Ball State, Central Florida chase 10th win in Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The winner of the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl will finish with 10 victories this season. That is a major step forward for growing programs such as Ball State and Central Florida.
The Cardinals and Knights meet tonight at Tropicana Field in a game that Ball State coach Pete Lembo and UCF's George O'Leary view as an opportunity to set a nice tone for next season.
Ball State (9-3) is seeking its first bowl win in eight tries, while UCF (9-4) hopes to rebound from a loss in the Conference USA title game in its final game before moving into the new-look Big East.
"I think one of our coaches mentioned this week that only 25 teams have the chance to win 10 games, so that would be huge," UCF safety Lyle Dankenbring said. "A great way to go out."
In two seasons at Ball State, Lembo has led an impressive turnaround that includes two victories this season over members of Bowl Championship Series conferences. The Cardinals have won six straight following a 3-3 start featuring losses to Clemson, Kent State and Orange Bowl-bound Northern Illinois.
"When we got to Ball State two years ago, one of our long-term goals was to get the program to a point where we could be playing in meaningful postseason games," said Lembo, who inherited a team that went 4-8 in 2010. "To be here as quickly as we are is really special."
The Cardinals improved to 6-6 in Lembo's first season. This year they rode an explosive offense to a surprising 6-2 record in the Mid-American Conference, as well as wins over Indiana from the Big Ten and South Florida of the Big East.
The three teams that beat them are all headed to bowl games and have a combined record of 33-5.
UCF, which has lost two of three following a six-game win streak, led Conference USA in scoring defense while allowing 162.4 yards per game on the ground and 217.8 through the air.
The Knights are in a bowl game for the fifth time in nine years under O'Leary, whose stint with the Knights began with an 0-11 finish in 2004.
