FalconBlog--Triumphs and Trials in the BGSU Falcon Nation

Falcons Destroy Temple 70-7

I suppose it was one of those things that felt good, but wasn't actually as good as it felt. It was a stunning day with a great crowd at the Doyt, and we had a vastly superior team and we destroyed them. Not only is Temple bad, but they had the misfortune the last two seasons of playing us after losses.

Anyway, they are hopeless, so its hard to draw much out of it. I thought we were intense, and more disciplined than in other games, so maybe those things have been corrected. Omar seemed sharp, but then again, his receivers were generally wide open. A few thoughts:

• Temple still had a rusher get 100 yards on us.
• We worked hard to get Steve Sanders back into the flow, with passes, a reverse (TD), and even a pass (sack).
• Corey Partridge was a factor again, apparently being healthy for the first time in a while. He is a third WR threat we really need. He had a 79 punt return for a TD, too (per The Blade, we had 10 men on the field when it happened.)
  
• Antonio Smith had his second TD on an INT return this year.
• PJ Pope isn't healthy. He ran poorly, although he did score twice. In big games, his lack of productivity could be a serious problem. Let's hope he can get healthy, although I am starting to sense that this injury will not get better until after the season.
• Omar was 26 out of 30--his updated season stats are above. He seemed to have his game back, but as mentioned above, there wasn't much on the other side.
• Temple is a dirty team. I hope no one was hurt on our side--it seemed OK.
• The Falcons played with no names on the jersies as a motivational technique after the Boise game. Coach says the seniors will decide whether they go back next week--my bet is no.
• The Blade this AM says that an excessive celebration penalty was due to "saluting" after a TD. They even have a picture. (Yeah, we gotta put a stop to that.)
  

So, on we go. It was fun--almost a guilty pleasure. The next game is huge. Akron, Miami and Buffalo already have one loss in the MAC East, and Miami has to play at NIU Wednesday. OU and BG are the only teams with no losses--the winner controls their own destiny. On the other hand, if we lose, we will have to hope for OU to lose twice coming home. While that's possible, it is also possible that our entire season could end on Saturday. Let's hope for a big, rocking crowd, and let's hope we bring our A game. We'll look at OU more in depth later in the week, but I think they are a work in progress and we can take them. Their win over Pitt--while laudable--was probably more than it seemed, as Pitt has continued to be awful all year.