A Dispatch from Moscow...

The opener is racing up on us, and I was on the internets today and I found some information from the opposing camp....our friends in Moscow, the Idaho Vandals.

The big news is that they cancelled their full-pad scrimmage on Friday.    They are apparently battling injuries and didn't want to push it.  Right now, Akey is saying that he is only worried about one guy being ready for the opener, but that remains to be seen....you can easily imagine a motivation to say otherwise about right now.

The biggest issue is Justin Veltung, their top WR, who has turf toe, but they have 2 TBs down and a couple of guys on the O-lineman, along with a LB, a d-lineman and the long snapper.

Other notes:

• Their QB Brian Reader (Sr.) has been very effective this Fall.
• The defense was torched in their previous scrimmage and was better this time, though they continue to struggle at CB.
• Apparently, (this is funny) one of the team's DBs said that Idaho wants a bend but don't break defense.

To which Akey said:

 “I think I need to have a conversation with old Channel 6 (Grymes) there because I don’t want to see bend-don’t-break. I want to see … let’s don’t bend (at all).

• They are looking at about four true freshman to play.
• One guy to watch out for...true FR. Todd Handley, described as having "elite speed."

More Idaho stuff as we get closer to game day.

Rough Day in the Big Smoke and Men's Basketball Schedule is Out

A couple of more items related to men's basketball.

First, it was a tough night for the Falcons against "A Game Hoops" who we beat a couple of days ago.  This time, we played with FIBA rules and a 24-second shot clock and the guys from the Great White North got the better of us, winning 77-63.  BG sounds like they fouled a lot, as A Game made 20-23 free throws to ice the ball game.

We play Phase 1 today.

Some pictures of the team at Niagara Falls and CN Tower can be viewed here.

In other news, the schedule was released for the Falcons.  We have 15 games at the new Stroh Center, including 3 in the CBE Classic.  This is actually a pretty strong home schedule.  In addition to the 3 CBE games (all D-1 opponents), BG also has Temple coming in.  The opener is still against Howard (note date change), and then there is one NAIA game against Malone.  Anyway, the home schedule is not too bad, though all but one of the non-conference games are in November and, in fact, four of them take place in one week where we will get to know the Stroh Center very well.

As for the road games, BG goes to Georgia, MSU (they come to the Stroh next year), Western Kentucky, Valparaiso, Florida INT, Duquesne, and Texas San-Antonio.  I haven't had a chance to see if those teams are expected to be any good, but on paper it appears to be a pretty tough slate.  With the exception of FIU, those are all very solid programs--UTSA was in the Big Dance last year after we beat them.  These are all teams we have crossed paths with....except for Georgia they are all part of home and home deals---Valpo is a Bracket Buster return.

I'd like to think we have a shot to do something this year, and if so, I do like this schedule.  I think it will help to prepare us for the MAC season, where they only thing that really matters is leaving the Q with a trophy.

We will host a bracketbuster game as well.

The MAC season is what it is, I guess.  We play Akron and Kent consecutively on both rotations...Trey Zeigler will come to the Stroh Center...Miami comes to BG on leap day....

Looking very forward to the men's basketball season.


Nov. 5    TIFFIN (EXH.)          TBA
Nov. 11 HOWARD          7 PM
Nov. 13 at Georgia (CBE Classic/ESPNU)    6 pm
Nov. 21 AUSTIN PEAY (CBE CLASSIC)       7:30 PM
Nov. 22 DETROIT (CBE CLASSIC)       7:30 PM
Nov. 23 GEORGE WASHINGTON (CBE CLASSIC) 7:30 PM
Nov. 27 TEMPLE          2 PM
Dec. 4    at Western Kentucky        TBA
Dec. 7    MALONE          TBA
Dec. 10 at Valparaiso          TBA
Dec. 17 at Michigan State        TBA
Dec. 22 at Florida International       TBA
Dec. 28 at Duquesne          TBA
Jan. 1    at Texas San Antonio        TBA
Jan. 7    OHIO *           TBA
Jan. 11   AKRON *          TBA
Jan. 14   at Kent State *         TBA
Jan. 18   at Miami (Ohio) *        TBA
Jan. 21   BUFFALO *          TBA
Jan. 25   CENTRAL MICHIGAN *       TBA
Jan. 28   at Eastern Michigan *       TBA
Feb. 1    at Western Michigan *       TBA
Feb. 4    NORTHERN ILLINOIS *       TBA
Feb. 8    at Ball State *          TBA
Feb. 11 TOLEDO *          TBA
Feb. 15   at Ohio *          TBA
Feb. 18 ESPN BRACKETBUSTERS       TBA
Feb. 22   at Akron *          TBA
Feb. 25 KENT STATE *          TBA
Feb. 29 MIAMI (OHIO) *        TBA
March 2/3 at Buffalo *          TBA

New Format for Basketball Tournaments

Well, the MAC went off and did something I like.  Who knew?

Anyway, above are the new brackets for the MAC basketball tournaments--both men's and women's--though I am going to talk Men's here.  As you can see, the top two teams move directly to the semi-finals and the next two move directly to the quarter finals.  Most pleasing and surprising of all is that the seeding will be done regardless of division.  So, if a team from one division ends up winning with a 9-7 record, they would be seeded accordingly and not just leap to #2, as in the past.

I love this format.  Most of all, it creates real meaning for the regular season.  A team that hits the top two seeds significantly increases their chances of making the Big Dance--not only do they need to win twice, but they will be (at a minimum) playing a team that played the night before and maybe playing a team on their third game in three nights.  It will inject a lot more drama into the regular season.  The difference between being #4 and #5 is pretty huge.

Yet, it could happen.  It doesn't stop a team like OU, or #6 Akron, from making the run.  It just lets team earn an easier road.

Good on ya, MAC.

Huge Men's Basketball News!

Big news found on the web for BG Basketball.  The Falcons are going to play---and be a host!!--in the CBE Classic, a November exempt tournament.  This is a little bit like what went on at Calihan Hall last year...four teams (BG, George Washington, Austin Peay, and Detroit) will play a round-robin set of games at the Stroh Center.  Games will be November 21-23.

That will be proceeded by a game @Georgia on November 13 that will be on ESPNU.

This is like the tournament last year in that it is not a tournament we can advance in, but getting onto national TV and then having 3 games on our home floor against D1 opponents is a pretty exciting coup.  Great job to the people who made this happen, and I'm looking very forward to it.

Falcons Win First Game in Toronto

Good news for the men's hoops team, they picked up a W in Canada over a group of guys called "A Game Hoops."  I'd never heard of these guys...the idea is that players who played in Europe or in the NCAA (of Canadian College ball) join the team and get prepared with the goal of getting pro contracts in Europe.  There also help the development of high school players.  You can check their roster out here.


How good are they?  Well, this all hard to tell.  BGSUFalcons.com had this...

The team had just come off of a seven-point win over Atlantic 10 school Duquesne two nights earlier.

That's a Duquesne that has had some success against BG recently.


Anyway, the Falcons won 91-87.  Sounds like we "played tag," but BG shot the ball well and the Coach from the Canadian team said we were well coached.  Here is the report.

Dee Brown led a balanced Bowling Green effort with 14 points as the Falcons shot 58 percent from the field and made 5-of-7 three-pointers. A'uston Calhoun had 13 points and Scott Thomas added 12. Jordon Crawford knocked down three of the team's five three-pointers and ended with 10 points. The team also made 12-of-14 free-throws down the stretch to ice the game.

91 is a lot of points with only 5 3 pointers.  We must have been playing "inside out."


Anyway, a good start.  Rematch on Friday.

Defensive news for Falcons....

John Wagner has a look at what's going on in the defensive backfield for the Falcons.

Coach Clawson has talked about needing internal competition, and he clearly seems to have it.  The defensive backfield was a big problem last season...the team just had no depth, had some injures, were using 2 non-scholarship players, etc and were not helped by the lack of a pass rush.  For evidence of the issues, see the first quarter of the UT game.

Keith Morgan was probably our best player in the d-backfield, and he has moved up to Rover (a LB/DB hybrid position).  At the corner, Von McKoy (r-FR) (who as far as I can tell came to BG as a walk on) is apparently solid at one spot, while Adrien Spencer (Sr.) and Cam Truss (r-JR) are battling for the other spot.  Truss looked good in spots last year, especially against Marshall.  Spencer has logged a lot of playing time over the years in some weak backfields.

At Safety, Aaron Foster (So) apparently has one spot in hand.  He worked his way onto the depth chart, played all 12 games and had a nice game at CMU.  The other S spot is between Ryland Ward (r-FR) and Jovon Leacock (sr).  Leacock is a JUCO guy who came here as a WR and was forced into D-back duty last season.  He finished second on the team in tackles and according to the article, was pushed and has gotten himself back into the starting race after perhaps faltering a little.  Ryland Ward red-shirted last year but was all-Ohio in HS.  For him to be pushing this hard now is a very good sign.

Ultimately, in today's college game you need more than 4 d-backs.  You are often in nickel and dime looks, so it stands to reason that most of these guys will be called on.  Still, if they are pressuring each other, then you have a better chance at getting good players.

The d-backfield is only part of the puzzle.  Yeah, they gotta keep guys in front of them, but we have to be able to get pressure from our base set and be able to keep good numbers back in coverage.  Everyone on the team needs to tackle better in open space. That will make everybody look better.

In other notes....

The media guide is out in an online only form (by NCAA rules, which I think is fine but might make you wonder if the NCAA didn't have something better to be doing (*cough* *Cough* Miami Hurricanes).  Anyway, a few other notes on the depth chart listed there.

• JUCO OLineman Scott Hodges and Dominic Wharton are both in backup roles.
• The Flewellyn and Roussos makeshift team on the right side of the line remains intact.
• TE Kendall Montgomery of Miami is now #2 on the TE chart.
• BooBoo Gates is currently on the 2nd string. (note the lack of his mention above).
• There are 13 r-FR on the two-deep.
• Jerry Phillips is listed #1 at punter over Brian Schemidebush, which is a little bit of a surprise.

Hoser Hoops....

The Falcons are heading to Toronto (aka "The Big Smoke") for a three-game set of exhibitions this week combined with some fine sightseeing in the Toronto area.  This is becoming a common maneuver in the MAC--at least a couple of teams are doing it.  The big advantage is you get to practice before you go, and Coaches luuuuuuuuuvvvvv extra practices.

Hey!  I think I can see Otis Polk
from up here!

The original plan was for us to play Guelph, an all-star team and a mystery team.  That has been replaced by games with 3 mystery teams.  We will play somebody call A Game Hoops on Wednesday and Friday, and Phase I on Saturday.  Their RPIs are unknown.

All games are at Seneca College.

We will keep our eye on how we fare.