25 Questions that are in Plain English

EMU

What is their body of work?

Not good.  They are 2-8.  Their wins are over Howard (by 10) and WMU (OT).  Their coach was fired the day before their last game and they haven't had a winning season in years.

How many seniors and juniors on the two-deep?

26, which is an average number.

Who are their statistical leaders?

None of their players are nationally ranked.  Bronson Hill is 5th in the MAC in rushing yards.

What is their turnover ratio?

They are -9 in the MAC.  Only CMU is worse.

Offense:

How is their QB Play?

Oh, not that good.  Tyler Benz has gotten most of the reps this year, but he was 7th in passing efficiency in the MAC.  Lately, Broback Rogan has gotten more play.  His efficiency is even lower.

What is their scoring and yards per play?

They are 7th in the MAC in scoring offense and 8th in total offense and t-7th in yards per play.

Can they run the ball?

They are average.  They are 6th in rushing offense and 6th in yards per rush.  However, Bronson Hill and Ryan Brumfield are both very solid, averaging 5.6 and 5.7 yards per carry.

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Do they pass the ball?

They are 7th in the MAC in pass efficiency.  They are 10th in pass yardage per game, mostly due to a run-rich play selection.  They have completed only 56% of their passes and have a 13/11 ratio.

How is their run/pass balance?

They run on 57% of their plays, which is very high.

Do they convert on 3rd Down?

No.  They are 11th in the MAC.

Do they score in the red zone?

They've made only 2.9 trips per game into the red zone, but they are effective.  They have 4.9 points per trip, though, which is pretty good.

Do they protect the quarterback?

No.  They are 9th in the MAC with 25 sacks allowed.  Remember, they don't pass that much, so that is almost 8% of their passing attempts.

Defense:

Topline: Scoring and yards per play.

They are the worst defensive team in the MAC.  They are last in points allowed per game...at 44, they are 9 points per game behind the next team.  They are giving up 7.6 yards per play, which is a full yard worse than the next team.

Do they defend the run effectively?

No.  They are last, allowing 6.1 yards per carry and 36 rush TDs.

Can they be passed on?

They are last in pass efficiency defense, allowing 67% completions, 20 Tds over 5 INT and 14.7 yards per reception.

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Do they get off the field on 3rd down?

Nope.  They are 12th, at about 47%

Do they defend in the red zone?

They are awful.  They have allowed 4.6 trips per game at 5.3 points per trip.

Do they pressure the QB?

They are 10th with 15 sacks.


Special Teams:

Punting?

They are also last in net punting.  No blocks, no returns for TDs.

Punt Return?

They are 9th in punt return average.  Only 8 returns this year.

Placekicking?

Dylan Mulder is not great....5 of 9 with a long of 41.  Two makes are inside 19 yards.  That is the lowest amount of made FGs in the MAC.

Kickoff?

They are last in kickoff coverage, allowing teams to start on the 31.  They have allowed 2 TDs.

Kickoff Return?

You are free, Ron.

They are 9th in kickoff returns, though Tyler Allen does have 1 TD.

Miscellaneous: Overall atmospherics and intangibles.

Look, all that tells the story of what has happened before now.  I don't expect BG to have much trouble in this game.  The worst case is that EMU has the running game going and keeps BG's offense off the field, but I don't expect that to happen.  Or...BG has their eye on The Ralph...which I also would hope will not happen.

The other thing is whether the Eagles...having gotten a win last week, are going to have some burst in confidence.  It is their senior day, they are not being belittled by Ron English every day.  Could happen.

But I doubt it.  It was 24-3 last year, and I certainly hope to see BG continue its strong play Saturday.