Ball State, no matter how many homers disagree, is a good program; however, they have (had) a less talented roster. BUT, what they lack in player talent, they gain in coaching. This was a situation based game... (aren't they all?). The Ball State coaches had a great gameplan, put their offensive and defensive squads in positions of strength.
I think, by contrast, the USF coaching staff was caught in a reactionary mode and couldn't gain momentum on eithr side of the ball. There were situations where USF was clearly out-gunned on defense. For instance: Ball state, on a couple of occasions, broke the huddle with 4 and 5 reciever sets. USF, clearly in the wrong defense with totally the wrong package, remained in bad defensive alignments and were easily exploited with no counter.
The Offensive was good at times and bad in others... a complete wash. BJ had great plays, but then would throw passes into the turf (WTF)! Why did USF stay in a run play with Lemar (who had a good game) in the backfield when the Ball State D was CLEARLY stacked against the run.
Last question. What will the USF execs do when no one wants to buy tickets to pay Holtz's undeserved wages? USF hasn't even begun to play the tough part of the schedule and are already up against it. I see 2 more wins (SU and Temple) the rest does not look promising.