Ball State and No. 22 San Jose State are set to meet for the first time in the New Year’s Eve Offerpad Arizona Bowl at noon.
The San Jose State Spartans are off to their best start in program history with a 7-0 record to go along with a Mountain West Championship, while their 6-1 opponent from Indiana comes in as Mid-American Conference champions and are searching for the school’s first-ever bowl win.
With a lot at stake in this matchup, here are three players from each team to keep an eye on.
San Jose State Spartans
No. 17 Nick Starkel, QB
Starkel has moved around quite a bit during his college career, but the senior has finally found a home at San Jose and is enjoying his best collegiate season.
Originally a Texas A&M recruit, the Argyle, Texas, native transferred to Arkansas after three seasons with the Aggies. After an uneven 2019 campaign with the Razorbacks, Starkel grad transferred to the Spartans and earned the starting job in training camp.
San Jose State wide receiver Bailey Gaither has 725 receiving yards this year, including a game of 208 yards against New Mexico in October.
Through seven games, the 6-foot-3 quarterback is averaging 272 passing yards per game and needs just 94 yards against Ball State to go over 2,000 yards for the season. He’s coming off a near-perfect Mountain West championship performance where he threw for 453 yards and three touchdowns against Boise State in a 34-20 win.
No. 92 Cade Hall, DE
The Ball State offensive line will have its hands full with Mountain West defensive player of the year winner Cade Hall who checks in at 6-2, 260 pounds with plenty of power and edge speed.
He is San Jose State’s first player to be named the conference’s top defender.
A Morgan Hill, California, native, Hall is in his third season with the Spartans ranking fourth nationally in sacks per game (1.33) and led the conference with eight sacks in the regular season. Hall has a combined 4ƒ sacks in his last two games.
No. 84 Bailey Gaither, WR
Perhaps no player benefited more from Starkel’s transfer to the Spartans than graduate student Bailey Gaither. Gaither was the team’s second-leading receiver a year ago behind Tre Walker but has blossomed into a true No. 1 threat this season.
The 6-1 wideout was named All-Mountain West First Team after leading the team in receiving yards (725) and averaging over 100 yards per game this year, including a 10-catch, 208-yard performance against New Mexico in October.
Gaither has nearly 200 more receiving yards than Walker in the same number of games played and is tied for second on the team with four touchdown catches.
Ball State Cardinals
No. 11 Justin Hall, WR
Hall is Ball State’s do-everything player on offense as the senior earned All-MAC First Team on offense and special teams for kickoff returns. Hall is a speedster at 5-9, 186 pounds and leads the team in receiving and is second in the conference with 665 yards in the seven games he’s played.
Hall has eclipsed 120 receiving yards at least three times this year, which includes a 10-catch, 175-yard, two-TD showing against Western Michigan on Dec. 12. He’s also a threat on jet sweeps and running out of the backfield as he’s racked up a career high 231 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries.
On kickoffs, Hall averages 25 yards per return.
No. 30 Tye Evans, RB
The Cardinals’ top running back this year, Caleb Hunley, rushed for over 100 yards in three straight games to begin the season. He has gone on to miss the team’s last four games due to an undisclosed injury then opted out of the season prior to the MAC Championship game against Buffalo to get ready for the NFL Draft.
That void left the depth chart wide open for sophomore Tye Evans to be the lead back for much of the year and he’s delivered mixed results.
Evans has rushed for over 100 yards just once in the four games he’s been the featured ball carrier, but he had his best showing versus Buffalo, where he averaged 5.2 yards per carry.
No. 31 Anthony Ekpe, OLB
The 6-1, 230-pound linebacker transferred from Rice to Ball State as a graduate student in the offseason and has quickly become one of the best pass rushers in the MAC.
His five sacks in 2020 rank half a sack below the conference leader. That accolade, along with two forced fumbles, netted him a spot on the All-MAC First Team for defense.
Ekpe forms a nice 1-2 punch with inside linebacker Brandon Martin, who leads the team in tackles with 85. The two anchor a Cardinals defense which ranked fifth in scoring in the conference.
