Proud to be a Falcon, Defense

The defense has carried this team since halftime of the Akron game.  They have played nearly flawless football, if not at the play level, at the result level.  No team we have faced has won the battle.

Until yesterday.  This was a good team with a great player, and at the end of the day, we didn't have an answer for Dri Archer and that's what won Kent the game.  In fairness, the offense did turn the ball over deep in its own territory twice, which didn't make things any easier, and the kickoff game was giving Kent the ball in good position to avoid letting #1 get a chance to return it.

Kent entered the game with 2 100 yard per game rushers and BG shut down one of them.  Durham had 20 yards in 10 carries.  In addition, Keith only passed 17 times, completed 9 and Kent had only 91 passing yards and 32 of that on a play that I still can't believe wasn't an interception.  Given all this, BG's defense was effective against much of what Kent did and with two turnovers deep in their own zone.

Dri Archer was the difference.  BG had no answer for him...and neither has anyone else.  The guy is a game changing talent, the fastest player I have ever seen in a MAC uniform.  He was the difference in the game.  We got a year to figure out what to do about it next year, because we're going to be back and so are they.

Coach said we were tentative at the safety position and missed tackles in "tight space."  What that means is that the tackles we missed that let Archer get those runs did not occur in the open field, where we they really stand out, but rather in the space at the line.  The plays are designed to deliver the ball to an unblocked guy, and if that guys misses the tackle or takes a bad angle against Archer then you get what you got.

Coach was asked about the absence of Boo Boo Gates, who was moved to safety specifically for his ability to make this kind of tackle.  Obviously, Boo Boo is one of our best players and you don't lose him and not feel it, he said.  But, he went on to say, there's no guarantee that's a difference.  Nobody else has stopped Archer, including Rutgers, and so you don't know what happens if Gates is out there.

Kent also did a really nice job with running QB Spencer Keith.  With a guy like Archer, you have to put guys on him, and the misdirection running plays they gave Keith were really effective, including for the winning touch down.  Coach said it left us with very tough decisions on how to defend those plays...and (I add) it seems like they were decisions with no good choices.

That's a good example of how an offense takes advantage of having a great player and uses it to put pressure on the defense.  BG native and Kent OC Brian Rock had a really nice game plan and used his assets to maximum advantage.

This defense has been heroic this year.  I can't remember the last time I had the feeling of watching our defense go out there and being confident we could get a stop.  The two best players graduate but the remainder is intact and injured players will be coming back.  I'm very pleased with their performance to date and look forward to seeing them shut down two more opponents.

On this day, a great player made some great plays.  Simple as that.