25 Questions that go here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty

What is their body of work?

Pretty good.  They are 7-3.  They lost to Louisville to open the year, then did pretty well.  Lost to CMU in Athens--which they can't be happy about, and then got smoked at Buffalo, which was pretty surprising.  They beat North Texas (7-3) and Marshall (6-3).

How many seniors and juniors on the two-deep?

22. Relatively young team...a lot of FR and SO on the two-deep.

Who are their statistical leaders?

Their PK, Josiah Yazdani, is one of 10 FBS kickers to be perfect on FGs.  (As an aside, when he was born and Mr. Yazdani named him, Josiah, he said to himself, "that boy is going to be a Division I kicker).

CB Devin Bess is 9th in FBS in passes defended.

Travis Carrie is 15th in punt return yardage.

What is their turnover ratio?

+2 which is 7th in the MAC. They have forced 17 and gotten 15.

Offense:

How is their QB Play?

Tettleton is a very good player.  He is 2nd in MAC in passing yards per game and in passing efficiency.   One note is that he is mostly a single-threat QB anymore, with not much rushing and no TDs.

What is their scoring and yards per play?

Sexy.

They are 6th in the MAC in scoring offense and 5th in yards per play at 5.9.  They are behind BG in both categories.

Can they run the ball?

They are average in this area.  8th in the MAC in rushing yards per game and in yards per rush.  Some of that is sacks.  Blankenship is averaging 4.5 yards per rush, which is good but not great.

Do they pass the ball?

They are 4th in the MAC in passing efficiency, slightly behind BG.  7 INT, highest among the top tier of MAC passing teams.  In today's MAC teleconference, Solich said WR Donte Foster is questionable for the BG game.  He's a top-flight WR, so if he doesn't play or plays at less than full strength, that helps BG.

How is their run/pass balance?

They run on 54% of their plays, which is high, especially for an average rushing team.

Do they convert on 3rd Down?

Yes, yes they do.  They are 2nd in the MAC, behind only BG.

Do they score in the red zone?

They are OK.  They have 4.7 points per red zone trip, which is good but not great.  Have 9 non-scoring RZ attempts, most in MAC.  3 RZ turnovers is 2nd worst in MAC.

Do they protect the quarterback?

Yes.  Only 9 sacks, 3% of passing attempts.

Your guess is as good as mine.

Defense:

Topline: Scoring and yards per play.

This is a very good defensive team.  They are 3rd in the MAC in scoring defense, 3rd in total defense and 4th in yard per play allowed.

Do they defend the run effectively?

They are 5th in the MAC in yards per carry allowed.





Can they be passed on?

They are a good team....4th in the MAC in pass defense and 6th in pass defense efficiency.  10 INTs is 3rd in the MAC.

Do they get off the field on 3rd down?

They are average, 8th in the MAC.

Do they defend in the red zone?

So, with their scoring numbers pretty good but their underlying stats not so great, there's usually something you run across.  In this case, it is red zone defense.  They are allowing 4.2 points per red zone trip.  Their opponents have missed 5 red zone FGs, which helps.

Do they pressure the QB?

Here's the other clue.  They are 2nd in the MAC in sacks.  Buffalo is 1st, by the way, so BG does not get to Detroit without doing better protecting Johnson.

Special Teams:

Punting?

They are 10th in the MAC in net punting.  No blocks, good defense on returns and no TDs allowed.

Punt Return?

As mentioned, Carrie is among the best in FBS.  He has a 79 yarder but no TDs.

Placekicking?

Yazdani took over for the original starter--Matt Green--after he was 4 for 9.  Yazdani is 7-7 for FGS, long of 47, 2-2 over 40 and has not missed an XP.

Kickoff?

Creative "output" from this year's Halloween party

Teams are starting on the 26.  They have allowed one TD.

Kickoff Return?

OK. They start on their own 26.

Miscellaneous: Overall atmospherics and intangibles.

This is a huge game for both teams, slightly bigger for BG in that OU will have a very difficult time winning the East.  How they react to that--and their butt kicking last week--will be interesting to see.

For BG, the game is very big.  If BG loses and Buffalo beats UT, then Buffalo only needs a win over Miami to win the East and moot the season-ender between the two teams.  BG can win with a loss to OU, but it is a harder road.

It is also game 2 in BG's redemption tour.  The loss to UT stung, and BG showed something in blowing Miami out.  Now, BG needs to beat a team with a winning record and then do it again to win the East and meet the expectations for the team this year.  Anything less and they are sure to be disappointed in the effort.

On paper, BG should be slightly stronger.  BG is a 10 points favorite, which I personally do not buy.  This is a very big test for the team.  BG is going to need to protect the QB and run the ball and then contain Tettleton.