Sweet Victory #6; The Recap.

BG continued what has turned into a very hot season on Saturday with a never-in-doubt crushing of Kent State by the score of 48-0.

I said last week that I didn't expect the defense to allow a MAC team to score 10 and I certainly didn't expect them to pitch a shutout.  Flawed though the Flashes might be on offense, it was still a shutout by a team that is off to the best start in years for a Falcon team.

At 6-2, it is BG's best start since 2004.
At 4-0 in the MAC, it is BG's best start since 2003 (Both Brandon teams).
It is BG's 5th straight win...and 16th straight within the MAC East.
It is the first shutout since the OU game late in the Championship season.

It was simply never close.  Kent won the toss and deferred and did a nice job on defense, forcing BG into a long, 5 minute+ drive.  BG completed a 3rd and 11 and 4th and 1 on the drive, which was highlighted by a 35-yard pass to Ronnie Moore.  Even so, BG had stalled out and was kicking a FG on 4th and 4 from the 7.  Tate missed the FG, but Kent ran into him, giving BG a 4th and 1.  This time, BG went for it and Matt Johnson scored on the next play to make it 7-0.

That was just a huge penalty.  Not saying Kent wins, but with a missed FG and maybe some momentum, the game might have unfolded differently.

Instead, BG kicked off and forced Kent into a 3 and out.  BG came back down the field and scored 9 plays later, getting a PI call on 4th and 1 and eventually seeing Johnson hit Ronnie Moore for a 24-yard score that put BG up 14-0.

At this point, the game's rhythm was set.  The BG defense would continue to win its battles with the Kent offense while the BG defense would, in Coach's words, "trudge" up "chugged along" and down the field and score.

To wit, Kent went 3 and out and BG scored 10 plays later on an 85-yard drive that took less than 3 minutes.  Up 21-0, BG got an interception next which converted to a FG and then a one first down stop followed by another touchdown drive.  At 31-0, the game was over at halftime.

Some stuff went down in the second half.  Roger Lewis made two freak plays on receptions, including stealing a ball right out of the hands of a defensive back and then making a one-handed Odell Beckham style grab, both for scores.  In total, BG won the second half 17-0.

Kent is a young team with a FR QB making his second start, and that showed.  We'll look at the defense and offense tomorrow, but BG had 48 points and Kent had 10 first downs.

The most interesting thing was BG's ability to score.  Kent has a very good defense and BG did have trouble getting the running game going against them.  But, BG was still able to throw the ball all over the place and finished with 6.6 yards per play against the team leading the MAC in that stat.  The ultimate answer remains to be seen, but it will be interesting to see if any MAC defense can shut the Falcons down.

For now, enjoy.  BG is playing well and beating teams they should beat easily.  November is going to be a lot tougher--or it should be--and the Rockets loom out there as well, very likely twice.