A victory is won....

A team that loses four straight should be happy to get a victory.

A team with a reputation for heart stopping victories should be happy for a finish that didn't require a defribillator.

A team that is fighting for a .500 season needs every win it can get.

And, these things were all true for the Falcons.

Yet, right there, in his first post-game sentence, Coach Clawson said he was always happy to win and disappointed at the same time.

Happy to win.  We were the better team today, and while we only played about half a game, Ball State played less that that.  And, ultimately, they were two scores down when the game ended, even if it was starting to make us a little nervous.

The disappointment is that we got a glimpse of what we could do in the first half, dominating on both sides of the ball.  We were playing a team that we were better than----and it looked like it.

BG had scored 24 points, 299 yards in offense.  Barnes had 3 TDs.  Ball State had no points and 123 yards.  It was pretty much as complete a half as we have played.

When the second half started, the old trend came back.  Ball State buckled up the boots and just ran the ball right over us....just as teams have done throughout this season (and past seasons).  They did it without their starting QB or any meaningful passing threat....even without those things, they completely dominated our defensive front in the second half.

This was a team that couldn't run against anyone.  Their season high was 169 yards against N. Texas, and they were in the two-figure range against New Hampshire, Toledo (!!), and Temple.

Against BG?  273 rushing yards, more or less the amount they had in their last 3 games.

Meanwhile, the offense lost its edge, too.  BG punted on 4 of its 5 second half possessions and had about 130 yards in total offense, which is pretty poor.

Again, we had a great first half, and were never really threatened in the second half.  I just worry that we  continue to be exposed on defense, and that other teams won't even both to try and establish the pass.

Offensively, BG still struggled to run the ball.  BG had 90 yards (taking the sacks out) rushing on 22 carries, which is just slightly over 4.  Chris Bullock had a 26 yard TD run in the 2nd Half, and Geter had a 16 yard run, so beyond that, we did not have a consistent presence with the run, which really comes into play when you are trying to grind out the game at the end.

Tyler Sheehan had an excellent day by any account. He completed 68% with a yards per attempt of over 9 with 3 Tds and no interceptions.  That seems to be a pretty productive day, right?

Freddie Barnes had 10 catches (most in the first half) and 3 TDS (all in the first half).  Hodges had 7 catches and Chris Wright 6 for 104.

Phillips did miss a FG, but then he nailed one over 40 that was pretty important at the time, so that was good.