LETTERMAN, WHITLOCK GO TO BAT FOR BALL STATE

Despite a perfect record, Ball State has no chance of playing in a BCS bowl. There was simply nothing Ball State could have done this season to rise high enough in either the computer rankings or the polls to get into BCS territory.So the Cardinals will, most likely, settle for the Motor City Bowl. And a couple of high-profile Ball State alumni aren’t happy about that.On last night’s show, David Letterman harshly (and hilariously) ripped the BCS for its failure to include his alma mater. And in a more substantive argument, Jason Whitlock writes about Ball State in the context of a college football world where ESPN rules all.Yes, it’s true that ESPN2 has shown a bunch of Ball State games this year, but the Worldwide Leader has treated Ball State like that uncle you invite to Thanksgiving dinner out of a sense of obligation, not because you want him there. Whitlock makes a lot of good points, the most salient of which is that ESPN has almost completely ignored Ball State quarterback Nate Davis, a superbly talented passer. It’s a real shame that college football fans don’t know more about Davis. Pro football fans will know all about him soon.It doesn’t bother me too much that Ball State won’t be playing in a BCS game this season, but I do wish Ball State got more national attention. It’s nice to see Letterman and Whitlock giving the Cardinals that attention, even if ESPN doesn’t.