Lafayette (3-2) Lost to Princeton
Cincinnati (3-1) Beat KansasBG dropped their first game in MAC play yesterday to the defending champs and a really solid OU team. Coach George said he was disappointed because he seems to be left saying the same things after every game...in this case. the team beating themselves, especially with four turnovers.
The game started like you'd like, with Cam Pettaway taking the opening kick back to midfield. Four plays later, a pick 6 for OU set the actual tone for the game.
BG did rally pack, riding an explosive run from Chris McMillan and a 27 yards TD pass from Pyne to Roberts to tie the score. It was OU's turn, and they went 10 plays and 75 yards to make it 14-7.
In a key sequence, BG got a 38-yard run from RJ Garcia and had it first and goal at the 10 before settling for a FG.
Early in the 2nd, OU scored another TD to make it 21-10, at which point BG is in a little bit of trouble. On the next possession, Pyne threw another pick but the defense forced a 3 and out.
BG had a big punt return called back by holding and started on their own 14. They put together their best drive of the day, running 12 plays to the OU 12 and running the clock from 4:30 to under a minute. Unfortunately, they stalled out again, but at least it was a one-score game at the half.
OU had the ball in the second half, and BG got a huge break with an INT and the ball on the 33. BG went 3 and out. A second chance emerged when BG forced a Navarro fumble and recoverd, but Anderson fumbled it back a couple of plays later. That left the ball on the BG 27 and OU scored three players later and it was 28-13 with 5:42 left in the 3rd.
After some punts, OU started the 4th with the ball and Navarro fumbled again and BG recovered on their 45. This time, they took advantage, with Pettaway going 18 and McMillan 15 to put the ball in the end zone and make it 28-20 with 9:41 left.
OU took no time answering, going 75 yards in 6 plays to make it 35-20 and put the game away.
We get a little better view of who we are. Liberty lost again, so that win is not aging too well, either.
BG had an excellent running day. McMillan had 8.1 yards per carry, Petaway 6.8 and Garcia had one run for 38. Unfortunately, BG had 5 sacks and 4 INT. BG continued it strategy of low-risk passes, averaging less than 9 yards per completion.
In total, BG had 5.4 yards per play, which is tough to pair with turnovers and see a winning effort.
OU had 231 yards on the ground at 5.9 yards per carry. Bangura was over 100, Navarro had 66 and Brune had 57. Navarro was sacked twice (both fumbles) and threw a pick and had 12.2 yards per completion. Overall, they were 6.9 yards per play.
On defense, Gideon Lampron had 11 tackles. Myles Bradley had both sacks. JoJo Johnson had the INT.
So, it's a bye week and then the Rockets come to town for what should be a sold-out game and one to anticipate. Still no game time. At 2-3, I think we're seeing a team that is undermanned at QB and WR and badly missing Pringle. Last thing....OU was on to the Anderson runs.
On we go.
BG has a football commit to add...this is an oline from St. Joseph, Michigan. That's located on Lake Michigan, a really nice area. The player is Maddux Murphy, a 6'5" and 290 pound OL. BG and Houston were his only reported FBS offers, but there are were four FCS offers and a PWO from Texas A&M
As usual, not a ton of info on lineman.
He is only the 3rd in the incoming class. (We regret the error)
Lafayette (3-1) Beat Columbia
Cincinnati (2-1) IdleI had a feeling that BG was going to be up against it with this Louisville team, and in fact they were. In a game that was never really in doubt, Louisville beat BG 40-17 to knock the Falcons to 2-2.
Louisville got only 1 carry out of Isaac Brown, the pre-season All-ACC RB (he got 18 yards). And BG got nothing out of emerging star Dorian Pringle, who injured his ACL celebrating the Liberty win and (it has been announced) will not return this year.
The issue for BG remains the offense. Louisville has been playing outstanding defensive football, to make things even harder. BG's biggest struggle has been finishing drives. Midway through the first they recovered a muffed punt and had the ball inside the Cardinal 40. They were 3 and out and settled for a long Kleather FG.
The next two times they got into Louisville territory, Pyne threw a pick. BG didn't sustain a TD drive until they did it twice in the 4th, when the game was decided.
The run game wasn't terrible. Certainly, having Lucian Anderson rip off a 75-yard TD run is good for your numbers. But BG wasn't dominated on the run game. The pass game was another story, which Coach acknowledged after the game. Pyne was 11-21 for 131, 1 TD and 2 INT. He was not sacked--he had time to throw. He ripped off two nice runs, but the passing accuracy and timing just isn't in sync.
Coach says we need to figure some things out. While our defense is playing better than the offense, we've lost Pringle and I don't think we can rely on winning low-scoring games.
Of the 11 completions, only 3 went to a WR. According to PFF, BG's top receivers are #17 and #26 in the MAC. Overall, only 31 of BG's 68 completions have been to WR.
Jacob Harris, on the other hand, had a big play, where he scored for the second week in a row. He really fought his way into the end zone, saying later that his Dad would have given it to him if he was tackled inside the 5-yard line.
Defensively, Louisville certainly showed big play ability. Caullin Lacy had a 75-yard punt return--teams rarely return the ball at all against BG--and had a 40-yard KO return. He added 8 catches for 97 yards, 90 of the YAC. They also had a 34-yard run. Overall, they had 7.1 yards per play.
On special teams, Kleather nailed a 49-yarder. Henderson had a good day punting on average, had one short punt that resulted in a fumble, and was absolutely clocked on Lacy's TD return.
It doesn't get easier. Next up is Ohio, the defending champs and the current favorites, especially with UT dropping the game in Kalamazoo. On the road, it's a tough opener for the Falcons.
Program:
They are one of those programs that is always punching to be a top program and usually end up being a pretty good program. They had top 10 success under Bobby Petrino (twice), and since he left, they have struggled to develop ranked teams.
Jeff Brohm is a good coach. Played in the NFL, so we have an NFL-NFL coaching matchup. When a WKU, he delivered a 59-31 smackdown in Dino's first game here.
He's 21-8 at Louisville.
The series.
Louisville is 19-12 vs. the MAC. They lost to Miami and Marshall in the GMAC Bowl days and also to Marshall in the Motor City Bowl.
BG has never played them.
This year
They are 2-0 coming off a bye week. They beat EKU and James Madison--a game in which the Cardinals rallied to beat the Dukes, who were picked to win their conference.
Expectations:
According to Phil Steele, they are the #7 most experienced team. They were picked #6 in the ACC.
Preseason All ACC:
1st team:
Isaac Brown, RB
Caulin Lacy, WR
2nd team:
Stanquan Clark. LB--not expected to play Saturday
Offense:
Steele Position rankings:
QB: 5
RB: 1
REC:2
OL:3
Louisville has been primarily driven by their defense this year.
Having said that, they have a true stud at RB. Isaac Brown is averaging 12.8 yards per carry, which would lead the nation if he had 2 more carries. He's scored 3 times, has a long of 78 yards. He was ACC Rookie of the Year last year. Falcons have to keep their eyes on this guy.
Their QB is #72 in passing efficiency to date. He had 63% completion, which is good. He has 12.5 per completion, which is also good. He had 2 TD over 2 INT, neither of which is good.
They have 4 receivers with catches of over 30 yards.
You can see where this goes....keep your eyes on Brown, and they go right over the top.
They are #34 in scoring offense and #32 in yards per play.
Defense:
Steele Position rankings:
DL: 5
LB: 3
DB: 8
Based on those rankings, the Cards are over-achieving on defense based on early returns.
They are #1 in sacks, #8 in total defense, #15 in passing efficiency defense, #8 in first downs allowed, #7 in passing yards allowed and #35 in rushing defense.
Cleve Lubin leads the nation in sacks per game.
Special Teams
They are good.
They are #10 in KO returns.
#8 in punt returns, with one to the house.
Their kicker is 3-3, all under 40.
Their punter, however, is the worst in the country.
Final Thoughts:
I think Louisville is better than Cincy.
Louisville is a 25.5 point favorite.
Not much in the way of news. The one thing was that Dorian Pringle went off the field injured on Saturday late in the game. Coach said that he hadn't seen a report on the injury. Something to watch for as they head out to warm up on Saturday.
Great day to be a Falcon. Yes, there was plenty that could have been better. We certainly played better than they did....and we sent the big crowd home happy, a chance we have missed before. The noise of the crowd, our alumni, the band, and a victory over what was expected to be a pretty good football team...great weather. Take it any day.
While we might remember winning comfortably, it was a one-score game late in the 3rd.
The game started with Kal-el Pascal knocking the ball free on the 3rd play of the game, and BG got the ball on their own 41.
Coach George said after the game that BG has to get better at finishing drives. I think everyone would agree.
BG picked up 2 first downs and then a false start on 3rd down. Starting on 1st and 15, they failed to convert (losing one yard net) and then settled for a Kleather 48 yarder.
The teams traded punts, and then LU had the ball on their own 38. They drove into BG territory and threw an apparent TD pass that was called back on a holding. (In fact, they ended up with 2TDs and a long pas called back. Coach George seemed surprised when asked about them. I went back and watched the replay, and each of them was 100% a foul. On the TD pass and the run, our guys were clearly wrestled at the impact points of the play. The third one was an absolute holding penalty, but dumb...the Liberty OL kept wrestling him when he was nowhere near anything.)
Anyway, LU tried a 38-yard FG and missed.
BG converted 2 3rd downs before stalling at the LU 1 and punting the Flames to the 1. They drove to the BG 38 before the Falcons got sacks on 2nd down and 3rd down.
There were two more exchanges of punts, and then LU started at their own 11. BG got a sack, and then on the next play, LU ripped off a long run, and Dorian Pringle punched the ball out, and Pringle recovered. BG got the ball with :29 left, drove to the LU 7, and then took another false start. This time, they recovered, as Pyne hit Harris in the end zone to make it 10-0 at the half.
The last exchange was huge. Three sacks and a turnover, and a two-score lead heading into the locker room.
BG got the ball and punted. LU took the ball on the 22 and scored on a 44-yard pass to make it 10-7. How big is the Harris touchdown now?
BG went on their most sustained drive of the game. A key play--like one of those plays you don't notice but made a difference--was Finn Hogan winning a 50/50 pass that might have been a 25/75 pass on 3rd and 10. After getting to the Liberty 6, a holding call set them back. As did an appalling no-call on DPI in the end zone. Kleather nailed a short one to make it 13-7. Drive killed 5:44.
The BG defense got a 3-and-out. The offense started at about midfield and hit Johnson for a 21-yard catch, but again the drive stalled and Kleather nailed a 50-yarder.
16-7 with 13:43 left.
It's 3rd and 2 for LU on their 33. BG stuffs them and 3rd and 4th down, and recovered a fumble on 4th. That's one of the plays where BG is closing out a game.
BG capitalized, as McMillan dodged two tackles to get to the edge and was pushed out of bounds at the 15. LU's DB proceeded to throw a punch at McMillan in front of the BG students. A melee broke out, the ball moved to the 7, and McMillan scored on the next play. 23-7 with 11:38 left.
Things are looking pretty good. LU drove to the BG 36, when Collins Acheampong deflected a pass and Pringle intercepted. 8:15 left. BG took it very conservatively, killing 3:15 from the clock and punting.
LU took the ball with 5:02 and marched down the field, scoring with 2:46 left. But, they missed the conversion and committed a penalty on the conversion, 23-13 is the score.
BG recovered the onside kick and ran the game out.
It was a sloppy game. BG had 13 penalties for 106 yards and LU had 6 for 48...about half of them at terrible times. LU turned the ball over 4 times, gave up 4 sacks, etc.
Even as BG has room to improve, they played better than LU did and deserved the victory.
BG had only 5 yards per play on offense if you take away the sack and the kneel-downs. That's still just average. We only broke one 20+ run, and it was Pyne on a scramble.
The passing game was also just OK. Pyne was 16 of 31 for 146. He does seem to have accuracy issues....especially on throws out to the flat on the LOS. The rest of the time there seemed to be rhythm issues, balls delivered slightly behind or late. The 9.1 yards per completion and 4.9 per attempt reflect a safe play call and low productivity.
No Falcon had more than 3 receptions. RJ Garcia had a couple tough runs after catching the ball. He led the team with 38 receiving yards.
10 points off turnovers--and none on their end--was the difference.
Now, for the defense, which had a much bigger game. In addition to forcing those 4 turnovers, BG held a team that went wild last week to 5.4 yards per play. Sack adjusted, they also ran for 4.9 yards per run. They completed only 13 out of 25, for 194 yards. They did have some success downfield on the pass game, as BG was up playing the run.
Perhaps most importantly, BG made an adjustment. No really. LU was moving the ball effectively with the option in the first half, but BG tightened up in the second half. We made effective adjustments with Clawson, not so much since.
Pascal had 7 tackles, forced a fumble, and had a pick. Washington had 8 tackles. Pringle with 7 tackles, 1 fumble forced and recovered, and a pick. Lampron with 6 tackles.
On special teams? Kleather, OMG. A 48 yarder and a 50-yarder. Henderson had 39 yards per punt, 2 inside 20 and 1 TB. Ridley (a name to watch) had a 25-yard punt return.
Sometimes winning hides faults. I don't think that will happen. We know we need to get better. Having said that, as Urban Meyer said, "we will never apologize for winning."
The Series:
BG is 1-1 with Liberty.
The first game was before Liberty was in FBS. BG won 62-3 under Brandon.
Liberty beat BG in 2023, 34-24 on their way to an undefeated season. BG had 5 INT, yet rallied from 24-0 to be in the game. Looking back, it was disappointing in that if we had played well, we might have had a shot.
Before 2000, Liberty was 1-8 vs. MAC teams. They are 6-3 since then. In 2023, they beat BG and UB.
Expectations
Liberty was picked to win C-USA in their conference poll, tied with WKU. (Actually, these are not rankings, just goofy confidence rankings.) Phil Steele has them first.
Phil Steele had the following players on the pre-season list:
1st team
2nd team
This season
Beat Maine 28-7 and lost to Jacksonville State 34-24. Jax State was picked #7 in CUSA and the game was in Jacksonville.
I listened to their coach's presser. He sounded like our guys usually do after a loss. They had two turnovers (to zero for Jax State) and poor kicking. Down 24-10 entering the 4th, they furiously rallied to make it a game.
Offense
This is a good team. They put up 8.1 yards per play and 534 yards last week.
From Phil Steele, here are their position group rankings in CUSA.
A little bit of news from the Football program.
First, the football presser had taken a new turn. Before the current coach, they were generally undertaken with great seriousness. Now...not so much.
For example, after the game Saturday, Coach George flummoxed an AP reporter by jokingly confronting him about jinxing BG's zero turnovers to date.
Monday, it started with an answer about how he liked his months at the Best Western. He mentioned their amazing waffles, which are apparently served in the lobby.
A reporter asked what his Waffle House order was. He had one...two waffles, scrambled eggs and cheese, grits, and Texas Toast. (He's a big guy).
Then...he asked the reporter what his favorite order was. Equally flummoxed, he blurted out that it was chocolate chip pancakes.
George raised his eyes and said, "Huh. I was thinking buttermilk for you."
Anyway.
Other news is that @talontribune reported that Chris McMillan did not play Saturday due to a personal issue and is expected to be back in action Saturday.
So, two pieces of big news for MBB today....one of them OMG! and one of them more on the routine side.
The huge news is that Anthony Stacey will be returning to BG. It is safe to say that it was well received in the Falcon Nation. Stacey is our second leading scorer all-time, MAC POY and twice All-MAC... and one of our most popular players ever. He was an assistant for Huger for five years, staying with BG through the COVID-cancelled tournament, where BG may have lost a real shot...and then went to Whitmer. His supporters point to the fact that his departure coincided with the decline of the Huger program. He is known as a good coach and is very well liked by the players. He has also been very successful at the HS level...took Whitmer to the State Final Four. We have a player, Mekhi Leary, who played at Whitmer.
Welcome home, Anthony.
The other news is that the schedule is out. Dropped only one day from the season ticket renewal deadline, the schedule is about what we have come to expect.
First, we have 3 non-D1 games. I am on the record as being against this. I think one is fine. Two is OK. Beyond that, it's just not right. Yes, I'd rather we played on the road. (They are Bethany College, DIII, 7-18 last year; Aquinas College, NAIA, 14-15 last year; Siena Heights, 8-20).
There is one P4 on the schedule--Kansas State, where Marcus Johnson is playing.
D1 Home games
Texas State, part of Sun Belt Challenge, 16-26 last year.
Le Moyne...D1...but one of the 10 worst D1 teams last year.
William & Mary....good mid-major home and home. 17-15 last year.
Utah Valley....Last year's WAC regular-season champion. KenPom was #112. Good mid-major game at the Stroh.
Chicago State--we seem to play them a lot. 4-28 last year. Beat Le Moyne. 3rd worst team in D1.
Away and neutral games:
Davidson--assuming it is home and home, it is a good one. 17-16 last year, KenPom 147.
Bucknell, in Ft. Myers. Won the Patriot League last year. Appeared in 17 and 18 Dance. Won a game in 09.
VMI, also in Ft. Myers. 13-18 last year. Have three Dance appearances , including in the Elite Eight in 1976.
Kansas State....16-17 last year. KenPom of 65.
We talked earlier that MAC play is starting before New Year's, so BG opens with Miami in 2025.
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Past and Future Opponent Land
Lafayette (1-1) Beat Stonehill
Cinccinnati (1-1) We played them
Liberty (1-1) Lost Jacksonville State (thanks for pointing it out, anonymous commenter)
Louisville (2-0) Beat James Madison
OU: (1-1) Beat upset at home over WVU. They look good.
UT: (1-1) Smoked WKU. Also looked good.
CMU (1-1) Lost to Pitt
Kent (1-1) Blown out by Texas Tech
UB (1-1) Beat St. Francis
EMU (0-2) Lost to FCS Long Island. Bad loss.
UA (0-2) lost 68-0 to Nebraska
UMass (0-2) Lost to FCS Bryant. Bad loss
MAC vs FCS: 4-2
MAC vs P4: 1-13
MAC vs.G5 2-4
BG went to UC and lost 34-20. While it is the first time we have ever lost to the Bearcats, there were some high points and low points as we monitor this team to see exactly what we have.
The outcome was never in doubt. UC was up 14-0 early in the second and the game was never closer than two scores again. BG had it to 24-10 with 4 left in the 3rd and needed a stop to get the ball back and maybe generate some momentum.
Instead, UC drove 75 yards to make it 31-10.
BG got it to 31-17 with 10 left in the game. Again, a stop was needed, but UC went on a 4 minute drive to get a FG and make it 34-17. From there, 34-20 was the final.
Again, there were good points and bad points.
UC played good run defense against Nebraska, but the Falcons did run the ball. Sack-adjusted, BG had 4.9 yards per carry. Both of the main RBs (Pettaway and Roberts) averaged over 5.5 yards per carry. (McMillan DNP).
BG also had a stronger passing game. Pyne looked a lot more comfortable. He executed the game plan they gave him very well. He was 29 of 36 for 274, 1 TD and O INT. (In fact, don't say it in front of Coach George, but BG has less than but not equal to one turnover this year). Just know that the game plan had a lot of high percentage passes. He had 9.4 yards per completion, which is not a lot. 16 of those attempts were behind the LOS and
Jyrin Johnson really showed what he could do. He had 7 for 80 and a score. Roberts had 6 for 47. RJ Garcia 5 for 35. Nine Falcons caught passes.
So all of that was promising. Some downsides.
So, finishing drives.
BG had 4 penalties and gave up 4 sacks, a couple of them at key times.
For the defense, there were also positives. Let's be clear...they allowed 8.3 yards per play, so we can't get too far ahead of ourselves.
UC came in having really run the ball effectively last week. BG did a great job on the run defense. Coach said in the post-game that if we would have let them get running downhill, it could have been a very long afternoon. They had 29 carries for 106 yards, a 3.7 average. BG did a respectable job on Sorsby running.
UC came in having passed the ball poorly against Nebraska. And here was BG's downfall. Sorsby was 17 of 24 for 3 TD and 333 yards. That's 19.5 yards per completion. Big passing plays were the difference. BG has some young players in the dbackfield and Coach said they need to communicate better. Good news is, I think this is fixable. On PFF, the coverage rankings were generally poor and BG got no sacks and 12 hurries.
For special teams, BG was good. Kleather missed from 54 but made 2 short ones. Henderson's punt numbers were down, but 3 of his 4 punts ended up inside the 20. Neither team did much in the return game and both teams had at least once poor kickoff return start.
While disappointed to lose, I think we saw some improvement on offense and a defense beset by big plays, which we hope can be fixed. Overall, we are penalty-free and t*rn*ver free. We seem to be staying healthy. This was a nice improvement over the opener. Big test at home with Liberty Saturday.
BG will be heading down to Cincinnati to play the Bearcats. Here's a preview.
The Series
The Opener...
General: