LOVELAND MAGAZINE

News and Events from the Loveland, Ohio Area

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Since 2004

Tag: Ball State Cardinals

  • A Primer: Loveland’s Quarterback Drew Plitt in Arizona Bowl today at 2 PM on CBS (Ch 12 – WKRC)

    A Primer: Loveland’s Quarterback Drew Plitt in Arizona Bowl today at 2 PM on CBS (Ch 12 – WKRC)

    News from BallState Sports.com

    Quarterback Drew Plitt leads the Ball State Cardinals on CBS New Years Eve December 31 | 12pm MST/2pm EST

    Drew Plitt played football at Loveland High School and led the 2013 Tigers to a Division II state title.

    Offerpad Arizona Bowl
    Ball State (6-1, 5-1 MAC) vs. No. 19 San Jose State (7-0, 6-0 MWC)
    Thursday, Dec. 31 (12:12 p.m. MT/2:12 ET kickoff)
    Arizona Stadium (Tucson, Ariz.)
    Watch: CBS | Listen:104.1 WLBC/1430 WXNT (Indy)
    Social: @BallStateFB, @BallStateSports, #ChirpChirp, #WeFly, #DOB, #MACtion
    Bowl Notes:Ball State (PDF) | San Jose State (PDF)
    Bowl Week Media:Neu | Martin



    The Ball State football team’s historical checklist for 2020 is nearly complete.

    Win the MAC West Division for the first time since 2008? Check.

    Win the overall MAC championship for the first time since 1996? Check.

    It had been a while, but both of those things has been accomplished before. This last one, the final box, has not. A bowl victory.

    For a team that has already achieved so much in this unique year, a win over No. 19 San Jose State in Thursday’s Offerpad Arizona Bowl would further cement its legacy in Ball State annals.

    “It’s monumental for us,” senior cornerback Antonio Phillips said. “But we’ve been preparing for every game like it’s a championship game all year.”

    All this in a season that looked like it might not happen. The MAC was the first FBS conference to postpone its football season because of concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and the last to announce its return.

    When the Cardinals finally took the field on Nov. 4, they were dealt an early blow, falling in the final seconds at rival Miami (Ohio). But the loss only galvanized the veteran team more. The Cardinals were undeterred and kept their sights fixed on the goal of a MAC championship.

    Doing it on the ground at times and through the air at times all while getting tougher and tougher on defense each week, Ball State rattled off one win after another — six in all — culminating with their 38-28 victory over undefeated No. 23 Buffalo in the MAC Championship Game. Now, on the final day of 2020, BSU will look to check that final box.

    “We were on a mission to get ourselves to Detroit, and that was such a great feeling when that clock hit zero,” head coach Mike Neu said. “To have that celebration with our team in the locker room was special. We’ve worked hard for this … Our next goal that lies ahead is to win the first bowl game in the history of our program.”

    Ball State isn’t hiding from that fact or from being an underdog again this week against the ranked Spartans. It’s a role the team has embraced all season long since it was picked to finish fourth of six teams in the MAC West Division.

    Fueled by that, by how close they were last year and by a brotherhood of togetherness, the 2020 Cardinals are champions and are still looking for more. This bowl trip to Arizona is both a reward and an opportunity, and they are not taking it for granted.

    “Last year we were at home watching people play bowl games, we were at home watching conference championships,” running back Tye Evans said. “This was the year of, ‘Hey, we’re not doing that anymore. We don’t want to go home early and sit and watch people play football. We want to continue to play football as long as we can.’”

    As long as they can is New Year’s Eve, one way or another. Might as well write a little more history.

    More Background: Loveland’s Drew Plitt: MAC Champion

    Prep for the 2 p.m. ET / Noon MST kickoff by checking out some of the best stories of the year about the Ball State Cardinals.

    LATEST STORIES ABOUT BALL STATE FOOTBALL:

    Nick Lawler explores the rise of Drew Plitt and his ability to take care of business down the stretch. (Ball State Sports Link)

    As Chris Vannini writes in The Athletic, the lesson learned in Ball State’s success is patience. (For subscribers)

    This Arizona Bowl matchup is a historic one, says Bud Geracie of the Mercury News.

    ‘He finds a way.’ Jordan Guskey of the Muncie Star-Press tells us about the man with the plan for Ball State.

    USA Today says the Arizona Bowl with Ball State will be the 5th-best bowl to watch. 

    Here’s a one-stop shop for the Arizona Bowl from College Football News.

    Donnie Harmon of Ball State Sports Link breaks down how Plitt’s performance has Cardinals headed to Arizona.

    Ian Hansen of the Ball State Daily News talks about the resilience of the Cardinals.

    Jordan Guskey has a primer on how the Cardinals got to Arizona.

  • Drew Plitt and Cardinals kick-off 2020 Season on CBS Sports Network!

    Drew Plitt and Cardinals kick-off 2020 Season on CBS Sports Network!

    Cassie Mattia is the Associate Editor of Loveland Magazine and lives in Historic Downtown Loveland

    by Cassie Mattia

    Loveland, Ohio – A former Loveland Tiger stand-out student-athlete will get the opportunity to showcase his football skills on the CBS Sports Network on Wednesday, November 4th!

    Drew Plitt, Loveland High School graduate, and now Ball State University’s quarterback will be facing MAC Champion Miami for their season-opener, as the 2020 season was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, at 7 PM.

    On top of being showcased on National television, Plitt was nominated for two very prestigious college football awards. Plitt was placed on the watch list for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award just two weeks after being placed on the watch list for the Manning Award, which recognizes the top-performing quarterback in America.

    In a near blizzard, Drew Plitt quarterbacked the Loveland Tigers to a 41 – 23 win over Glenville at Canton’s Fawcett Stadium to win the Div II State Championship in 2013. The temperature was 28 degrees, the wind was 5-10 mph, and steady snow kept plows busy clearing the Canton Fawcett Stadium yard lines throughout the game. Dec. 6, 2013.

    Before Plitt headed to Ball State himself to play football he was a top-notch student-athlete at Loveland High School. Plitt was a member of the National Honor Society all while earning multiple awards in both basketball and football. As a Junior Plitt was Team Captain, MVP, and First-Team All-Conference in basketball. In football, Plitt received All-Conference twice as well as Honorable Mention All-District as a Senior. Plitt helped lead the Loveland Tigers to a 2013 state title and still has the school record for career passing touchdowns (42).

    It was announced recently the Plitt’s college football team, Ball State University will have their first three games nationally televised! On Wednesday, November 4th you can catch the Cardinals playing their rival Miami on the CBS Sports Network at 7 PM, and then one week later on November 11th you can watch BSU as they host Eastern Michigan at 7 PM. The third game on BSU’s six regular-season game schedule will be played on November 18th against Northern Illinois at 7 PM. This particular game will be broadcasted on ESPN2, ESPNU, or CBS Sports Network.

    According to BSU’s website, “The TV designation for the NIU game and designations and kick times for all three of the Cardinals’ Saturday contests to close the regular season will be announced 12 days before each game. The three Saturday games will appear on CBS Sports Network or an ESPN platform. The MAC Football Championship Game will air Friday, Dec. 18 on ESPN or ESPN2. As always, all BSU football games can be heard on the Ball State Radio Network on 104.1 WLBC.”

    For the most up-to-date news on the Ball State football team, please follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateFB, and @BSUCoachNeu.

    We wish Drew Plitt the best of luck for the up and coming BSU Football Season! We can’t wait to see all the awards and accomplishments he racks up! Check out BSU’s Football schedule below and what platform each game will be televised on.

    2020 Ball State Football Schedule

    Wed., Nov. 4 (7 p.m.) at Miami (Oxford, Ohio) – CBS Sports Network (CBSSN)

    Wed., Nov. 11 (7 p.m.) vs. Eastern Michigan (Scheumann Stadium) – CBSSN

    Wed., Nov. 18 (7 p.m.) vs. Northern Illinois (Scheumann Stadium) – ESPN2, ESPNU or CBSSN

    Sat., Nov. 28 (TBA) at Toledo (Toledo, Ohio) – CBSSN or ESPN platform

    Sat., Dec. 5 (TBA) at Central Michigan (Mt. Pleasant, Mich.) – CBSSN or ESPN platform

    Sat., Dec. 12 (TBA) vs. Western Michigan (Scheumann Stadium) – CBSSN or ESPN platform

    Fri., Dec. 18 (TBA) – MAC Championship (Detroit, Mich.) – ESPN or ESPN2

    Want to catch up on everything Drew Plitt?! Click below to read some of my former articles on the outstanding football athlete!

    Plitt Named to Johnny Unitas Golden Arm … – Loveland Magazine

    Drew Plitt to quarterback Ball State | Loveland Magazine

    Former LHS Student-Athlete Listed on Pre-season Manning list – Loveland Magazine

    Stay tuned for more sports updates with the Sports 411!

  • Former LHS Student-Athlete Listed on Pre-Season Manning Award Watch List!

    Former LHS Student-Athlete Listed on Pre-Season Manning Award Watch List!

    by Cassie Mattia

    Loveland, Ohio – As Fall sports finally take flight another Loveland Tiger is being recognized for their outstanding athletic abilities! On July 30th, The Allstate Sugar Bowl announced that Loveland High School 2016 graduate and stand-out student-athlete, Drew Plitt, would be placed on the preseason Manning Award Watch List, which is the ONLY quarterback award that takes the recipient’s bowl performances into consideration before the winner is selected.

    The Manning Award was created to honor the college football accomplishments of Archie, Peyton, and Eli Manning. The prestigious watch list includes 30 of the top quarterbacks in the United States going into the 2020 season. The winner will be chosen by national media and each of the Mannings after the bowls have concluded and will be announced after the College Football Playoff National Championship. Plitt is one of two MAC quarterbacks on the Manning Watch List this year.

    In a near blizzard, Drew Plitt quarterbacked the Loveland Tigers to a 41 – 23 win over Glenville at Canton’s Fawcett Stadium to win the Div II State Championship in 2013. The temperature was 28 degrees, the wind was 5-10 mph, and a steady snow kept plows busy clearing the Canton Fawcett Stadium yard lines throughout the game. Dec. 6, 2013.

    Here is the list of the preseason 2020 Manning Watch List recipients:

    2020 MANNING AWARD PRESEASON WATCH LIST (2019 STATS)

     Name, Cl., School
    		  Cmp-Att  Pct.  Yards  TDs  INT  QBR  Rushing
     Jack Abraham, Jr., Southern Miss 275-405 .679 3,496 19 15 64.1  6 TDs
     Holton Ahlers, Jr., East Carolina 264-442 .597 3,387 21 10 57.8  359 yds, 6 TDs
     Ian Book, Sr., Notre Dame 240-399 .602 3,034 34 6 76.3  546 yds, 4 TDs
     Charlie Brewer, Sr., Baylor 251-389 .645 3,161 21 7 69.2  344 yds, 11 TDs
     Shane Buechele, Sr., SMU 307-490 .627 3,929 34 10 72.5  105 yds, 2 TDs
     Sean Clifford, Jr., Penn State 189-319 .592 2,654 23 7 76.8  402 yds, 5 TDs
     Jack Coan, Sr., Wisconsin 236-339 .696 2,727 18 5 82.0  4 TDs
     Dustin Crum, Sr., Kent State 216-312 .692 2,622 20 2 73.7  707 yds, 6 TDs
     Micale Cunningham, Jr., Louisville 112-179 .626 2,065 22 5 83.9  482 yds, 6 TDs
     Jayden Daniels, So., Arizona State 205-338 .607 2,943 17 2 64.4  355 yds, 3 TDs
     Sam Ehlinger, Sr., Texas 296-454 .652 3,663 32 10 77.6  663 yds, 7 TDs
     Justin Fields, Jr., Ohio State 238-354 .672 3,273 41 3 92.1  484 yds, 10 TDs
     Dillon Gabriel, So., UCF 236-398 .593 3,653 29 7 68.0  4 TDs
     Sam Howell, So., North Carolina 259-422 .614 3,641 38 7 72.3  NA
     Trey Lance, So., North Dakota State 192-287 .669 2,786 28 0 —  1,100 yds, 14 TDs
     Trevor Lawrence, Jr., Clemson 268-407 .658 3,665 36 8 87.3  563 yds, 9 TDs
     Levi Lewis, Sr., Louisiana 243-378 .643 3,050 26 4 72.5  195 yds, 3 TDs
     Kellen Mond, Sr., Texas A&M 258-419 .616 2,897 20 9 73.5  500 yds, 8 TDs
     Tanner Morgan, Jr., Minnesota 210-318 .660 3,253 30 7 84.2  NA
     Bo Nix, So., Auburn 217-377 .576 2,542 16 6 63.8  313 yds, 7 TDs
     Drew Plitt, Sr., Ball State 238-370 .643 2,918 24 7 55.3  171 yds, 5 TDs
     Brock Purdy, Jr., Iowa State 312-475 .657 3,982 27 9 71.2  249 yds, 8 TDs
     Chris Reynolds, Jr., Charlotte 181-291 .622 2,564 22 11 67.3  767 yds, 6 TDs
     Chris Robison, Jr., FAU 291-471 .618 3,701 28 6 58.8  2 TDs
     Kedon Slovis, So., USC 282-392 .719 3,502 30 9 81.1  NA
     Zac Thomas, Sr., Appalachian State 225-359 .627 2,718 28 6 69.0  440 yds, 7 TDs
     Skylar Thompson, Sr. Kansas State 177-297 .596 2,315 12 5 70.2  405 yds, 11 TDs
     Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Jr., UCLA 216-362 .597 2,701 21 12 56.6  198 yds, 4 TDs
     Kyle Trask, Sr., Florida 237-354 .669 2,941 25 7 81.3  4 TDs
     Brady White, Sr., Memphis 269-420 .640 4,014 33 11 74.3  4 TDs

     

    Archie Manning couldn’t express enough how excited he is to see what he thinks is a fantastic group of quarterbacks on the Watch List this year.

    “Our Watch List is once again an exceptional group of candidates, but every year is a new year and we’ll be watching closely to add the best newcomers to the list after we get things rolling,” Manning said, “I’d also like to thank the Allstate Sugar Bowl for sponsoring this award; it means a lot to the entire Manning family that they include our name in recognizing the best quarterbacks in the country.”

    Bryce, Julie, Marie, Steve, and Drew at Marie’s volleyball Senior night in 2019

    Plitt, son of locals Steve and Julie, is very familiar with the art of playing collegiate sports as his father played baseball at Xavier, his mother played volleyball at Xavier, his brother Bryce also played baseball at Xavier, and his sister Marie plays volleyball at Ball State.

    Before Plitt headed to Ball State himself to play football he was a top-notch student-athlete at Loveland High School. Plitt was a member of the National Honor Society all while earning multiple awards in both basketball and football. As a Junior Plitt was Team Captain, MVP, and First-Team All-Conference in basketball. In football, Plitt received All-Conference twice as well as Honorable Mention All-District as a Senior. Plitt helped lead the Loveland Tigers to a 2013 state title and still has the school record for career passing touchdowns (42).

    In 2016, Plitt joined the Ball State Football Team as a fourth-string quarterback and made the decision to redshirt his freshman season. As Plitt worked his way up the roster in 2017 he received his first opportunity as a quarterback on October 26th against Toledo. Plitt ended up scoring a touchdown during the 3rd quarter giving him the confidence he needed to perform in his first collegiate start against Eastern Michigan. Plitt exceeded everyone’s expectations throwing a season-high of 169 yards and two touchdowns!

    In Plitt’s 2018 season with Ball State, he became the 2nd string quarterback. During the season Plitt had the longest completion for the year coming in at 63 yards against Central Connecticut. Plitt had multiple successful games during the 2018 season earning him MAC West Offensive Player of the Week, the 2018 Ball State Ray Louthen Award (most improved player), and the MAC All-Academic Award.

    Drew Plitt on the basketball court for the Loveland Tigers in 2015

    During Plitt’s Junior year was when he really took on the leadership role at Ball State starting in all 12 games as the quarterback. Not only did Plitt help lead Ball State to be at the top of the MAC in scoring (34.8 points per game) and total offense (463 yards per game) he also led the MAC personally in touchdown passes (24), placed second in passing yards per game (243.2), and ranked fourth in total offense (257.4 yards per game). All of Plitt’s impressive 2019 stats earned him several accolades; the MAC’s West Offensive Player of the Week twice, the 2019 Ball State Co-Offensive Player of the Year, the MAC’s Scholar-Athlete of the Week, and the 2019 MAC All-Academic Award. After the completion of the 2019 Ball State Football Season Plitt gained the eighth-place spot on the Cardinals All-Time Passing Chart with 4,356 yards, he tied for “Most Touchdown Passes in One Game” with six touchdown passes against Fordham, and he also holds the fifth-place spot for “Most Passing Yards in a Single Season” with 2,918.

    Drew Plitt dives into the end zone for a two-point conversion to tie the game at 28 with 17.5 seconds remaining in the 4th quarter against Zanesville in the 2013 State Div II semifinal. Loveland Magazine writer Ricky Mulvey described it this way, “The Tigers had to make up for lost time, as the missed extra point forced the Tigers to go for two late in the game. That’s when the “Holy Plitt” moment was born. The play was drawn up for Drew Plitt to run to the outside edge and into the end zone. The play appeared to be broken along with the Loveland Tigers when Plitt leaped into the air and across the goal line for the perfect two-point conversion. The game was knotted up at 28-28 and heading for overtime. Loveland eventually won 38-35 in double overtime.” (Photo by David Burig)

     

    Ball State’s 2020-2021 Football Season is bound to be a phenomenal one as the team will have 16 starters returning. Last year the Cardinals battled for the MAC West Division Title winning some very important games against Northern Illinois and MAC Champions Miami. The Ball State coaching staff, team, and spectators have high hopes for Plitt’s Senior season and can only hope that Plitt will help lead them to a 2020 MAC Title!

    Here at Loveland Magazine, we want to congratulate Drew Plitt on all his Ball State successes! We can’t wait to see how Plitt’s Senior season with the Cardinals turns out and we hope that he remains on the Manning Watch List through the entire season! If you would like to get information on how you can watch Plitt play football this year click here.

    Be sure to follow the Ball State Cardinals Football Team for the latest news @BallStateSports, @BallStateFB, and @BSUCoachNeu. You can also visit the Ball State Football Team’s webpage at https://ballstatesports.com/sports/football.

    Stay tuned for the latest Sports 411 with me, Cassie Mattia!