interceptions. … Utah trailed Iowa State 14-10, but then the second quarter started. The Utes outscored the Cyclones 31-0 and have now outscored opponents an eye-popping 101-7 in the second quarter this season. … Bryant Moniz continues his incredible rise. He came to Hawaii as a walk-on last season, and now is leading the country with 2,245 passing yards – the only quarterback with more than 2,000 yards so far this season. Hawaii has the top ranked passing offense in the country. Greg Salas leads the country in receiving yards, and teammate Kealoha Pilares ranks third. … UTEP quarterback Trevor Vittatoe set new school career records for touchdown throws (89), passing yards (11,260) and total offensive yards (11,117).

The bad: Ball State coach Stan Parrish said his team played one of the worst games since he became head coach, in a 45-16 loss to Western Michigan. His team fumbled the opening kickoff, then had an interception returned for a touchdown on the second series. It was downhill from there, with three more turnovers erasing any chance to win. … Utah State had one of its best wins a week ago against BYU, beating its in-state rival 31-16. But the Aggies had their worst game of the season on Saturday in a 24-6 loss to Louisiana Tech. They had just 73 yards passing and 195 total yards of offense, a week after racking up 434 yards of total offense against the Cougars. Coach Gary Andersen said his team is much better at handling adversity than success.

The heartache: FAU fought back from a 12-0 deficit to take a 20-17 lead against ULM. But a fumbled snap gave ULM the ball at its own 45 with 4:51 remaining. Kolton Browning led the team down the field, and Jyruss Edwards ran for a 5-yard touchdown with 2:43 remaining, handing the Owls their fourth straight loss. … New Mexico clung to a 14-13 lead over in-state rival New Mexico State, but Stump Godfrey fumbled late, setting up Tyler Stamper’s 22-yard field goal to win it for the Aggies. New Mexico turned the ball over four times, and leads the nation with 20 turnovers this season. … San Jose State might have lost 35-13 to Nevada, but it was the first game all season where the Spartans didn’t lose a player to a season-ending injury. Those injuries have taken a toll, but so has the brutal start to the season, with games at Alabama, Wisconsin, Utah and Nevada.

A few more helmet stickers: Nevada defensive end Dontay Moch and running back Vai Taua have had excellent back-to-back games. Moch has a combined 18 tackles, eight tackles for loss, one sack and one forced fumble in the past two games, and Taua has 35 carries for 382 yards and eight total touchdowns (seven rushing, one receiving). … Air Force cornerback Reggie Rembert had a season-high seven tackles, an interception, three pass breakups and a fumble recovery in a 49-27 win against Colorado State. … In his first college game, North Texas kicker Zach Olen was perfect on all five of his kicks against Arkansas State, making 4-0f-4 field goals and his only extra-point attempt.

A few injury items to note: Toledo quarterback Austin Dantin is questionable after being carted off the field in a loss to Boise State last week. Dantin took a hard hit following a run in the fourth quarter and was motionless on the field, but coach Tim Beckman said his quarterback was coherent and he was put on a stretcher as a precautionary measure. Terrance Owens would get the nod if Dantin can’t play. … Temple offensive lineman Steve Caputo (leg) is out for the season. Ohio has lost its two best players -- receiver LaVon Brazill (leg) is out for the season, and linebacker Noah Keller (foot) is doubtful to return this season. North Texas quarterback Riley Dodge (wrist) will have a pin inserted in his broken wrist, and the team is hoping he can return as early as Oct. 30 against Western Kentucky.

Week 7 look ahead: There are some really interesting games in the Mountain West and WAC. Nevada is at Hawaii in a matchup of contrasting offenses. The Wolf Pack love to run, the Warriors love to pass. This is going to be a very big test for Nevada, no question. Air Force plays at San Diego State to start a brutal four-game stretch. Following that game, the Falcons are at TCU, home to Utah then at Army. BYU is at TCU, and there might not be any love lost here. TCU coach Gary Patterson was critical of the Cougars’ move to go independent before the season started.

I had to wipe some Cheetos off my fingers to finish my lunch links ...

Boise State loves to play smash-mouth football.

BYU tries to avoid an uncharacteristically slow start.

Houston isn't going to get pity without Case Keenum.

Ball State coach Stan Parrish doesn't have a problem with his players using Twitter, as long as it doesn't become a distraction.

Ronnie Hillman is helping San Diego State get something that has been rare -- hype.

Tulane welcomes back suspended players for its big game against Houston.

Tulsa coach Todd Graham says his defense has been neglected while the team worked to build a powerful offense.

Louisiana isn't dwelling on the Dwight Dasher situation at Middle Tennessee.

Arkansas State and Troy match two wide-open offenses.

As long as Hawaii is bowl eligible, it will have a place in the Hawaii Bowl through at least 2013.

Other conference links:

ACC

Big 12

Big East

Big Ten

SEC

They share the same geographic footprint and some of the same recruits, but nobody would ever mistake MAC football and Big Ten football.

For all the strides the MAC has made over the last several years, there is no shaking the perception it is the little brother to the big and mighty Big Ten. It is a hard label to escape considering the league is a non-automatic qualifying conference, with far fewer dollars, smaller athletic budgets and smaller fan bases.

Still, MAC teams use their games against the Big Ten every year as a measuring stick to see where they stand going into conference play. So far this season, the MAC is 0-5 against the Big Ten, losing by an average of 20 points. Many more measuring sticks will be out this Saturday, with eight MAC vs. Big Ten games on the schedule.

“Our conference needs to prove that we can go out and beat and compete with those teams,” said Kent State coach Doug Martin, whose team lost to Penn State 24-0 last Saturday. “We’ve made dramatic strides here. Our last BCS win was in 2007, but we’ve been much closer in these two (Penn State, Boston College) than we’ve been in the past, so they’re good measuring sticks and they can only make you better.”

The MAC has six wins over Big Ten opponents over the last two years -- two in 2009 and four in 2008. Though only a few have been close this year, MAC coaches believe these games give them a tremendous opportunity for a variety of reasons.

The measuring stick is a part of it. Coaches feel they learn more about their teams -- even in blowouts to Big Ten teams -- than if they were to easily beat a lower-division school.

“Your weak spots are immediately identified. There’s no covering them up against a quality football team like Ohio State,” said Ohio coach Frank Solich, whose team lost to the Buckeyes 43-7 last Saturday. “The good thing about that is you know exactly what you’ve got to work on to get better.”

They also want to give their kids an opportunity to play in the biggest stadiums, in front of the biggest crowds. They want to play them for exposure in recruiting. Some of these games end up on national television, so that is good for exposure as well.

Plus, they provide nice paydays that infuse athletic departmenta with much-needed cash.

“When you look at it through a coach’s eyes, you definitely want to see how you measure up to the likes of a BCS opponent, Big Ten, Big East or whoever it might be,” said Toledo coach Tim Beckman, whose team plays at Purdue on Saturday. “You’re always gauging where you’re working your program to. It’s a way to gauge how you’re recruiting. For the kids' sake it’s a great opportunity to play in a place you look at or you admired as a youngster. It’s a plus-plus for us.”

MAC teams also are vying for some of the same players Big Ten teams are going for, and many of the MAC coaches believe they are having more success in that area than ever before, which has helped them be competitive in some of the most recent games.

“There’s enough players people are going to miss on,” said Western Michigan coach Bill Cubit, whose team lost to Michigan State 38-14 in the opener.

Some MAC teams are more competitive than others, depending on the Big Ten team they are playing. Many times, depth ends up being an issue. Though MAC teams are sometimes able to pluck Big Ten-caliber players, they simply do not have the same talent across their rosters.

“The expectations of the MAC, before it was like no chance and now I think every team that plays a Big Ten team, you feel like you have a chance going into the game,” Cubit said. “The problem is depth. You get a couple guys hurt and all of a sudden your twos are not going to be as good as their twos.”

Two schools, Ball State and Northern Illinois, are playing Big Ten teams on the road on back-to-back weekends, a doubly difficult task to be sure.

“We’ve got to be at our very best and we will be,” said Ball State coach Stan Parrish, whose team plays at Iowa after losing to Purdue 24-13 last week. “The venue there will really help us down the road because playing Purdue and Iowa back to back helps young players grow up.”

Before the season started, I looked at each of the new coaches in the Mid-American Conference and how they’d fare this season. Now, I’m looking back to see how I did. A couple MAC coaches had some rough inaugural seasons while one thrived and took his team to a bowl game.

Here’s a look back at the MAC’s new coaches:

BALL STATE

Coach: Stan Parrish

Previous school and position: Ball State, offensive coordinator

Head coaching experience: None

Ball State’s 2008 record: 12-2, 8-0 MAC

Returning players: Offense 4, defense 7

Likelihood of pulling off a winning season: Ball State will not be 12-2 again. Just forget about that right now. It probably won’t be undefeated in conference play either. But it will be a player in the race for the MAC West title. I really like Ball State’s defense. Sean Baker is one of my favorite players because I like the way he reads the game. He could easily lead the conference in interceptions.

The Cardinals have the luxury of three easy games -- North Texas, New Hampshire and Army -- to begin the season before travelling to Auburn to end non-conference play. It’s a nice 3-1 start for a team that will be looking for some confidence.

In fact, the bulk of the schedule sets up nicely for Ball State to have a pretty good record heading into the final month of the season. The Cardinals open conference play against Toledo, travel to Temple, host Bowling Green, travel to Eastern Michigan and then play Ohio at home to end October.

Then the season begins. The Cardinals end the year against Northern Illinois, Central Michigan and Western Michigan. All midweek games and against opponents that are going to be fighting for both bowl slots and the MAC West title.

So while the Cardinals’ record might be pretty good heading into November, those three games will be the telltale sign of how far the team has progressed in Parrish’s first season.

My prediction: 8-4, 5-3 MAC

What really happened: What we all realized early in the season was that quarterback Kelly Page was not Nate Davis and the Cardinals were not even close to the team that almost went undefeated in 2008. Ball State lost its first seven games, but started to come around in the latter half of the season and showed some progress despite some major injuries. While the Cardinals finished with two wins and appeared to take a step backward, it will probably be better for the experience.

The end result: 2-10, 2-6 MAC

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BOWLING GREEN

Coach: Dave Clawson

Previous school and position: Tennessee, offensive coordinator

Head coaching experience: Fordham 1999-2004, Richmond 2004-07

Bowling Green’s 2008 record: 6-6, 4-4 MAC

Returning players: Offense 7, defense 4

Likelihood of pulling off a winning season: Every year, at least for the past few years, the MAC East has been wide open. And during the last few years Bowling Green has either shared the division title been right in the thick of it. Even last year, Bowling Green finished tied for second in the East and was a win over Buffalo away from playing in the MAC title game. So, the desire to be a contender in the MAC is there. It’s a matter of learning a new system and putting it all together.

The Falcons don’t have an easy schedule. It opens against a talented Troy team, which is favored to with the Sun Belt, and then travels to Missouri and Marshall before coming home to face Boise State. That’s likely going to be a 1-3 start, perhaps 2-2 because they get Troy at home.

Conference play opens against Ohio and then a road game at Kent State, both winnable games. Then the Falcons hit a tough stretch at Ball State, against Central Michigan and at Buffalo. The Falcons haven’t played Central since 2006, haven’t played Ball State since 2005 and Buffalo edged them ultimately for the title last year.

Then Bowling Green drops into another winnable set of games at Miami (Ohio), and at home against Akron and Toledo.

My prediction: 6-6, 5-3 MAC

What really happened: Bowling Green had a tougher schedule to begin the season than many anticipated and it resulted in a 1-4 start. But once receiver Freddie Barnes and quarterback Tyler Sheehan started to hit their stride, the Falcons started to be more competitive and finish games. When the bye week hit, coach Dave Clawson told his team that it needed to win its final four games to make a bowl and it did. Bowling Green became the only non-AQ team with a new head coach to finish the regular season with a winning record.

The end result: 7-6, 6-2 MAC

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EASTERN MICHIGAN

Coach: Ron English

Previous school and position: Louisville, defensive coordinator

Head coaching experience: None

Eastern Michigan’s 2008 record: 3-9, 2-6 MAC

Returning players: Offense 8, defense 8

Likelihood of pulling off a winning season: The Eagles have an offense that rivals any in the conference and most of the key players –- Andy Schmitt, Jacory Stone, Terrence Blevins –- return. The problem is that almost every team in the MAC has a great offense and EMU’s isn’t consistent enough to outscore its opponents.

The Eagles should open the season with a win over Army, but then they have tough road games against Northwestern and Michigan. It’s easily a 1-2 start, though they could steal the game at Michigan. The Eagles open conference against a deep and experienced Temple team that has a couple quarterbacks that can spread the ball around. The next game at Central Michigan could be ugly especially since the Chippewas will be looking for revenge for last season.

The Eagles could split their games against Kent State and Ball State before travelling to Arkansas for a mid-season non-conference loss. They come home to play Northern Illinois and Western Michigan, two teams that will contenders in the MAC West, and end the season on the road against Toledo and Akron teams that can be beaten.

Wins are going to be hard to come by with this schedule, but the Eagles should be a little better than they were a year ago.

My prediction: 4-8, 3-5 MAC

What really happened: I’ll admit that 4-8 was a little optimistic, but when starting quarterback Andy Schmitt went down with a season-ending injury, it became nearly impossible. Eastern Michigan spent the year learning new coaches, a new system, and a bunch of new players and stumbled to a winless season -- one of only two teams in the FBS not to win a game this year. But confidence English can turn the program around remains high.

The end result: 0-12, 0-8 MAC

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MIAMI (OHIO)

Coach: Mike Haywood

Previous school and position: Notre Dame, offensive coordinator

Head coaching experience: None

Eastern Michigan’s 2008 record: 2-10, 1-7 MAC

Returning players: Offense 8, defense 5

Likelihood of pulling off a winning season: Haywood might have drawn the short straw of all the new MAC coaches. Unlike some of the other schools, Miami doesn’t have a name playmaker to build the team around. Raudabaugh could be that guy, but he’s not right now. Defensively, linebacker Caleb Bostic could be that guy, but he’s not there yet either.

This is an uphill climb. No doubt about it. The good thing is that Haywood is a big enough name that he can bring in some players to help turn the program around, but it’s going to take time especially with the brutal schedule it faces this year.

The RedHawks open the year with Kentucky and Boise State before dropping into conference play against Western Michigan and Kent State. That’s easily an 0-4 start especially with Kent State’s running game and Miami’s lack of running defense. Then the RedHawks go back into non-conference play against Cincinnati and Northwestern before playing Ohio, Northern Illinois and Toledo to end October. The RedHawks finish the year at Temple and then at home against Bowling Green and Buffalo.

This year could easily be a repeat of 2008.

My prediction: 2-10, 2-6 MAC

What really happened:This season was the uphill climb I predicted, but Miami-Ohio did start to get better as the season progressed. Quarterback Zac Dysert will be good for the RedHawks once coach Mike Haywood gets some players around him. Dysert had a tremendous second half of the season and was one of the team's lone bright spots. Despite the record, Miami has a pretty good upside and could be a player in the MAC in the next couple years.

The end result: 1-11, 1-7 MAC

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TOLEDO

Coach: Tim Beckman

Previous school and position: Oklahoma State, defensive coordinator

Head coaching experience: None

Eastern Michigan’s 2008 record: 3-9, 2-6 MAC

Returning players: Offense 9, defense 9

Likelihood of pulling off a winning season: Of all the new MAC coaches, Beckman probably inherited the best and most underrated team available. Don’t be fooled by Toledo’s record or stats last season. There are good players on this team, they just needed a little bit of direction, which I believe Beckman can bring.

With that said, this season could go either way. Toledo hasn’t had a winning season since 2005, but it does have the personnel to turn that around.

The schedule could be challenging. The Rockets’ non-conference schedule consists of Purdue, Colorado, Ohio State and Florida International. I’m a big believer in Florida International, so I’m calling that a loss. I think Toledo could perhaps pick off Colorado at home.

It has a tough stretch to open conference play –- at Ball State, then at home against Western Michigan and Northern Illinois –- but then gets Temple and Miami. The Rockets end the schedule with another tough stretch against Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Bowling Green.

Although the schedule is tough, I think Toledo can be one of the surprise teams of the season.

My prediction: 6-6, 5-3 MAC

What really happened: Toledo was one of the more disappointing MAC teams this season because coach Tim Beckman inherited a lot of talent, including a senior quarterback and receiver, and could not get much out of either of them through the duration of the year. The win against Colorado was a great win for the program, but a loss to Miami-Ohio cost the Rockets a potential bowl game. Four of the Rockets' seven losses were to teams in bowl games, but the others were to teams with losing records.

The end result: 5-7, 3-5 MAC

1. The longer the University of South Florida investigates head coach Jim Leavitt’s altercation with special teams player Joel Miller, the more uneasy that Leavitt and the Bulls coaching staff becomes. It would seem as if the quicker the university makes a decision, the smaller the effect on recruiting. If Leavitt stays, no worries. If the university forces him out, mid-January is not a good time to make a coaching change.

2. Ran into UConn coach Randy Edsall as we exited the No. 1 Huskies’ 80-68 women's basketball defeat of No. 2 Stanford at the XL Center in Hartford on Wednesday night. Edsall’s Huskies play South Carolina in the Papajohn’s Bowl on Jan. 2. Edsall said UConn must stop big plays and make the Gamecocks drive the length of the field. Good news: South Carolina’s minus-3 turnover margin. Bad news: UConn allowed a 67.1 completion percentage. The Huskies must make more plays than that.

3. Todd Berry returns to an FBS head coaching position at Louisiana-Monroe, which means a former Army coach is replacing a former Navy coach (Charlie Weatherbie). It’s surprising that Berry got a second chance after going 5-35 at Army from 2000-03. Ball State coach Stan Parrish needed 21 years to get another head coaching job after going 2-31-1 at Kansas State. Parrish’s Cardinals went 2-10 this season.

Bill Wagner of the Annapolis Capital believes that Navy’s dominance has tarnished the importance of the Army-Navy game.

When Wyoming runs the ball well, it wins. When it doesn’t, it doesn’t end well.

UNLV AD finalist Bill Moos seems eager to take the UNLV job.

SMU coach June Jones and Nevada coach Chris Ault are experienced in turning programs around.

San Diego State wide receiver Doug Deakin is vying for the Rudy Award.

Ball State coach Stan Parrish promised a thorough evaluation of his program this offseason.

BYU is bracing for coaching changes with several assistants in the mix for other jobs.

Central Florida’s current defense might be the best the school has ever had.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Graham Watson

Stan Parrish is happy the media has something new to talk about this week.

After spending much of the season dealing with questions about how he hasn’t won a game as a head coach in 23 years, his Ball State Cardinals defeated Eastern Michigan last week to put an end to the conversation.

“It’s just another negative when you’re not winning,” Parrish said. “You’re not winning, your coach can’t win. You know, it all snowballs at any level. Last week, I alluded to the Tennessee Titans. You think Jeff Fisher forgot how to coach? That’s just the nature of the beast right now. The good part is that we struggled, struggled, struggled, but we were on the road and got a win. That’s the biggest part of it and I’m so happy for the kids.”

Parrish hadn’t won a game in 35 tries. Parrish was 0-26-1 during his final 27 games as the head coach at Kansas State from 1986-88. He lost the GMAC bowl last season. And his Cardinals started this year 0-7 before a 29-27 victory over the Eagles in front of a 1,535 fans. Eastern Michigan is one of two winless teams in the Mid-American Conference.

Parrish said the burden was lifted off his team, more than himself, was tremendous. After taking over for Brady Hoke this season, Parrish knew it would be an uphill battle. The Cardinals were 12-2 last season, but lost their starting quarterback and most of their offensive line. The Cardinals have been hampered by youth and injuries, including starting quarterback Kelly Page, who was lost for the season. To beat Eastern Michigan, the Cardinals ran the ball 57 times for 463 yards. They completed just two passes for 1 yard.

But Parrish said the win might have been one of the most gratifying in his career.

“I’ve been in a Super Bowl locker room, I’ve been in a national championship locker room, I’ve been in a conference championship locker room and that one might have been happier than all of them,” Parrish said. “Isn’t that the funny part about football? A two-point win over a team that hadn’t won a game is that significant to the kids. And it makes you happy you do what you do. They were a very, very happy group of kids. Believe me, the burden of losing, particularly when we’ve worked so hard to build our program here. It’s been very tough on them. It was great. It was a nice bus ride back. Now we’ve got to get back to reality for Ohio U this week.”

Now the focus shifts toward keeping the momentum going. Ball State faces an Ohio team this week that is chasing after Temple for the MAC East title. Ohio leads the league in pass efficiency defense and turnovers. It’s forced and recovered 14 fumbles and intercepted 12 passes. Ohio also ranks third in total defense.

Parrish knows his team has an uphill climb to reach that second win. Three of the four teams remaining on Ball State’s schedule have winning records. Western Michigan is 4-4.

But at least the talk this week has been about a winning streak instead of a losing one.

“I’ve said all year long that we’ve had a million things happen to us and this has been an extremely tough journey that we didn’t expect, but we haven’t given up the ship ever in a ballgame and we’ve gotten better through some very tough losses for us,” Parrish said. “And I’m really happy for the kids and happy that journalists can find something else to write about to be honest with you.”

Posted by ESPN.com’s Graham Watson

Ball State quarterback Kelly Page is done for the season.

Coach Stan Parrish announced after Tuesday’s practice that Page, a redshirt freshman, suffered a broken thumb on his throwing hand that will require surgery.

According to the Ball State Daily News, Page will have the surgery today and two screws will be placed inside the thumb to stabilize it.

“If it was you or I, they would just put a cast on it and in six weeks it would have healed,” Ball State associate athletics trainer Shawn Comer told the Daily News. “But with Kelly being a quarterback, he needed surgery.”

Tanner Justice will take over as the starter. He’s played in four games this season, completed 44 percent of his passes for 351 yards and two interceptions.

With Justice moving into the starting roll, Ball State does not have a backup quarterback. Freshman Aaron Mershman would be the next in line, but Parrish said he hopes to maintain Mershman’s redshirt and would be apt to play the Wildcat formation if something happens to Justice.

Page finishes the season completing 52.7 percent of his passes for 1,019 passing yards, seven touchdowns and nine interceptions.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Graham Watson

Stan Parrish could only chuckle when asked about last week’s 37-30 loss to Toledo.

Ball State took a 30-29 lead with 42 seconds remaining in the game after quarterback Kelly Page hit Torieal Gibson on a 10-yard touchdown pass and running back MiQuale Lewis ran for the two-point conversion.

But the lead lasted just 15 seconds.

On the ensuing kickoff, Kenny Veal ran the kick to the Toledo 49-yard line. Then Toledo quarterback Aaron Opelt took over. He found Stephen Williams for a 51-yard touchdown to give the Rockets a dramatic win and Ball State a heartbreaking loss.

“We snatched defeat from victory,” Parrish said. “We had a chance to be nine points up with about 7 minutes to go, made a two-point play with 45 seconds to go and didn’t finish the deal. I give credit to Toledo for the plays they’ve made. We played well. We were right there. They’re a good football team. I think we’re a much-much improved football team, but we don’t have anything to show for it right now.”

Ball State has lost all five of its games this season, but none had been as heartbreaking as last week. Parrish said after the game he had to keep reassuring his team, which went 12-2 under coach Brady Hoke a year ago, that it was eventually going to get a win.

“My message was to walk out obviously with a chip on your shoulder about not finishing the game, yet understand where we’ve come in the last three or four weeks,” Parrish said. “We’re getting there. We’re getting there. We’re probably the most youthful team in the league and offensively we’ve really grown and we’ll have a tough test this week.”

Ball State is getting there. Each week it’s seemingly gained confidence and it's gotten better on offense. Parrish said he saw the change during the 54-30 loss to Auburn. While it was a 24-point loss, it was the most points the Cardinals had put on an opponent this season.

Parrish said he and the coaching staff revisited its offensive game plan and decided to simplify the scheme for Page and play to his strengths. It also helped the other freshmen and sophomores on offense who were struggling to adapt to the college game.

“After the first two weeks we were just a God-awful football team, particularly on offense,” Parrish said. “I thought we got a lot better at Auburn through a very, very tough situation and we battled through that and I really saw a lot of improvement that ... I see it every day in practice.”

Now the goal is to turn that energy into wins.

“As I’ve said before, you have to be half-crazy to do this anyway, but I see a tremendous light at the end of the tunnel for this team,” Parrish said. “We’ve just got to get over the hump and win a couple ballgames.”

Posted by ESPN.com’s Graham Watson

Ball State coach Stan Parrish had nothing good to say about his offense after Saturday’s 23-16 loss to FCS opponent New Hampshire.

Nothing.

“Obviously, we’re very disappointed with the way we played against New Hampshire, particularly offensively,” Parrish said during Monday’s MAC teleconference. “Probably the worst game in my five years here offensively. We weren’t good in any phase of anything we did. We didn’t protect the quarterback. He didn’t throw the ball well. We didn’t run the ball well.”

So, Parrish has decided to switch things up. Starting quarterback Kelly Page, who Parrish was high on since taking the job in December, will split time with backup Tanner Justice, who has yet to see any meaningful snaps during his career. It’s unclear who will start Saturday’s game against Army.

Page has struggled during his first two games, both losses, with the Cardinals. He’s 30-of-68 for 254 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. The Ball State offense ranks 114th in the country, last in the MAC, and is the antithesis of what it was a year ago when former quarterback Nate Davis led the charge and the team went 12-2.

So Parish is hoping to provoke some sort of spark this week heading into an unusually tough game against Army. In the past, Army has been a game that could get a losing team back on track, but behind new head coach Rich Ellerson, the Black Knights are playing inspired football and have shown to fight to get to 1-1 on the season. Parrish said he was concerned about Army’s “Arizona Desert Swarm” defense and how it would affect an offensive line that was brutalized against New Hampshire, giving up five sacks.

Parrish said he’s looking for anything to rally his team. Falling to 0-3 with games against Auburn and Toledo in the next two weeks would mean a tough turnaround to salvage even bowl eligibility.

“We’re trying to rally confidence within a very, very young group,” Parrish said. “It’s not an easy task, but they’re a very high-character group, some very talented young players and we just need to make some good things happen, particularly on offense.

“If I had a magic wand, I’d wave it right now. We’re going through a tough spot and we’ve just got to all hang together. Just got to let these kids be successful and we’ve got to get a plan to help them be successful.”