25 Questions that go Whinny

What is their body of work?

They are only a couple years away from Rowing the Boat into New Year's Day.  This year, they are 4-2 and 2-0 in the MAC.  They beat Miami--which BG did not--and then EMU.  Margin of victory in the two games is a total of 4 points.  They also beat Georgia State, in FBS, and their losses are to Syracuse and Michigan.  They are in the running for the West title.

How many seniors and juniors on the two-deep?

They have 25 which is a pretty typical number.

Who are their statistical leaders?

Jon Wassink is #16 in passing TDs, #18 in passing yards per game
Jayden Reed is #10 in passing TDs.
Levante Bellamy is #16 in rushing yards per carry.

What is their turnover ratio?

They are even.

Offense:

How is their QB play?

It has been good.  Jon Wassink is #3 in the MAC in passing efficiency.  He was the starter last year until he was injured.  He's completed 63% of his passes at 13.7 per completion, a pretty deadly combination.  He has 14 TD over 4 INT.  He can run a little bit.

What is their scoring and yards per play?

They are scoring 35.7 PPG and getting 6.6 yards per play.  Those are good numbers--the second is #25 in the country.

Can they run the ball?

They are good.  They are averaging 5.1 yards per rush which is pretty good.  They have 3 effective backs.  BG's going to need to show some real progress in the Pelini system.

Do they pass the ball?

See info on the QB.  Also, they have Jaylen Reed, a highly ranked WR and D'Wayne Eskridge, a SO with 4.3 speed who is averaging 24 per catch on 19 receptions.  This will also be a pressure point for the BG defense.

How is their run/pass balance?

They run on 53% of their plays, which is run heavy in today's game.

Do they convert on 3rd Down?

They are poor on third down at 36%

Did they score in the red zone?

They are not good at 4.2 points per trip.

Did they protect the quarterback?

Very well.  They give up sacks on only 2% of passing attempts.

Defense:

Topline: Scoring and yards per play.

They give up 30 per game and 5.7 per play, neither of which is a great number.

Do they defend the run effectively?

They are pretty good at 4.4 yards per carry.  That's about the top third in the country.

Can they be passed on?

They can.  They are 10th in the MAC in pass efficiency defense.  They allow 59% completions against 13.3 yards per reception and 11 TDs over only 1 INT.

Did they get off the field on 3rd down?

They are pretty good at 33%

Do they defend in the red zone?

They are pretty bad, at 5.5 points per trip.

Did they pressure the QB?

They are strong, getting sacks on 8% of their passing attempts.

Special Teams:

Punting?

They are not good.  #10 in net punting in MAC.  They do have 7 inside the 20, which limits your yards.  Blocked once.

Punt Return?

They've scored twice and average 28 yards per return.  No really.  Area of maximum danger here.  BG puts any low punts down there and it is going to be trouble.

Placekicking?

Gavin Peddie is a true freshman K.  He's 4-5 with a long of 38.

Kickoff?

Opponents start on the 27.  WMU has only 2 touchbacks.

Kickoff Return?

They start on their 23 which is not good.




Miscellaneous, Intangibles?

Clearly, this is a tough matchup for us.  They all are when you are in our spot.  WMU has a big offense and will put pressure on both the BG defense and, by extension, the offense.  They do give points up, though, and BG's offense will need to consistently produce to give us a chance to win.  It's homecoming, which could help.  Hopefully, there's some kind of decent crowd there, but who knows.  BG is a 10 point underdog, probably partly a reaction to the UT loss.  BG did come back after losing to UT and play well (before losing) to EMU last year.  We keep hearing that the team is getting better and sooner or later that has to come through on the field if it is true.