Football Update

 Probably time for a football update.

The biggest news is that Sacramento State has joined the Mid-American Conference.  There's been a lot of debate on it...it is one of those situations where more than one thing can be true.

In my opinion:

• It is objectively ridiculous.
• In a world where eligibility has no meaning, guys are playing for 7 years, etc...the word ridiculous has almost been stripped of its meaning. The move makes "sense."

In Logan Roy's words, the MAC "screwed them out."  What started at $10M ended up at an $18M dowry, plus paid charter flights to Sacramento, and we don't pay them anything from our conference share.

Boy, did Sac State want this.  Just amazing.  It's football only.  And only for five years.  Rather than an exit fee, there's an expiration date.  My guess is that Sac State hopes to go elsewhere in year 6, but if they want to stay, the MAC will get another chance to squeeze the IV tube.

Something else is revealed, I think. There's a general belief that the MAC is at risk...as is every part of the existing status quo.  Even $18M is 4% of the MAC's overall athletic spending.  Some have said it stabilized the conference...and my guess is that means keeping Akron and Kent on the football field.

Tom Hanks went to Sacramento State.

Their coach is Alonzo Carter, who was once a backup dancer for MC Hammer.  When BG plays them, we will have an MC Hammer dancer and a Broadway Performer on the sidelines.

In other news, DB Coach Derrick Jackson left the BG staff to go to Louisville.  He was a Loeffler holdover.  It's too bad.  I think our D-backs have generally punched above their weight.  No word on the new coach.  It will be interesting to see whether Coach George has a network large enough to keep the staff stocked.  That's an open question right now.

Coach was interviewed by David Briggs.  The gist of the article was that even though BG brought back only 2 starters, Coach George feels like we got better.

What was that about the definition of ridiculous?

I've looked at the players who came in...there was one position group where everybody left, and not a lot was done to bring in transfers, and that's the O-line.

For context, 760 snaps was a full season for BG last year.  Here are the career snap counts for the returning Falcon linemen.  Sanchez came from Northern Arizona, where most of his snaps also occurred.  Thomas and Bolyn saw their only real action last year. 

When Loeffler came in, we had inexperienced and young lines.  These guys are at least a little older.

What I hear is Bolyn is going to play C.

In terms of incoming,  I believe Travis Robertson will start. He's a true FR and a 3-star who committed to BG, switched to UCLA before switching back.  He's ranked as one of our top recruits ever at BG. He's an early enrollee, and I believe he will start.

As for the other position, who knows?  One of the other guys above?  There was one transfer,  Gabe Funk from App State, where he did not play. He was a two-star out of HS, with offers from most MAC teams.

It may be archaic, but BG has re-tooled at QB and TE...maybe at WR, and Austyn Dendy is back.  None of that will matter if we can't block.

I know the staff knows that, so they were either comfortable working with what they had or couldn't do any better.  If Novosad spends the entire season running for his life and our backs are being hit behind the line of scrimmage, we'll know the answer.