First, he said it felt like a replay of the WMU game. BG was only down 10 with 5 minutes left in the 3rd but gave up a big play and the dam burst and the came looked less competitive than it was.
He said that we handed NIU 21 first half points:
- The blown coverage on the first TD.
- The personal foul after the stop on 4th and 1.
- The big Harnish scramble on a covered 3rd and long, with missed tackles.
He said that he was disappointed over the offensive performance. He said, mostly, that the O-line took a step back and played their worst game of the year. He said Schilz was hit 15 times but was courageous and kept stepping into his throws even though he was getting hammered. He could not even make a 3-step drop without getting hit.
He talked about the offensive line. He said, "there's no one else" which means that there is no chance to move guys around. We have "no depth." So, if you look at our depth chart...anybody who is not playing right now is either too young and not ready or not able to be competitive.
Anyway, he said we have to practice better on the o-line, etc, but we are playing the best guys we have. They have improved, just not among an elite unit. When you have a good line, any offensive scheme works. When you don't, there isn't much to be done.
(Personal notes. First, the line was bound to be better just with Bojicic healthy and they have been. As noted, the upside just hasn't been there. I cannot fathom why our previous regime didn't see the need to be the O-line, which was once a strength of the program. The thing is, when it goes bad, it takes a long time to fix. You almost need some every year).
BG had a number of penalties against NIU, but the worst was the one on 4th down.
Finally, BooBoo was returning punts because Cooper missed a couple at Kent and then in practice. Gates is very confident.
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