Past and Future Opponent Land

 Past and Future Opponent Land:

Fordham: (0-3)  Lost 27-21 to Stony Brook

PSU:  (2-0) Idle

TX A&M: (2-1) Smoked Florida in the Swamp

ODU:  (0-3) Lost 37-17 to Va Tech

Akron:  (1-2) Beat Colgate 21-20

NIU: (2-0)  Idle

KSU:  (0-3) Demolished by TN

UT:  (3-0) Give the devil his due....

CMU (1-2) Lost @ Illinois

WMU: (1-2) Beat Bethune Cookman

BSU (1-1): Lost to other Miami

MU:  (0-2) Lost to UC

Vs. P4   2-14

Vs. G5:  5-1

Vs:  FCS: 9-1

East-West 

24-25 MBB Schedule

The non-conference MBB is out...a quick look.

I would say it is improved over last year.  There are still 2 non-NCAA games, but there is a P4 opponent as well as tough road matchups against Southern Miss and KC.   We play @Bellarmine, they kicked our butt last year.  And there is one more Sun Belt game to get mixed in.  A brief, cursory look at the schedule is below.  All predictions are from Blue Ribbon.

One other thing.  The MAC schedule came out a little while ago...every team in the MAC plays 7 teams twice and four teams once.  BG plays OU (the favorite) and UA (#2) only once, and both times at home, meaning BG is spared a trip to the JAR House of Horrors and the Convo.  The away games are Miami and CMU, both picked for the middle of the MAC.

November 4:  @Southern Miss MAC-Sun Belt Challenge

This is a legit opener.  Southern Miss was picked #4 in Sun Belt.  Rough year for them last year...Coach had a heart attack, top player wasn't eligible until mid-year and then was out with a concussion.

November 8: Davidson

This is a great home and home for us.  They are picked #11 in the A-10.  Were 10-3 last year when their leading scorer was injured.  Interesting note:  there's no grad school at Davidson, so they can't get grad transfers.

November 11: Taylor

One of two NAIA games on the schedule.  Taylor is in Indiana.  They were 11-18 last year and have a new coach.

November 16:  @Michigan State

Like you need to know about these guys. Picked #6 in Big 10.

November 19: Niagara

One of 6 teams in the country not to return a scholarship player. Picked last in MEAC.

November 23:  @Bellarmine

Return visit.  They beat us by 18 in BG last season.  Was probably our worst loss, as they went on to be 8-23.  Picked #8 in Atlantic Sun.

November 29:  Weber State (Neutral Floor)

Good matchup.  They won 20 last year, and are picked #2 in the Big Sky, the 22nd ranked conference.  (MAC is #24).

November 30:  Pepperdine/New Mexico St. (Neutral Floor)

Pepperdine is picked last in the WCC.

New Mexico State is picked #9 in C-USA. Still reeling from the off-court issues from the guy who replaced Jans.

December 7: Morgan State

Picked #6 in MEAC.

December 14:  Kansas City

BG beat them by 10 last year at the Stroh.  This will be a legit challenge.  They are picked to win the Summit, a conference ranking essentially equal with the MAC.  

December 21, 2024:  St. Thomas

Familiar to BG Hockey fans, the Tommies are D1 and picked #6 in the Summit.  They won 20 last year, winning over WMU and Kansas City...twice.

December 23:  Aquinas College

NAIA team from Grand Rapids, MI.  Were 14-18 last year.

Interestingly, those last two opponents represent Catholic schools named after the same saint.  In fact, together they read St. Thomas Aquinas, a closed-loop canonization loop possibly unprecedented in NCAA history.

Past and Future Opponent Land

Past and Future Opponent Land:

Fordham: (0-2)  Lost 33-3 to Central Connecticut.

PSU:  (2-0) We played them

TX A&M: (1-1) Beat McNeese State 52-10

ODU:  (0-2) After pressing South Carolina to end in Week 1, lost at home to East Carolina

Akron:  (0-2) Blown out by Rutgers

NIU: (2-0)  HOLY SH*T!  The Huskies give the MAC its 6th win over a Top-10 team.  In this venue, it's as big as it gets.

KSU:  (0-2) lost their FCS game to St. Francis (PA).  Golden Flashes never led.

UT:  (2-0) Beat UMass unconvincingly

CMU (1-1) Blown out by FIU

WMU: (0-2) Blown out by OSU

BSU (1-0): Outscores Missouri State 28-20 in 4th to get close win

MU:  Bye

Vs. P4   1-10

Vs. G5:  3-1

Vs:  FCS: 6-1

East-West 

BG Has Strong Game in Happy Valley

Very proud of our guys.  One of college football's most hostile environments, and BG stood toe-to-toe with the Nittany Lions.  Led for 39 minutes without Terrion Stewart.  It appears that we have the team we have waited since 2015 to watch play.

And mark your calendars.  October 12.  NIU-BG at the Doyt.  It might be our most-anticipated home game since Indiana came in. The Doyt must be full that day.

Back to State College.  BG got the opening kickoff and started a simply dazzling half of offensive football, getting almost 8 yards a play. Bazelak hit Fannin for 30 yards on the first play and Fannin scored on a 6-yard pass to cap a 6-play drive that put BG into a 7-0 lead.

PSU responded with an identical 6-play, 75-yard to tie the score.

BG drove again, getting inside the PSU 20 before failing to convert a 3rd and 1 pass and getting a Kleather FG to go up 10-7.

The defense...forced a three and out.  Yessir. 

BG was inside PSU territory when the quarter ended,  When the 2nd opened, Fannin caught a pass over the middle for 32 yards...from the PSU 11, BG lost a couple yards and then Bazelak hit Malcolm Johnson with a 15-yard completion on 3rd and 14 and BG led 17-7.

Penn State went 75 yards on 3 plays to make it 17-14.

A key sequence follows.  BG had a 4th and 1 on its own 45.  Just inside 9 minutes to play in the half.  BG is going for it. Loeffler calls what he said in the post-game was a "terrible call."  BG tried to run one of those plays where you let the DE rush and then throw in the space he left.  In this case, BG threw right at the guy who is not only PSU's best player but one of the best in the country.  He got too close and Bazelak couldn't get the ball over him.  Loeffler told himself, "what were you thinking?"

PSU took over on downs.  This is a prime moment of danger for a team in BG's position.  On the road, big crowd amping up.  They go in and score a TD and the walls might be breached.

But they didn't.  On 3rd and 3 from the BG 25, the Falcon Dline blew up a PSU run for a 2-yard loss and forced a FG.  17-17.

Then, BG went 75 yards in 4 plays--a Jamal Johnson 41-yard TD run--and took the lead with 3:32 left in the half.  24-17.  BG took a punch and returned it.

PSU drove to the BG 9 before McGary got a third down sack on Allar and PSU kicked a FG to end the half 24-20.

BG is playing as well as they are capable of playing right now.  It's thrilling.  

PSU got the ball in the 2nd half.  Again, this is one of those situations where the P4 teams tend to take control.  It didn't happen.  They drove to their own 48 and on 3rd and 8 BG pressured Allar...he scrambled back, BG stayed with him and forced a 23-yard loss on a sack.

BG went 3 and out and punted for the first time.  PSU took the ball, rode TE Tyler Warren for an 85-yard drive without a 3rd down and took a 27-24 lead, 39 minutes into the game.

At this point, PSU's defense is winning its battles with our offense.  I don't put this in the same category as the UT game, where we moved the ball in the first half and not in the second.  This is a really good defense and they are going to get their share of wins.

And they did.  BG 3 and out again.

PSU from their own 37, driving with a dagger in their hands. They convert a 4th and 5 from the BG 43.  Then, from the 12, Allar throws a terrible ball into the end zone and is intercepted by Jacory Benjamin, a highly productive player at Texas Southern. Benjamin then made a key mistake, trying to run the ball out of the end zone and getting tackled at the 3.  I get it...sometimes when you are near the sideline you can get a pick like that and have the whole field open.  We all screw up sometimes. (To that point, PFF graded him at 79, our best defensive player).

That ended the 3rd Q.  BG only moved to the 19 and punted PSU to their 40.  Aided by a holding penalty, BG got a 3 and out. 

Field position is killing BG here.  And, Coach says the PSU switched to a 2-man (Cover 2 with man instead of zone) and he had not been able to prepare BG for that defense.  BG made two first downs but then Bazleak threw a pick.

BG's defense continued to hang in, forcing a 3 and out.  BG is still only down 3, but on its own 15. Bazelak was picked again and PSU started on the BG 41 and got a 41-yard TD run to go up 10 with 4 minutes left and settle the affair.

BG got the offense moving, driving to the PSU 24 before stalling out and kicking a FG.  The onsides kick was sooooooo close, but it's a desperation play for a reason.  PSU recovered and pulled the game out.

BG led for 39 minutes and was within a FG for 55 minutes.  It was an outstanding effort that came up just short.  As Loeffler said, we ran out of bullets.

Offensively, BG certainly represented up front.  There were wins and losses, but Bazelak was not sacked and only hurried 3 times.  PFF gave PSU 13 total pressures. BG was effective downfield in this one, so the play mix was less favorable than the Fordham game. PSU has a top-flight Dline and BG's line held its own.

The backs did well.  Patterson's numbers aren't great at 3.6 yards per carry but he was often running in tough conditions.  

Coach said that Stewart's injury is not like last year's.  He is expected back.  There's an off week, and then A&M.  Don't know if he will play in that one...BG clearly knows that we need him healthy for the stretch run this year.

Fannin is a dream.  I believe he will be in the NFL next year.  PSU had nobody who could handle him.  11 for 137.  PFF graded him a 93.  He's as good a player as we have had in years.

Johnson also got involved at 8 for 81 and a TD. 

Defensively, BG held them out.  The Nittany Lions did have 7.7 yards per play.  Their 2 backs had 220 yards on 27 carries.  Allar was 13 out of 20 with an INT and BG sacked him twice.  PFF has BG with 11 total pressures. We had a strong tackling game as well.  The defense kept PSU in check and held the lead at 3, but ultimately we were a couple plays short on both sides of the ball.

Kleather made both of his FGs and Henderson had 40 net yards per punt.  That's an improvement over the Fordham game.  The NCAA average right now is 38 or so.  BG is #19 in the country in net punting.

So, no moral victories.  But this was a good sign.  First, A&M isn't as good as Penn State...but I think we saw that we have the team we have been looking for.  If we can be consistent, we have a shot this year.

Penn State Preview

BG heads to Happy Valley, for a game with the #8 Penn State Nittany Lions.  PSU is a 35 point favorite.  They are 2-0 against BG and 22-2 against the MAC.  They lost to UT during a losing JoPa season and to OU in the first post-JoPa game.

This is an extremely tall order for our team.  We play P5 games to help our budget...and I think our players love to play on the big stage.  We hope to represent and stay healthy.

Look, we were a 31-point dog to Minnesota. The UT game that year was 26.  We played Michigan tough for a half last year with a #3 QB, but ultimately lost.

So, you never know.  It would be the 8th biggest upset point spread wise since 1980.

PSU started with a solid 34-12 road win @WVU.  Steele had them #3 in the Big 10, behind OSU and Oregon.  I think everyone believes they have a shot to get into the conference title game...partly because of a relatively favorable schedule. 

On offense, they have a QB and RB who are 2nd team pre-season All-Big Ten , something that represents a bigger accomplishment than ever now.  Steels has their OL #7 in the conference and their WRs #9.

On the defensive side, they look pretty inpenetrable.  Their d-line is first, linebacker is 2nd and the backfield is #3.  DE Abdul Carter is first team all-Big-10 pre-season.

Like Bowling Green, the Nittany Lions have an off week next week and then they play Kent the next week after..

Look, a thing like this has happened 7 times over the last 44 seasons.  So the chances are not zero.

Usual stuff.  We have to play our very best, take care of the football, get a bunch of turnovers.  In reality, I'd love to see us compete and stay healthy.

Past and Future Opponent Land:

 Past and Future Opponent Land:

Fordham:  We played them

PSU:  (1-0) Easily beat WVU on the road

TX A&M: (0-1) Lost to Notre Dame in College Station

ODU:  (0-1) Pressed South Carolina to end, soul-crushing fumble loses it

Akron:  (0-1) Expected result over OSU

NIU: (1-0)  Easily beat WIU

KSU:  (0-1) lost to Pitt

UT:  (1-0) Beat Duquesne

CMU (1-0) Beat Central Conn. State

WMU: (0-1) Representative loss @Wisconsin.

BSU: Week one bye week?

MU:  Lost @Northwestern

Vs. P4   0-5

Vs. G5:  1-0

Vs:  FCS: 5-0

East-West