Matt McDonald to Play Last Game in Detroit

The news came out yesterday that Matt McDonald will not apply for a waiver to play one more season and the Quick Lane Bowl will be his final game in a BG uniform.

This is exactly what we expected when the year began.  Late in the year, Loeffler floated that McDonald could get another year, which was the first I had even thought about it.

I don't blame McDonald.  First, the waiver is far from a sure thing, and as we know, they aren't necessarily ruled on in a timely fashion.  BG was probably going to need to address the QB position anyway.  He's been in college for six years and you're supposed to eventually go on and live your life and he's decided to do that, and I can't blame him.

He deserves credit.  He played in the worst years of our football program.  And he took most of the beatings, both physical and on social media.

Yet, he stuck it out and was a true warrior throughout.

And in the end, we saw what Coach Loeffler had been telling us.  With a decent line (not great) and a below-average running game, he was still able to produce.  I think he was the third or fourth best QB in the MAC this year and we were #3 in passing offense and #8 in scoring offense.  He made a bunch of plays and was indispensable to BG being 6-6 this year.

I was critical of him and others were even more critical.  But he proved us wrong this year and I give him credit for that.

His departure reveals a continuing weakness in our recruiting for that position. Dave Briggs mentioned this in his column and it has been discussed in this space, too.  Matt McDonald played two seasons with serious injuries...which meant that not only had we not found someone to challenge and push McDonald, but we had not found someone who could replace him when he was seriously injured.

He missed one game this year--one we were always going to lose--but the entire direction of the program was hanging on McDonald's health. 

So depth was an issue.  So is succession.  BG played Camden Orth this year and he looked ok, but it was never in a meaningful setting (beyond Mississippi State). He was a transfer from Long Island.  BG also has recruited freshman Owen Bainbridge, who red-shirted.  There are no QBs in the signing class to date.

At the beginning of the year, my assumption was that we would go into the portal for our next QB. That's still what I think.  We have offered at least one (from Fordham...he had a bunch of offers).  I would also think you want a guy now, so he can practice in the spring.  (Carrying that a step further, the McDonald announcement might have been timed to help that process).

It's a high pressure situation.  Everyone expects Loeffler to get at least a short extension, but no one thinks the program is out of the woods.  Going into next year with a sub-par QB would threaten to derail the entire effort.  It is very difficult to win without a quality QB.

Best of luck to Matt McDonald.  In a world where people walk away at the first sign of trouble, he stuck it out.