Falcons Bag Owl....This year's limit

And so it goes. The final score was 48-35, but Temple got two garbage TDs against our reserve D, so the score is a lot closer than the game actually was. On balance, there were lots of positives, things to do better, and a great day to be in the Doyt.

Normally, I review the offense first because, well, we're Bowling Green. But, the defense was dominating for one quarter yesterday, and that put the game away.

The game was tied 21-21 at halftime. Defensively, our first half was marked by a relatively sloppy effort--lots of missed tackles and big holes for the Owls RBs. They weren't helped by 3 turnovers from the offense, but even so, the defense looked worse against Temple than it did against MSU. The safeties, not the LBs, were making the tackles.

The second half was a different story. The D-line brought absolutely relentless pressure against Temple's QB and the RBs. Temple had no answer for Diryal Briggs at all--that guy is an absolute beast, and the Temple LT was playing the role of a pylon. The QB seemed to be running from Briggs every time he went back to pass. We also got pressure the other way, and in the second half we did better keeping him in the pocket.

The defense made two big plays in the third quarter--plays that put the game away. The first was on a 3rd down play when Temple went into the wishbone and ran a misdirection to their FB. It worked...he had the first down. However, as numerous Falcons tackled him, Kenny Lewis reached in, ripped the ball out, and raced 35 yards for a TD that gave BG a 28-21 lead. Coach called it the play of the game, and it was. Just 1:35 in the second half, I think it set the tone for the remainder of the game.

Then, with seven minutes, this sequence occurred. First, BG drove to the Temple 37 but stalled. A third down holding penalty was declined, on the bet that we would not be able to nail the punt. Iovinelli absolutely delivered, putting Temple on their own 9. After stuffing a run for one yard, Briggs got a sack and Temple was on their 3. Inexplicably, Temple went with a full drop pass, and their QB was absolutely swarmed by the Falcon rush. A scrum ensued, and most of us were waiting to see the referee make the safety signal.

But, instead, it was TD. Jacob Hardwick had stripped the ball, and Orlando Barrow recovered and it was another defensive TD.

By the numbers:

• 4.8 yards per play, even with garbage time.
• They only gained 140 yards rushing on 37 attempts. A fine effort in the end. Temple's lead RB only average 3.7 yards per rush.
  
• The defense played well in the second half, despite Temple having almost 21 minutes of possession in the first half, and a hot sun.
• 14 points scored.
• Six sacks, four "hurries." Many more hurries they apparently don't count.
• Two forced fumbles.
• Temple's first seven possessions of the second half were ALL three plays. We score 14, and they punt 5 times.
  

Now to the offense.

The first half had some strong points, but also some very sloppy parts. We turned the ball over three times, twice on interceptions and once on a really bad Willie Geter fumble. This led to a missed FG and two TDs. Essentially, we kept Temple in the game in the first half.

On the other end, we did move the ball. Corey had seven catches, but didn't take all the snaps, and Freddie Barnes showed that he will continue to be a playmaker for our team--even if he did have a couple drops later on. When Tyler was scrambling, Freddie worked his way into the picture and gave him somewhere to go with the ball. Barnes is also real good on the sidelines.

Tyler Sheehan had a good game, again. 64% completions, 30-47, 351 yards and four TDs. Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. He was further hampered by some second half drops. He rarely completely misses his receiver. Falcon fans have to remember, he is only making his third start. So, he did throw a bad pass into coverage once, and he did throw a 20 yard out on 3-1 when the first down was there (according to Coach) and get picked. Even so, he had some nice scrambles, and got the job done. The Nation sees great things for Tyler Sheehan.

QB note: When garbage time came, we put Anthony Glaud in, not Turner. Coach says Turner is still #2 (and he did get some snaps), but that Glaud deserved to get a shot. Turner ran the ball--he is really hard to tackle. We forget. I can't believe we can't find a way to get him onto the field, as we did with Freddie.

We didn't run the ball much, or well. We had 115 yards gained on 27 carries, but 36 of those were by Turner in the late 4th and 42 were on Sheehan's scrambles. Our main RBs only got 11 carries, for 27 yards. Coach said in the post-game that we are a passing team..."that's Bowling Green football," he said. At the start of the year, we thought RB depth was going to be a strength. With Ransom out for the year, it doesn't look so good.

I guess you can pass without running better than you can run without passing, like last year. Still, it is a shame, because our game should open up some huge, backbreaking run opportunities, and we don't seem to be able to take advantage.

Now, to special teams. Things continue to get better. Last year, Travis Shelton torched us with a big return, but our guys really delivered this time. We had, more or less, our starting D out there, and Temple averaged only 12.4 yards per return. Plus, we forced one fumble from Shelton, that we converted into an easy TD.

It was truly great, and credit to our coaches. What frustrated the Nation over the past two seasons was that the special teams sucked, and no one seemed to take measures to fix them. There were signs of effort--and production--this time.

Everything else solid was solid:

• One good kick return.
• Punting at 37.7 net, with 2.5/return.
• Two FGs.
• Nothing blocked.
• 6.7 per punt return for us
• Roger Williams (founder of Rhode Island) nearly broke one KO return. We averaged 22.2 yards per return.

That's how these teams worked on a good team.

So, 2-1, 1-0 in the MAC. We now take two weeks off from MAC play, with a I-AA/A game against Western Kentucky and then at Boston College, and then into the home stretch. More later in the week, but I think we can remain optimistic. Akron beat Kent, but we have them at the Doyt, so that might be OK. The East is wide open.