I'm never sure that returning a bunch of starters from a 2-10 or 3-9 team will necessarily translate into improvement. These are the same guys who were on the field when their team was getting outscored by 10-15 pts a game. They'll be more experienced but how much improvement the team will show depends on a lot of other factors, such as coaching, off-season commitment (which has really helped Ohio over the years), recruiting, etc.
I'm not saying that it will turn Ball State into a conference contender, just that they will be improved. The best evidence that it will improve even bad teams comes from a bizarre coaching decision in 1981 by Jim Dickey, at Kansas State. After seasons of 4-7, 3-8, and 3-8, he decided to try something radical. He reshirted most of his starters in 1981, with the result that he went 2-9. However, the next year he had something like 35 returning starters, some returning from the 3-8 1980 team, some from the 2-9 1981 team. The result was a 6-5-1 team that went to the Independence Bowl.
It didn't change the nature of the athletes he had, though, so in 1983, when his count of returning starters went back to a typical level, his results did as well, and he was back to 3-8, then 3-7-1, and started the next year 0-2. The fact that that lone winning season was the year with all the returning starters is pretty clear evidence that it does help even bad teams.
Last Edited: 1/4/2019 1:42:20 PM by L.C.