Fashionably Late premieres in Muncie Students market, create outfits for annual show, Page 6 DAILYDAILYDAILYTHE BALL STATENEWSNEWSNEWS MUNCIE, INDIANA BSUDAILYNEWS.COM MONDAY, December 8, 2008 Vol. 88, Issue 71

FOOTBALL Cardinals headed to ShAttERED GMAC the end of perfection No. 22 Ball State to play against Conference USA runner-up Tulsa

Kyle Shaner n Co-Sports Editor

For the first time in program history, the Ball State University football team is going to back- to-back bowl games as the No. 22 Cardinals will play the University of Tulsa in the GMAC Bowl. Although the Motor City Bowl had first selec- tion of teams from the Mid-American Confer- ence, Motor City Bowl Executive Director Ken Hoffman said his bowl allowed the Cardinals to go to the GMAC Bowl to set up the best possible matchup for the No. 22 Cardinals. “We feel we have a better matchup for Ball State in the GMAC Bowl,” Hoffman said. “We get to play a 10-win team in Tulsa. We couldn’t get a team like that here. It’s in Ball State’s best interest to play the best team we could match them with.” BALL STATE VS. TULSA

n Ball State and Tulsa have never played each other in football n Both Ball State and Tulsa lost in their conference championship games n Tulsa athletics director Bubba Cunningham preceded Tom Collins as Ball State’s athletics director n Bubba Cunningham hired as the Ball State football coach

GMAC Bowl: n One of three bowls affiliated with the Mid- dn Photo/Jay SowerS American Conference BAll StAtE UNIVERSIty QUARtERBAck NAtE DAVIS walks off the field after one of his four fumbles was returned 99 yards for a touchdown. Davis' four fumbles n Final before the National contributed to Ball State's 42-24 loss to the University at Buffalo. Championship Game n Features teams from the Mid-American Conference and Conference USA Cardinals buffaloed in championship game n First played in 1999 n Affiliated with Conference USA since 1999 to end undefeated season with 42-24 loss n Affiliated with Mid-American Conference since 2000 Ryan Wood n Chief Reporter BCS Standings 2008 MAC bowls GMAC Bowl DETROIT — The final seconds ticked off Team RECORD pRV No. 22 Ball State vs. Tulsa like a sucker punch to the gut. 1. Oklahoma 12-1 2 Time: 8 p.m. Jan. 6, 2009 Coach Brady Hoke watched his oppos- 2. Florida 12-1 4 ing coach receive a Gatorade bath he had Venue: Mobile, Ala. dreamt about for six years. His players 3. Texas 11-1 3 Television: ESPN walked across Ford’s Field in silence. Ball 4. Alabama 12-1 1 State University’s fans watched an 8-5 5. USC 11-1 5 Motor City Bowl University at Buffalo team celebrate the 6. Utah* 12-0 6 Central Michigan vs. 2008 Mid-American Conference Champi- 7. Texas Tech 11-1 7 Florida Atlantic onship after a 42-24 win. Time: 8 p.m. Dec. 26 The Cardinals’ first loss in 13 games this 8. Penn State 11-1 8 season dashed its hopes of capturing the Venue: Detroit 9. Boise State* 12-0 9 Television: ESPN first MAC title since 1996. 10. Ohio State 10-2 10 “It’s just rough,” linebacker Bryant Haines said. “We didn’t play the type of football we 11. TCU* 10-2 11 Independence Bowl had throughout the rest of the year, which is 12. Cincinnati 10-2 13 Northern Illinois vs. disheartening. We didn’t respond when we 13. Oklahoma St. 9-3 14 Louisiana Tech needed to, and that’s what happens.” 14. Georgia Tech 9-3 15 Time: 8:15 p.m. Dec. 28 Friday’s game was supposed to be the Venue: Shreveport, La. crowning moment for Ball State’s 19 se- 15. Georgia 9-3 16 Television: ESPN niors who have built the program into a 16. BYU* 10-2 18 nationally ranked team after finishing 4-7 17. Oregon 9-3 19 Texas Bowl their freshman year. Hoke said he felt bad 18. Michigan St. 9-3 21 for the seniors because the loss was the Western Michigan vs. Rice wrong way for his seniors to go out in 19. Virginia Tech 8-4 25 Time: 8 p.m. Dec. 30 their last conference game. 20. Pittsburgh 9-3 23 Venue: Houston “Whenever you invest a lot, it hurts,” Hoke 21. Missouri 8-4 20 Television: NFL Network said. “That’s the way football is. That’s the 22. Ball State* 12-1 12 way life is. They’ve done a lot for Ball State, 23. Northwestern 9-3 22 International Bowl for this program. They’ll learn from this. Buffalo vs. Connecticut There’s adversity all over. It happens in life, 24. BC 9-4 17 dn Photo/aleX hUtchiSon and they’ll bounce back from this.” Time: Noon Jan. 3, 2009 BAll StAtE UNIVERSIty FAN BRAD mANShARt looks on in as the Univer- 25. Mississippi 8-4 NR Venue: sity at Buffalo Bulls defeat the Cardinals in the MAC Championship Game. Please see LOSS, page 2 *Non-BCS conference teams Television: ESPN2

BAll StAtE QUARtERBAck Brother not happy with Davis' decision NAtE DAVIS passes during the MAC had not thoroughly thought his 10-year-younger brother’s with 3,446 passing yards, 12th Quarterback's brother about the decision. comments about staying in with a 66.9 completion percent- Championship Jose Davis said Nate Davis’s Muncie. “I think he thought, ‘I age and 14th with 26 passing Game on Friday says it was a mistake statement was an emotional re- made an embarrassment of my- touchdowns. The junior also at Ford Field in sponse in the moments follow- self, and I’m going to come back was named the MAC’s Offen- Detroit. Davis for him to not go pro ing the Cardinals’ 42-24 loss in and win a championship.’” sive Player of the Year and to the announced after the 2008 Mid-American Confer- Nate Davis set most of Ball conference’s first team. the game that he Ryan Wood n Chief Reporter ence Championship Game. Jose State’s passing records in his Nate Davis lost four fumbles in plans to return Davis said he did not rule out his three-year career, including a Ball State’s loss to the University for his senior Two days after Nate Davis brother staying at Ball State next program-best 9,088 passing at Buffalo in the MAC Champi- declared he would return to year, but he said there is more yards and 74 passing touch- onship Game on Friday, and two year instead of Muncie for his senior season, than one option to consider. downs. He ranks eighth in the were returned for touchdowns. entering himself his older brother said Ball “It just goes to show what the country this year with a quar- into the NFL State University’s quarterback competitor in him is,” he said of terback rating of 164.04, 10th Please see DAVIS, page 2 dn Photo/Jay SowerS draft.

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