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FACTS & STATS: Site: Scheumann Stadium (22,500) -- Muncie, Indiana. Television: None. Home Record: Buffalo 1-0, Ball State 0-0. Away Record: Buffalo 0-1, Ball State 0-1. Neutral Record: Buffalo 0-0, Ball State 1-0. Conference Record: Buffalo 0-0, Ball State 0-0. Series Record: Ball State leads, 6-1.

GAME NOTES: Mid-American Conference action will begin for two schools this Saturday night at Scheumann Stadium when the Ball State Cardinals host the Buffalo Bulls.

The Bulls are coming off a rough year in which the team claimed only two victories. The start of 2011 has the team at 1-1, as the Bulls were defeated by Pittsburgh (35-16), but bounced back with a victory over Stony Brook (35-7).

As for the Cardinals, they opened the year with an impressive, 27-20 decision over a Big Ten school in Indiana. However, the team could not carry that momentum into its next game, as the Cardinals were easily trumped by nationally-ranked South Florida in week two, 37-7.

These conference foes have only collided seven times, and in those matchups the Cardinals have dominated the Bulls, winning six showdowns. However, the lone win for the Bulls came in the last meeting and the most important one, as Buffalo defeated Ball State, 42-24 in the 2008 MAC Title game.

After struggling to put together a solid attack against Pittsburgh, the Bulls had a much easier time with Stony Brook.

The success for coach Jeff Quinn's offense has come mainly on the ground, as Branden Oliver has posted back-to-back 100-yard performances. Oliver was instrumental in the recent win, as the tailback rumbled for 126 yards and three touchdowns on only 15 carries.

The fact that Buffalo has been able to run the ball without a consistent passing attack is quite surprising. At this point Chazz Anderson has not controlled his play under center, throwing for just 440 yards with just two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Even against Stony Brook Anderson finished with only 164 yards and two touchdowns. Buffalo's signal caller needs to continue to improve and find some consistency before opposing defenses start keying on the run.

The Bulls might be 1-1 on the season, but there is a problem defensively for coach Quinn. Through two games Buffalo has been incapable of stopping the run. It is one thing to let Pittsburgh rush for over 200 yards, but it is a completely different situation when Stony Brook manages to post 184 yards in a losing effort.

What eventually helped Buffalo overcome Stony Brook's surprising ground success was its ability to force key turnovers. The Bulls forced two fumbles and also recorded an interception in the win.

Forcing miscues goes a long way in masking deficiencies, but Buffalo will need to shore up its run defense if the team wants to be competitive the rest of the way.

The Cardinals put forth a strong effort offensively in a win over Indiana, but found out the hard way what a strong defense looks like last week, getting pushed around by South Florida.

After racking up over 200 rushing yards against the Hoosiers, Frank Lembo's ground game managed a mere 77 yards and only 2.3 yards per attempt against the Bulls.

Keith Wenning threw for 173 yards and two scores in the opener against Indiana, but the signal caller was more reserved against South Florida taking only what the defense gave him. Unfortunately South Florida did not give Wenning much and it showed in his final numbers, as the quarterback finished with only 148 yards on 24-of-35 passing.

A lot of QBs are going to struggle against South Florida and the promising part of that setback last week, was that Wenning did not make many mistakes. Look for coach Lembo's quarterback to break out this Saturday against a weak Buffalo defense.

There is one glaring issue for coach Lembo's defense through two games and that has been its inability to stop the pass. Even in the win against Indiana, the Cardinals surrendered 272 yards, and that is nothing compared to the success B.J. Daniels and the Bulls had in the week two.

South Florida's signal caller carved up the Cardinals for 359 yards and one TD. Ball State was able to pull down an interception and also recorded one sack, but the pressure applied to Daniels was limited at best.

Ball State does have five sacks through the first two games, so it is not like the team is without pass rushers. Nathan Ollie is the best of the bunch and has half of those sacks credited to him. Look for Ollie to give Buffalo's Anderson plenty to think about come Saturday.

The last time these two schools squared off was in the MAC title game in 2008. Ball State was the favorite, but surprisingly lost to Buffalo. Even though the rosters are much different, the fans in Muncie still remember that loss and would love nothing more than to see their team earn some revenge. That should not be tough for coach Lembo's squad, which is better equipped offensively, especially at the quarterback position.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Ball State 27, Buffalo 17