25 Questions that say KY-OTE

'64 

What is their body of work?

They have had some difficult years.  They have not had a winning season since 2011 and had two double digit loss seasons during that run.  Their coach was new last year (two-time national champion and three-time national coach of the year elsewhere) and they went 4-7.  This year, they did open with a win, 77-7 over Drake, but that's a team without scholarships for football.  So far as I can tell, they have never played a MAC team but did beat Minnesota in 2010.  They play in the Missouri Valley football conference, where they have been for a couple years.

How many seniors and juniors on the two-deep?

They have 24...which is on the young side.  Two-thirds of the roster is in its first or second year with the team.

Who were their statistical leaders?

QB Chris Streveler #1 in points responsible for per game.

What was their turnover ratio?

They were +5 last year and went 4-7 anyway.

Offense:

One of these men tried to ban football

 How is their QB play expected to be?

Chris Streveler is an interesting guy.  He was at Minnesota as a WR and now he's at South Dakota as a QB.  He was second team all-conference.  He was #4 in passing efficiency and #6 in rushing.  Led the team in rushing.

They play an up-tempo style.  Coach mentioned last week that if we had trouble keeping Lewerke in the pocket, we'd have the same problems with this young man.

What was their scoring and yards per play?

They scored 29.9 last year, which was third in their conference but is not a huge number.  Their 5.1 yards per play is just average.

Can they run the ball?

Their yards per carry was only 3.9 yards last year, and their main RB graduated, along with two starting lineman.  Their #2 RB is starting this year, though he averaged only 4.1 yards per attempt, which is nothing special.  Their backup RB is a rFR.

Do they pass the ball?

Well, as noted, Streveler is the #4 most efficient passer in his conference, was second-team all conference and they returned 6 of their 7 top WRs and both TEs.  You'd expect them to be better this year.

How was their run/pass balance?

They ran the ball on 59% of their plays last year, counting Streveler.

Did they convert on 3rd Down?

They converted 36%, which is below average.

Not sure who looks dumber here

Did they score in the red zone?

They were very good at 5.2 points per trip.

Did they protect the quarterback?

They gave up sacks on 7% of their passing attempts, which is a lot.

Defense:

Topline: Scoring and yards per play.

They gave up 35 points a game last year, which was 9th in their conference.  They gave up 6.4 yards per play which is also a lot.

Did they defend the run effectively?

Last year, they gave up 5.4 yards per rush, and tightening that up has been a focus this year.  BG will present their first real test in that respect.

Can they be passed on?

You could pass on them last year.  They were 8th in their conference in team passing efficiency defense.  They gave up 59% completions and 13.5 yards per completion, which is a bad combination.  They did have 12 picks.

Did they get off the field on 3rd down?

They gave up 44%, which is very poor.

Do they defend in the red zone?

They gave up 4.7 points per trip, which is about average.

Copy of Jinks Game Plan

Did they pressure the QB?

They had really good sacks at 7.0% per passing attempt.  BG did a decent job protecting Morgan at MSU and will need to again.

Special Teams:

Punting?

The 'Yotes graduated an all-conference punter and kicker (same guy).  Their new guy punted four times last week (in a game where they scored 77) and 38.5 yards per, with 4 inside the 20.

Punt Return?

Paul Anderson is their return guy, and he is back and had a good game against Drake.  In fact, both of their returners had 5 attempts for 43 yards.

Placekicking?

The kicker is also new.  He transferred from Kansas and made 11 XPs.  He hasn't tried a FG yet.

Kickoff?

They did well, keeping Drake on the 21 for average starting position.

Kickoff Return?

Anderson is also a KOR and is actually a good one.  He had a 35-yard return last week.

Miscellaneous: Overall atmospherics and intangibles.

Look, this game was put onto the schedule to be a home win.  So was North Dakota last year, and BG barely won that game.  This is a team with a proven coach and a mobile QB.  At the same time, they have a lot of new players.  Their defense could be their weaker element, but BG will have to execute better to take full advantage of that.  Also:  as noted in Coach's presser this week, BG is playing South Dakota between two Big Ten teams.  One thing to watch for is whether BG makes an adjustment to keep the QB contained, which is a measure of coaching.  Last year, adjustments were not our strong point.

Should be a nice crowd and should be a BG win.  We shall see.