The Second Half....Closing the Deal.

Everyone knows what NIU did to UT and BSU in the 2nd half of their games.  No one thought it was over.

BG has had some pretty good third quarters, too.  And one more after last night.

NIU took the opening kickoff and did what you would expect, driving 64 yards in 7 plays for a TD.  Lynch had 33 of those yards on the ground, they were aided by a personal foul on BG and they got the score.  31-20.

No spoiler alert here.  That was it.  They would not score another meaningful TD and the game would never be any closer.

BG struck big on the first play from scrimmage, hitting Alex Bayer for 44 yards.  Hard to describe what a difference that makes...onside kick fails, one play later BG is on the NIU 31.  BG drove to the 8 and then stalled out and Tate missed a short FG.  Didn't really see it, but it looked to me like there were problems with the hold.

Down 11, this is a big opportunity for NIU.  They drove to the BG 32 using no pass plays but then BG stopped Lynch for 2, got an INC and then on 3rd and 8 they ran Lynch again and he made only 3 on a great defensive mosh pit tackle for BG and NIU was back in FG formation.  This time, they badly missed a 44 yarder that might have been tipped at the line.  Anyway, BG stopped the drive.  That's the key thing here.

Starting on the BG 27, the Falcon offense went for the kill.  A Travis Greene 12 yard run and a 20 yard completion to to Alex Bayer put BG on the NIU 36.  On 3rd and 9 BG ran Hopgood, who got 5 yards.  I think BG figured they would go on 4th and they did.

It was the kind of play that makes Matt Johnson the great QB he is.  He went to pass, everything was covered, but he escaped through the smallest crease and scrambled for the first down.  It was reviewed, but he had it.  BG got down to the 22, but then NIU got a huge intentional ground/sack that killed the drive on the 34. (Note, the 4th Quarter had just started).

BG sent Tyler Tate out.  Listen, for all the struggles of the BG kicking game, they sent Tyler Tate out for a 52 yd FG.  And the dude nailed it.

34-20.  Big difference.

On the next drive, NIU went for a long ball.  It was one of those long balls where you can see the safety coming over the whole way, you just know you got a shot at it.  I lost sight of the ball, but it ended up in the hands of Aaron Foster who ran the ball back to the NIU 20, and a couple plays later Johnson was scrambling around on 3rd down and in the chaos shoveled the ball forward to Travis Greene who was standing on the goal line and BG had a 40-20 lead with 10 minutes left.

You don't wait this long and think its over.  You know you have to close the deal.  NIU needed to score fast--obviously--and drove to the BG 43.  From there, Lynch got 2 yards, an incompletion and then no yards.  BG was just swarming Lynch by this point.  NIU called timeout and went for it, but DJ Lynch blitzed and Jordan Lynch threw an incomplete pass and BG had the ball back with 8:00 left.

BG then went to work on the clock.  Travis Greene got 33 yards and then BG ran that Matt Johnson read play that worked against Buffalo and it worked again and BG was on the 13.  NIU stiffened up and BG had fourth down from the 16.  They decided to go for it and Greene ran the ball in from there and BG had the 47-20 lead.  Drive chewed up 5:26.  There's 2:44 left.

Game over.

NIU got one more garbage TD that came right about the time Dave Clawson wore Gatorade.  And let the celebration begin.

More coming...but here's the thing.  BG moved the ball almost at will and the defense stopped the NIU drives.  That was how a championship was made.