Clawson Presser--Hat in the Gap Edition

Coach Clawson had his weekly presser today, and it was the usual quality combination of football explanations, bizarre football jargon, and coachspeak.

Highlights follow:

He talked about the Ball State game a little bit, in the same terms that he did after the game.  Specifically, he was happy with the first half and disappointed with the second half.  On defense, we missed some tackles that resulted in big plays and on offense failed to convert on 3rd down and had some drops.  Ball State got the game back within two scores.

He then switched his attention to the CMU Chips.  This game will be a "great challenge."  He noted that CMU is a complete team--they are leading the MAC in scoring offense and scoring defense.  (Stop and ponder that for a moment).

Obviously, everyone knows they have Lefevour, their All-Everything QB.  They also have a good line, and great skill players like Brian Anderson and Antonio Brown.  They challenge you on defense because they can attack every gap on the field, and can run effectively to the perimeter.  Similarly, Lefevour can run inside or out;  Clawson compared him to Tim Tebow.

More Lefevour...Clawson noted that he can beat you even when you defend well and are in the right gap.  With his size, he finishes forward and gets yardage even as he is going down.

To defend their offense, we need to get "hats in all the gaps," a  football phrase I have never heard before, and which, frankly, is pretty funny.

He said they also have some "dummy" schemes (in Coach's words) in which the entire team goes one way and the back goes the other way with the ball.

On defense they play a strong base defense, which means they don't have to use pass and run blitz to get superior numbers and make a stop.  Last year, CMU was not a complete team.  They scored in bunches, but did not defend well.  This year, they are doing both very effectively, which, as they say on Entourage, "is not excellent for you."

Turning to the Falcons, Bojicic is unable to play and Minturn's prognosis is only slightly better.  Steffy is moving to Center, where he is considered the backup and has been taking reps.  In an odd moment, it was revealed that we may be the first division I football program with 2 Left handed centers.

Scott Lewis, who is going to play LG (where Steffy plays), is a walk on who has been awarded a scholarship.  Coach projects him to be a future leader on the offensive line.

Even so, at Kent, the same five guys took EVERY snap.  Now, there are three new guys or guys at new positions.  Coach points out that is part of football.  You have injuries.  At the start of the season, BG felt like it could go 8 deep on the O-Line, and so far, we're at 7.

PJ Mahone is still on track to return for the Buffalo game.  If he continues to do what he needs to, he is slated to return that night.

More on CMU:  They are the class of the conference, and haven't just been winning, but they have been routing people.  The win over MSU is the signature victory for the MAC this year.

They have won 17 straight over the MAC East.  Yeah, no kidding.

I haven't summarized anything that said anything remotely like "the next game is the most important," etc.

Final observation.  There's more humor in the presser on a day when the W flag is flying at the Doyt.