Friday, September 05, 2014

The last major QB injury for BG...

I remember seeing it.  BG was playing WMU at the Doyt in 2005.  After a seemingly non-descript play, Omar Jacobs left the field holding his wrist.  At that exact moment, BG was 4-2 and 4-0 in the MAC, with the only losses being @Wisconsin and @Boise.

Jacobs did not return.  BG ended up losing to WMU 45-14  on that day and then losing to Akron and beating Kent State before Jacobs returned.  BG ended up losing in the season ender in double-OT to the Rockets and missing out on a chance to win the division.

That's the last comparable situation.  There were QB injuries during the early Clawson years, but Jacobs and Johnson occupy a different role on those teams than Matt Schilz did.

History does not have to repeat itself.  When Jacobs was injured, Anthony Turner was the heir apparent and he never developed into an effective D1 QB, eventually losing the job to Tyler Sheehan.  The question is whether James Knapke can do it.

Beyond that, my feeling at the time was that the team lost its bearings when Jacobs got injured, something that I place onto the head coach.  The question is whether this team--which has shown resilience in the past--rallies around this or finds itself defeated by it.

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