It's Willie's World....

He just lets us live here. Ryan from the Blade (I would use his last name, but I don't feel like typing it--too many frickin vowels), is back, this time with a story on true Fr. wunderkind Willie Geter, who is drawing comparisons (from our coach) to Garret Wolfe. He was all-Florida 1st team but was recruited only by us, Akron and South Florida due to size. Get this anecdote from his HS Coach:

"I put Willie on a little sweep and he cut it outside and then he cut it back in," Zaccheo said. "The safety [highly ranked nationally] looked at Willie and kind of licked his chops, and Willie proceeded to plant that kid in the ground and leave cleat marks on his chest."

Nice. Like to hear that. As we had heard through the grapevine, Willie passed Bullock and Ransom to the starting position. I also hear he can play slot, much as PJ Pope did, providing a strong disincentive not to blitz your LBs, lest you get a quick elusive back running around in your spread out secondary.

Finally, Ryan says Coach will name the starting QB early next week, but that Sheehan takes first team snaps most of the time. This is a topic for another day, but I just think that Coach prefers a throwing QB over a running QB. Let's just hope he can move the team.

Mgoblog calls me Fruitcake

For picking LSU ahead of USC.

A technicality saves me from a whack ballot, which I did get once last year.

Defense for my pick comes later.

Split wide for the Falcons, Dan Macon

Ryan is back with the latest from Falcons training camp. The bulk of the story is a thumb-sucker on new DC Mike Ward being rewarded for loyalty...and, we hope for making himself a better coach since he was passed over for the job the first time. But time will tell. As always, the real stuff is in the notes.

INJURY REPORT: Receiver Freddie Barnes is practicing limitedly after injuring his ankle a couple of weeks ago, but he should be back for the Sept. 1 game at Minnesota. Fellow receiver Keston Cheathem is still bothered by a separated shoulder and spent yesterday's practice running up and down the steps at Doyt Perry Stadium. "I don't know if we'll have him for Minnesota," Brandon said. "That's touch and go right now." MACON A CHANGE: Former running back Dan Macon is now a full-time receiver, getting repetitions at the "X" position. "He's got great speed out there. He just has to keep working on his hands," Brandon said. "He'll help us out there, definitely."

So, that's the real news. Now, for uniformed commentary and speculation....

Two things on Dan Macon. I feel kind of bad for him. He came in as a LB/RB. In fact, I think we had the idea he was a better defensive player. But, we need depth at RB, and he goes there and plays behind PJ Pope and BJ Lane. Then, he takes a mid career redshirt so when his day comes, he gets two years.

The first of those was supposed to be last year. Sadly, he wasn't healthy, then Chris Bullock emerged, and he made a limited contribution. This year, we bring in Eric Ransom from JUCO, and it looks bad, and now that Willie Geter (true FR) is going all whoa-nellie in camp, he falls even farther down.

So he moves to WR. I hope he can make a contribution, because I think he has been hurt just by some bad timing, and being behind some really good players.

Now, as for WR, I think one thing is clear. We brought in JUCO WRs, we're moving Macon to WR....I think what many of us feared at WR was true. We don't have much there, beyond Corey Partridge. The spread requires an absolute butt load of WR, and we don't seem to have the depth we need to move the ball. (We had some young guys leave over the years rather than sit behind our other wawesome receivers.)

Falcons Hoops Schedule Released

So here begins the story of Louis Orr at Bowling Green, as the new coach begins his quest to rebuild the Falcon program. The first challenge is scheduling...always a challenge in the MAC and with our small arena. Last year, Coach Dakich's schedule received some criticism for being way too easy...I actually like this year's schedule. Here is why:

• Temple is playing in AA. I know it isn't the Temple from before, but it is still Temple, a big name opponent that should draw, playing in our place. It is thanksgiving weekend, sadly, but we will be there.
• Two A-10 teams--Temple and Duquesne.
• While not huge name teams, Morehead State (bracket buster rerun), Illinois State and Eastern Illinois are two good programs for us to be competing with in our gym.
• Likewise, the Furman and N. Colorado trips are nice road trips.
• There are four home games prior to the start of the conference season. Nice balance.
• As I see it, no D-2 teams on the schedule.

BGSU MEN'S BASKETBALL
2007-08 SCHEDULE

NOVEMBER

Fri., 9...........Cincinnati Tournament (Cincinnati, Ohio) & (AZZ says W. Carolina)
Sat., 10..........Cincinnati Tournament (Cincinnati, Ohio) & (AZZ says Belmont)
Sun., 11..........Cincinnati Tournament (Cincinnati, Ohio) & (AZZ says UC)
Sat., 17..........MOREHEAD STATE
Sat., 24..........TEMPLE
Tue., 27..........at Furman

DECEMBER

Sat., 1...........at Oakland
Wed., 5 / Thu., 6.at Northern Colorado
Tue., 18..........ILLINOIS STATE
Sat., 22..........at Indiana State
Sat., 29..........EASTERN ILLINOIS

JANUARY

Wed., 2...........DUQUESNE
Sat., 5...........OHIO *
Sat., 12..........at Kent State *
Thu., 17..........BUFFALO *
Sun., 20..........at Akron *
Wed., 23..........MIAMI *
Sun., 27..........NORTHERN ILLINOIS *
Wed., 30..........at Ball State *

FEBRUARY

Sat., 2...........at Western Michigan *
Wed., 6...........CENTRAL MICHIGAN *
Sun., 10..........TOLEDO *
Wed., 13..........at Eastern Michigan *
Sat., 16..........AKRON *
Tue., 19..........at Ohio *
Sat., 23..........Bracket Buster (road game)

MARCH

Sat., 1...........KENT STATE *
Tue., 4...........at Buffalo *
Sun., 9...........at Miami *
Wed., 12..........MAC Tournament First Round ^
Thu., 13..........MAC Tournament Quarterfinals ^
Fri., 14..........MAC Tournament Semifinals ^
Sat., 15..........MAC Tournament Championship ^

Falcons in NFL Pre-season

Charles Sharon, the outstanding BGSU receiver, he of the acrobatic catch that beat Purdue, is in his second year of trying to hook on with the Jaguars. And, it looks like he might be making some headway.

He had a big night last night....here is what Jaguars.com had to say....

Charles Sharon would seem to be the big winner of the night. He caught three passes for 54 yards and his first catch of the evening, a leaping grab along the Tampa sideline in the second quarter, made an impression on Del Rio.

“That’s the one thing that stuck out,” Del Rio said.

Sharon was the Jaguars’ star of spring drills and he’s making a move to become the team’s star receiver of the preseason, too. It’s a move that could land him a roster spot, or maybe even more.

“He’s making plays,” quarterback Byron Leftwich said of Sharon. “Chuck got this swagger about him.”

Yes, he does have that swagger about him. We know that. It would be great if he made the team.

In Cleveland, Steve Sanders caught 3 passes for 40 yards, including a 24 yarder during the Quinn-led rally in the 4th. He did catch one and fumble, though he got the ball back. He is a long shot to make the team.

This provides some perspective on those teams we had. In addition to a QB who got NFL looks, we were throwing to three WRs (Magner, Sharon, Sanders), each of whom got serious time in an NFL camp. Plus, PJ Pope continues on as well with Green Bay. I am sure no BG offense ever walked onto the field with five position players who ended up in NFL camps.

So, when Gregg Brandon doesn't look like as good a coach as he did before, ask yourself this: who would?

Football nuggets

Two football nuggets.....

First, I note in the Phil Steele College Football Preview (The Bible), the only conference ranked worse than the MAC is the Sun Belt. And I note that in the USA Today poll, no MAC team got even one vote, despite several MAC coaches possessing a vote. Just sayin'.

Second, the BG News staff is now blogging. Just sayin'.

Blogpoll!

You know college football is coming when the pre-season blog poll comes out. Love doing this--it is an absolute blast. Here is my draft pre-season poll. Comment as you like.

Here's the drill. After Wed the 22nd, there will be a spirited (no doubt) debate on mgoblog about who is over-rated and under-rated. A new adjusted poll will come out on the 29th, based on those arguments. Then, it is time to play football.

A few comments. Like LSU a bunch, and I doubt that USC can close the door, so that explains #1. OSU will exceed expectations, and Florida will disappoint. Other than that, here you go.

Final note: I just can't pick WVU and Louisville as high as some people do. They're just....WVU and Louisville.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	LSU	25
2	Southern Cal	24
3	Texas	23
4	Oklahoma	22
5	Michigan	21
6	West Virginia	20
7	Virginia Tech	19
8	Florida State	18
9	Louisville	17
10	South Carolina	16
11	Georgia	15
12	Ohio State	14
13	Penn State	13
14	Wisconsin	12
15	Hawaii	11
16	Florida	10
17	Oregon	9
18	Missouri	8
19	Texas A&M	7
20	UCLA	6
21	Alabama	5
22	Tennessee	4
23	TCU	3
24	Nebraska	2
25	Arizona State	1

Dropped Out: