25 Questions that go here, kitty, kitty, kitty

What is their body of work?


They are on a 3 game winning steak and are 7-3 this season.  They were competitive against Rutgers, but probably don't feel great about their loss to Buffalo, without which they would have all but wrapped the East up.  Win over Temple was the biggest this year.

How many seniors and juniors on the two-deep?

24 which is pretty typical.

Who are their statistical leaders?


Donte Harden is 7th in the country in kickoff returns and 10th in all purpose yards.  Matt Weller is #7 in FGs.

What is their turnover ratio?

They are -3 on the year.   (BG is -11).

Offense:

How is their QB Play?

If you liked Chandler Harnish, you will like Tyler Tettleton.  He is 4th in the MAC in pass efficiency and 3rd on the team in rushing, even with sacks deducted.  He is a dual threat player

What is their scoring and yards per play?

They are 4th in scoring (33 points per game) and 3rd in yards per play. (6.3 yards per play).

Can they run the ball?

Yes...they are 5th in the MAC in total rushing and 3rd in yards per rush (4.8).

Do they pass the ball?

Normally, this is a Frank-liability but not this year.  They are 3rd in the MAC in pass efficiency with 63% completions on 13 yards per completion, which is a very strong combination.  They have 23 TDs over 7 INTs.

How is their run/pass balance?

They run on about 57% of their plays, but have been productive running and passing.

Do they convert on 3rd Down?

2nd in the MAC at 49%.

Do they score in the red zone?

This is a little bit of a weakness.  They only score 4.7 points per red zone trip and have been totally stopped 8 times, and only one of those was a missed FG.

Do they protect the quarterback?

Again, they are better than average with sacks on 4.8% of their passing attempts.

You know, looking at this, NIU has a better offense (or at least has been more productive) but this offense is extremely similar.  They run and pass effectively and have a dual threat QB.  Donte Harden is a stud back (but they filled in against CMU when he was sick and still made their yards),  and coach was on the MAC teleconference today talking longingly of their 2 Srs and 2 Jrs on the O-line.  They are last in the MAC in lost fumbles their 22 total turnovers is just one fewer than BG, so perhaps their is an opening there.

Bottom line, BG's defense has to hold NIU within a reasonable number of points to have a chance.

Defense:

Topline: Scoring and yards per play.

Unlike NIU, however, OU is also a very strong defensive club.  They are 2nd in the MAC in scoring defense (22) and third in yards per play allowed (5.0.)

Do they defend the run effectively?

They do, they are 4th in the MAC in rushing yards and 3rd in the MAC in yards per rush.

Could they be passed on?

They lead the MAC in pass efficiency defense.  (13th in FBS).  They allow only 50% completions, which is 5% better than the next team.  They have allowed 16 TDs but lead the MAC with 13 INTs.  They only part of their armor this is weak is that when they do allow a completion, it goes for 12.5 yards on average, which is high.  Still, they have been very difficult to pass on.

Do they get off the field on 3rd down?

This is not great...they allow 37%, 7th in the MAC.

Do they defend in the red zone?

They allow 5 points per trip, which is not very good, however, they have only allowed teams into the red zone 30 times, which is second in the MAC.

Do they pressure the QB?

Sacks are not their strong point---3.4% of total passes end up in sacks.

Solich was always known as a defensive coach and this team certainly meets that standard.  They might not be better offensively than NIU but they are better defensively than any team except Temple.  Given our offensive struggles since we left Oxford, we are either going to have to find offensive execution and line play that we have not seen in a while, or it is going to be a rainy night in Lyndhurst.

Special Teams:

Punting?

They are 4th in the MAC in net punting with one punt blocked.  The longest return against them has been 11 yards.

Punt Return?

They are 5th in punt return average with 1 TD.  They have returned an astounding 31 punts, 8 more than the next team--they must not fair catch very often.

Placekicking?

His whole life ahead of him.

Weller is very good.  He's 17 of 23 and 12 for 12 inside 40 and 17 of 21 inside 50.  His long is 48, blocked once.

Kickoff?

Teams start on the 30, 9th in the MAC.

Kickoff Return?

They are 4th in the MAC in kickoff returns, with no TDs.  As noted earlier, Harden is 7th in the nation.

Miscellaneous: Overall atmospherics and intangibles.

You know, when Solich came to Athens I didn't take it too seriously.  It had sort of a Denny Stolz-slumming kind of feel to it, and I just thought he viewed himself as a refugee who would either never adapt to the

When a movie is made about Solich,
Billy Bob Thornton will play him.
You'd see it, too.

MAC or have a good season and move on.  I was pretty wrong about that.  Coach Clawson talked in the MAC teleconference about how this is now one of the MAC's more consistent programs--in a conference where there is little consistency.  Further, OU was NEVER any good in football until he got there.

I keep thinking our team has a performance in them, but they are going to need it against OU.  This is every bit as good a team as NIU is, and they are playing for something too, because they are two wins from playing for the MAC title.  They just drilled the Falcons last season, leading 28-3 at halftime.

On the other hand, they lost to Buffalo and at home to Ball State, so it isn't like it couldn't happen.

I remain hopeful, but the simple fact is that BG is losing because we keep playing teams that are better than we are...until we start to prove otherwise.