Sweet Victory #1: The Defense

No secret here...the defense was the biggest area of concern for our team heading into the season.  The defense was not good last year and lost almost everyone.  One thing they did gain was a new DC, and I just think that's making a huge difference.  The ultimate thing is that BG probably isn't going to need a MAC-leading defense to win...but they need to get some stops and we are in that zone right now.

Coach mentioned that the defense made great strides since the first game, which I think is certainly true.  They were just more solid, solid tackling, guys on the ball.  An impressive team effort, sort of in the mold of what we saw in the last Elko days.

First, BG held Maryland to 20 points.  Remember, one TD was on a PR.  That's going to be winning number if repeated.

BG held Maryland to 341 yards.  The Terps only ran 59 plays, so that equals out to 5.6 yards per play, which is only an average number.

BG held the Terps to 16 first downs (!!!), 22 minutes of possession (no really), 3 of 12 on 3rd down,  and forced 6 punts.  Oh, and 3 turnovers, too.

That's a winning effort.

Breaking it down, BG did a nice job with the MD RBs, who had 63 yards on 17 carries.  Most of the running came from the QB, who 94 on 8 carries.  This is certainly an area of improvement.  BG would get pressure--sometimes with 4 and sometimes blitzing--but couldn't bring Hills down or contain him in the pocket.  An area of improvement.

There was never any doubt that the Terps had issues at QB and they certainly showed themselves.  BG did what you are supposed to do with an average QB, which is keep him in check.  Hills was 15 of 30 but only for 168 yards.  That's pretty unproductive and a low percentage for the kinds of passes he was throwing.  I felt like BG's coverage was pretty good.  Darrell Hunter left with a suspected concussion that was not, but Alphonso Mack seemed to get in on some plays after that.  (He also recovered a special teams fumble).

To me, the player I noticed the most was Trent Greene.  He made some big time plays on the Md backs.  He tie for the team high with 8 tackles, and 2 for loss.  Eilar Hardy had 8 and 1 TFL.  Other standouts were Zach Colvin with 2 TFL, Turner with 2 INT,  and Sanford at 2 pass defenses.

Not to diminish the team effort, though.  Six players were in on tackles for loss and four players broke up passes.

I just feel like the defense has played with a stronger sense of order and they make plays that are available to them.  I felt there were glimpses over it in Nashville and obviously more on Saturday.  If it can continue, it just changes the outlook for the team completely.