Oof. It was almost the perfect homecoming. Great weather. Huge crowd. HUGE. And a team putting a much improved performance over its first three games.
The only thing that would have made it perfect, said Coach George afterward, would be to have won.
Instead, the Falcons fall to 0-4.
It was a day marked by a putrid offensive performance. Look, a lot of people are focusing on the playcalling or the run-oriented offense that BG is using this year. I don't object to that...teams have won the MAC playing that way. I'm not sure it's the best fit for our personnel. We are inexperienced (not even young) on the line and offer virtually nothing at WR that can take the top off and relieve pressure. These are weaknesses that were apparent last year when the season ended and very much turned out to be.
You can't blame the defense. More on that later.
The turning point came on the first play of the 4th quarter. BG up 6-0 and 4th and 1 on their own 45. They had the whole break to think about it. Coach said he was contemplating punting. He said the team stuck together, the defense was all over him saying they had the offense's back, and he decided to go for it. (I'd feel better if the offense was all over him saying we could make it, but....) . We went for it.
Dendy got the ball and was blown up behind the LOS. Coach said one of the linemen went the wrong way and left the gap open and the play had no chance.
FWIW, I was in favor of going for it. You have to be able to make 1 yard.
Six plays later, the Bulls were in the end zone and instead of defending a lead, but was playing from behind.
Time for the offense to rally. One first down and a 35 yard punt later, USF started on their own 28. Six plays later, aided by a personal foul against BG (and a really sketchy DPI), USF was up 14-6. There's 5:34 left to play, with 9:30 turning the tide.
At least the offense came alive. Starting at their own 18, they made 4 first downs, converting a 3rd and 10 and a 3rd and 4. It was third and 7 from the 21 with :53 to play. And the wheels came off. Kastantin was sacked for a 9-yard loss. On 4th down, USF brought the house, Kastantin ran for his life and just before going down flung the ball to the middle of the field. Winn Sharp caught it one yard short of the first down and that was that.
| Category |
Bowling Green |
South Florida |
| Yards per rush |
2.6 |
3.9 |
| Yards per completion |
7.6 |
7.4 |
| Completion % |
57.1% (16/28) |
63.6% (7/11) |
| Yards per play |
3.4 |
4.0 |
| 3rd down |
5/15 (33.3%) |
3/10 (30.0%) |
| Red zone |
1/1 (100%) |
2/2 (100%) |
| Turnovers |
0 |
2 |
| Special Teams Index |
+2 |
+5 |
| Explosive plays |
3 — 38 yards |
7 — 131 yards |
These are not great numbers. USF came in at 5.2 yards per play and BG held them to 4. Some of this is a little misleading. USF has 52 yards passing and 49 yards in sacks. However, those get added to rushing in college ball. Crowder averaged 6.2 yards per carry, which is good. But, 4 yards per play is a solid day.
Meanwhile, BG's offense was just dreadful, even after being +2 on turnovers. BG's line can't block the run or the drop back pass. I don't see that there's much to be done with playcalling. In fact, BG called two perfect pass plays, but Kastantin overthrew the receivers on both (these were on the final drive.)
Which is not to blame our QB. Because he has to run for his life so often, he's the right guy for this assignment.
Obviously, you don't get new players. If the defense can continue to be effective, the offense doesn't have to score 30 to win. But 3.4 yards per play will lose every game.
Quick word about Myles Frazier, a LB/S who entered the portal last year and then returned. He had a record day for BG. He had 4.5 sacks and forced fumbles on two of them, one of which he recovered. BG believes it's a record for sacks in a game, though there aren't complete records for that stat.
He had a hell of a day. BG just abused the RT on pass pro.
So on we go. Down to Miami, the defending champions and 2-2 on this year. The issues with the offense are plain to see. BG needs to figure out how to move the ball to have any shot in Oxford.
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