Initial Thoughts on a Victory

I listened to Coach Clawson's post-game presser, and I found it kind of refreshing.

First, I think everyone involved is happy to get a win at any time.  BG has won two games in a row for the first time this season, and they were both on the road.  We had a very good first half (Coach felt it was our best half all year).  Winning is hard, so winning is to be celebrated.

I was happy, though, that he was open that the team continued to show flaws in the second half.  We allowed Ball State to TRIPLE their season running average.  BSU's QB (the backup) had a dreadful day, which means they gained all those yards while at the same time being one-dimensional.  Coach says it was the same plays we were stopping in the first half.

Coach said he was happy to win, but disappointed in the second half performance.  I agree entirely.  We do deserve credit for building up that big halftime lead.

We will get a decent reality check next week against CMU-they have the strongest program in the MAC and that is where we want to go.  Until this team can stop the run and run the ball, we are going to have a low ceiling.  If we can bring around those aspects of our game, then we can do more.

We also had two starters injured on the line.  We do have some depth there, but losing the C, if it continues, is going to hurt.

Barnes was 10-160-3, a pretty good day by anyone's standards, and some of them were big plays.