Falcons Lose to Liberty

The Falcon's opener provided the full gamut of emotions.  There were some good elements.  There were some "atrocious" elements (Coach's words).  In the end, it was not good enough in a game where it was clear that had we played well it was there to win.  You can see where it leaves us...without a proven ability to play 60 minutes of effective football.

The Good:

BG was down 24-0 and got back into the game. (Obviously, it'd be more impressive to win the game.  But they did get back into the same.  That's getting less comforting.  The NCAA did a post a couple years ago that showed that only 9 teams had ever come back down 30 to actually win.  Just gives you an idea.

The running game.  For this game, Coach Loeffler made good on his "hell or high water" pledge.  Taking the sacks out, BG ran for 7.1 yards per carry on offense.  Not sure how long it has been since we did that, especially against an FBS opponent and/or on the road.

BG's defense made adjustments.  After the initial 71-yard, 9-play drive, they held Liberty to 5.3 yards per play, which isn't great but is at least average. After the squib kickoff debacle, they held Liberty to a FG.  LU ran only 69 plays.

The kick block team made a huge play that resulted in a score and kept BG in the game heading into halftime.

The Bad:

Coach called the first 20 minutes of offense "atrocious."  And it was.  A lot of the focus will be on Bazelak and he certainly struggled.  He had the #205 passing rating according to PFF.  At one point, he was 4 of 11 with one of the completions a Hilaire circus catch that bailed out a poor throw.  He was inaccurate.  The Fannin INT was an outright terrible throw.  Having said that, the protection was equally bad.  He was pressured on almost half of his total dropbacks. It was a conveyor belt to the QB.  It has to affect even the throws where he has time.

And it's not just on the players.  Where was the game plan?  Coach said he hadn't seen too many times where a team played so differently than it practiced.  Huh.  BG finished 11-31 for 137 yards and 5 INT. BG had the lowest passing efficiency in the nation.

5 interceptions.  Last season we threw 11.  If we did anything well last year, it was take care of the ball.  I don't have any college stats, but in the NFL a team with 5 picks has a 6% chance of victory. In fact, this is where it could have been worse.  Other than the pick-6, they only got 6 points on the other 4.

Kickoff return.  OMG.  Four times we ended up inside our own 20--three of those inside the 15. Worse, they squibb kicked and the ball rolled all the way to the 1 where BG recovered it.  (BG threw a pick from the 2 and the defense bailed the offense out, holding Liberty to a FG.  For reference, the rules allow you to get the ball on the 25 every time (except the squib).  We needed every yard we could get.

Closing drives.  Down 10, first drive of the second half. BG drove to the Liberty 1, and had a score called back by a questionable penalty.  On the other hand, from the 16, they gained 0 further yards.  FG made it 7, and Liberty went down and scored a TD.

Down 7, a chance to tie the game.  On the 17, BG throws a pick.  Loeffler says the "slot man" was held.  Perhaps, but it also seems like the ball ended up where there were two defenders.

Lastly, after that pick, LU started on their 2. It's the very end of the 3rd quarter.  We get the quarter break. We still have a shot.  Get a stop and we will get field position.  Key point in the game, and LU executed it perfectly, driving 10 plays, almost 7 minutes, to our 47. We had one more real chance and threw a tipped INT.

How does this project?  Who knows?  The coach certainly sounded like the 2 QBs will continue.  Teams are going to pressure our QB--5 times LU got pressure without blitzing.  The running game needs to continue and the passing game needs to improve.  Have no doubt, we will face heavy boxes until we prove we can throw the ball.

So, we probably win next week and lose the week after.  The next chance to see what we have will come in Athens against the predicted East champions.