

ZALESKI: Focus has been the Cardinals' strength

1:10 AM, Nov. 7, 2013  |  Comments
Cardinals heat up in cold rain
Cardinals heat up in cold rain: The elements Wednesday night couldn't stop Ball State from running up the score on Central Michigan. By LATHAY PEGUES
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No matter how this football season ends up for Ball State - and we'll know a lot more next Wednesday about what shape it might take - let's salute the focus the Cardinals have displayed this season.

Week in and week out since the year began on an 84-degree night in late August, the Cardinals have delivered one of the finest seasons in school history.

The Cardinals (9-1, 6-0 MAC) have taken their cue from coach Pete Lembo and senior quarterback Keith Wenning.

Lembo portrays something of a low-key demeanor around his players. A big fan of the show "Seinfeld," the third-year coach steals a line from the show as he reminds observers his football team is a show about nothing.

Nothing - as in just come to work every day, do your job, don't get too high or too low, and perform with consistency.

Wenning conveys those feelings to his teammates as an understated leader of the Cardinals. There have been times - and I mean no disrespect by this - I wanted to place a mirror under his nose during interviews to make sure he was still breathing.

By that, I mean he defines calm, cool and collective. The guy simply doesn't seem to get rattled. I can't remember a time when I saw him lose his composure on the practice field or during a game.

He's the ultimate "don't get too high, don't get too low" guy you want as a leader of an athletic team.

Wenning's teammates seem to follow that lead.

The result of the demeanor displayed by Lembo and Wenning has been a team full of players who act, and react, like their leaders. Football is a game of emotion, but it's also a game of keeping your cool in the heat of battle.

The Cardinals truly have been a show - or team - about nothing. Players just do their jobs. They rely on each other. It isn't incumbent for one player to stand out.

Because they've done their jobs throughout 10 games, they are where they want to be going into next Wednesday's game at Northern Illinois in what amounts to a winner-take-all contest.

Ball State would get at least a share of the MAC West title and play in the MAC title game Dec. 6 with a win.

Are the Cardinals up to the challenge of beating the nationally-ranked Huskies, considered the best team in the MAC? Many say no.

There's a belief inside the Fisher Training Complex this team can do just that. The beauty is, the Cardinals will get a chance to prove their worth next week.



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