25 Questions that REPEAT

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What is their body of work?

Well...not as good as last year.  They are 10-2 this year.  They lost to Arkansas and CMU...both on the road...and they beat Northwestern, which doesn't look as good as it did at the time.  Also, games have been closer.  They beat UT, Ball State and WMU...none of which BG did.

How many seniors and juniors on the two-deep?

25, which is the same as they had last year.

Who are their FBS statistical leaders?

Their only top 20 ranked player is Paris Logan, #19 in passes defended.

ALL STATS BELOW CONFERENCE GAMES ONLY

What is their turnover ratio?

+7. #3 in the MAC, one behind BG

Offense:

How big is the whole enchilada?
This big.

How is their QB Play?

Look, not as good last year, when Lynch was the leading rusher and the #4 QB.  But good.  Hare is the #7 rusher and #8 in passing efficiency.

What is their scoring and yards per play?

Last year they had the top offense in the MAC.  This year, they are 8th in scoring and 5th in yards per play.

Can they run the ball?

This is a huge threat to BG.  They are 2nd in the MAC in yards per carry, and given how, oh, UT, WMU, and Ball State ran on BG...this is something the Falcons have to clean up.  The NIU game plan is sure to be to run the ball, roll up the first downs and eat up clock...only because that has worked, you know, really well.

Do they pass the ball?

They don't do it much, but they can.  They are last in passing yards per game, but they are 6th in pass efficiency.  (BG is 11th).  They complete 59.8% of passes (4th), with 7 TD and 2 INT.  They do get 12 yards per completion, which is about MAC average.

How is their run/pass balance?

They run on 65% of plays, which is very high and higher than last year.

Do they convert on 3rd Down?

They are 5th at 42%

Do they score in the red zone?

They average 4 trips per game and score 5 per trip, which is very solid but not spectacular. Have missed 5 RZ FGs.

Do they protect the quarterback?

They have allowed only 4 sacks in 8 games, which is 2% of attempts and very good even for their meager number of passing attempts.

Defense:

Topline: Scoring and yards per play.

They are very good...3rd in the MAC in scoring defense and #4 in yards per play allowed.

Mission.  New Dog.
We met Diesel leaving Ford Field last year.
 Nice dog. Was taking the defeat in stride.

Do they defend the run effectively?

This is their bigger weakness.  They are 8th for rushing yards per carry allowed.  BG really needs Coppet and Greene healthy and to be able to establish this part of the game.

Can they be passed on?

They are the #1 pass defense in the MAC.  They have 8 INT and have allowed only 8 TD with 55% completions.  If you want something to worry about, here you go.

Do they get off the field on 3rd down?

They are OK, 6th in the MAC. (39.2%).

Do they defend in the red zone?

Actually, no.  They allow 5.4 points per trip.

Do they pressure the QB?

They are pretty good with 15 sacks and 5.3% of attempts.

Special Teams:

Punting?

Honestly.  He looks better with a hat on.

They are 4th in net punting with no touchbacks.  No blocks, no TD allowed.

Punt Return?

They are 7th in punt return average.   No blocks, no TDs.

Placekicking?

Kicking has been only fair.  8 of 16, 6 of 12 inside 40.  Long 45, 2 block.  Missed 2 of 3 against WMU.

Kickoff?

They lead the MAC in kickoff coverage.  Teams average starting on the 22 and only 11 TBs.

Kickoff Return?

Not especially good, starting on 24,

Miscellaneous: Overall atmospherics and intangibles.

OK, some intangibles.

NIU lost last year and even though they don't think it is about revenge, they have to be hungry to prove themselves.

Neither team is as good as last year.  BG was supposed to lose last year and instead played an almost perfect game.

BG is playing very poorly.  How they respond to that will largely determine how this game goes.

Just like last year, if BG wins this game, it will be because they played their best game all season.

Sounds like a good BG crowd is on the way, so should be good support.

The Falcons will have to stop the NIU run and then have a strong need to get the ball moving on offense.

We don't know how Babers will Coach in a game like this, because he has never been in one.  Of course, Carey has been in 1 and he lost it.