More on Troy

A few additional thoughts and observations on the Troy contest....

First, BG scored 17 points in the first 20 minutes of game, and then the offense produced only 3 points over the final 40 points.  (The other points came on Eugene Cooper's punt return).  It did seem to me like we kind of hits the skids after that fast start and had a really dead spot in the 2nd and 3rd quarter.

For example:

• BG had 10 first downs in the first 10 minutes and 10 for the remaining 40 minutes.
• BG had 166 yards in the first 10 minutes, and 163 for the remaining 40 minutes.
• BG had 95 rushing yards in the first 10 minutes and 22 in the last 40. (Sack adjusted).
• In the first four possessions after reaching 17, BG ran 13 offensive plays for 18 yards.

In the post-game presser, Coach said that we became a little one-dimension in this period and that yielded some pressure for Troy that made it tough for us.  He went to some play action and BG ran 23 plays for 177 yards coming home, and a FG and a missed FG.

Of course, this is the saddest part of the game.  Despite all these issues, we were moving the ball, and when the defense snuffed Jernigan on a 3-4 wildcat play, you just had to believe that we were going to go down and at least get a FG to win the game.  You absolutely had to believe that we couldn't lose in regulation.

The interception was bad luck and a nice play.  Really, it was one of those things.  The throw was a little low and the receiver batted it up trying to catch it, but then the Troy player made a really nice play catching and holding the ball.  If you want to bring it down to one play, that has to be it.

From there, the game was not over however.  But Troy was able to convert a 3-17 and 3-10 on the drive and get themselves into FG position, and win the game.  Certainly, you'd have to look back on those 3rd down plays and wish you could have gotten off the field.  And, the personal foul to Fells sealed the deal.

Even with the new QB, BG threw the ball on 63% of its plays.  When asked about this, Coach Clawson said that "we run our offense," which means that if the defense offers up open passing plays, we are going to take it.  He mentioned, specifically, "soft corners."

BG held Troy to 5.7 yards per play, which is .8 less than they averaged last year.  Nonetheless, there was some serious issues with our young defense.  Certainly, they got some stops, and made some nice plays, including a couple INTs, but there were some really bad examples of proper tackling.  BG did not wrap up when they had the chance, allowing Jernigan to turn one certain loss into a cross-field scramble for yards and in another incidence into a touchdown.  There were some 3rd down plays in which the Troy player was short and broke bounce tackles to move the chains.

It was refreshing to hear Coach Clawson acknowledge this issue.  He always says we have to get better each week, and with this sole exception, I think this defense is ahead of where I thought they might be.

BG gained 4.8 yards per play, which was also less than the 5.5 yards per play from last year.  While understandable, it also gives BG something to build on.  The Falcons completed 22-43, or just over 50% of its passes, and we have to be looking to get a percentage higher than that eventually.

The rushing game was mostly Willie Geter.  He had 20 caries for 93 yards, including a 35 yard touchdown run for our first score.  He averaged 4.7 yards per carry, and the team averaged over 5 yards a carry on a sack adjusted basis.

I think the Falcons might well have discovered a nice playmaker in Ty Pronty.  I saw a lot more out of him last night than I have in the past.  He had 4 catches for 58, a 15 yard rush and 5 kickoff returns for 151 yards, including a 48 yard return that helped to set up our second half FG.  I think he can continue to be dangerous for us as he gets the ball.

We had not worried about our receivers very much because there seemed to be talent, and that was what we saw Saturday night.  Of the 22 completions, Kamer Jordan had 9 catches for 111.  Pronty had 4, Geter had 3, Hopgood and Wiley 2 and Bayer and Hodges 1.  Every one of those players except Wiley and Hodges had a catch for more than 10 yards, though the longest in the game was 21 yards.

We had a couple of other issues that can be improved.  First, the line seemed to commit a lot of penalties.  And, we are absolutely no answer for their RE Mario Addison, who took up residence in the backfield.

BG's issues defending the run continued to exist.  On a sack adjusted basis, Troy rushed for 5.5 yards per carry and they had over 200 for the game.  This is partly the tackling issues that were already mentioned, and has been an issue on BG's defense for about 10 years.

Troy also had some good success passing, completing 27-40 passes to 11 different receivers.  2 INTs and 3 sacks helped to keep the Trojans in check, but on a play to play basis, they were clearly able to move the ball.

Another thing that obviously frustrated Coach Clawson in his post-game presser was the problems in the red zone.  BG made 4 red zone trips and had only 1 TD to go with 2 FG and one whiff.  Short yardage caused some problems.  We had 3rd-goal at the 2 in the first half (failed) and 3rd and 1 from the Troy 14 (before the missed FG) that we also did not make.

Finally, special teams.  In addition to Pronty as mentioned above, Eugene Cooper had our first punt return TD in 5 years.  On the less positive side, the missed FG in the 4th quarter was very tough.  With those points, the final minutes probably unfold completely differently.  Net punting was only 25 yards, and we had some nice kickoff coverage, though Jernigan did rip a 40 yard return off.

So, that's the whole story.  There were bright spots, and I think we were ahead of where I feared we would be.  There's lot of rooms for improvement, but I do like where we might be able to be when MAC play starts.