Showdown of Future MAC Quarterbacks Nixed for ESPN...

I don't suppose things like this happen in the Fox River Valley of Wisconsin very often.  There are two Division I quarterbacks playing their senior year and they would be set to take each other around Game 7.  The game would watch Ashwaubenon's James Morgan (Bowling Green) and and Bay Port's Alec Ingold (Northern Illinois).

ESPN was insisting the game be played on Sunday.  Everyone was ready to go, including having the schedule moved around, and it looked like a go...until the conference (WIAA) refused to waive a rule that prevents a team from playing twice in the same week...as in Sunday and then the following Friday.

And that was that.

Here's a quote from the conference:

"Had no problem with ESPN coming in on Saturday and doing it, or Friday or having them tape delay," WIAA communications director Todd Clark said. "They said, 'This is when you are going to play.' Unlike a lot of the conferences in professional sports, we just don't feel the need for ESPN to tell us or the schools (when to play).

I'll be darned.  Well, the good news for both of these young men is that with the MAC's new deal with ESPN, this is far from their last chance to play on the worldwide leader.

The Return of Dernard Turner

You might have seen recently that Coach Babers surprised two of his players by moving them from walk-on status to scholarship status.  The players are Vic Osborne, who made a bunch of special teams plays last year, and Dernard Turner, who is a JUCO player slated to be a backup S.  With Turner, there is more here than you might think.

Turner actually signed with BG in 2011 class.  Coach Clawson said he was the "most recruited" player in that year's class.  "Just a football player," said Coach.

He redshirted and then left the program the following Spring.

He went to the College of DuPage, who is a JUCO (and also home to Fahn Cooper and Shaq Hall).  There, he made 59 tackles, had an INT and 2 FRs, was first-team all-conference and honorable mention all-america.

He also sorted his academics out, and then it was back to BG to join this year's team.  He is on the 2-deep and provides important depth to BG in the d-backfield, and would seem to have similar skills to those that Boo Boo Gates had.

Depth Chart Out....Wallow in the Goodness

And there it is...wallow in the delicious goodness.  Always a good day...so yeah, the game notes are out, and here's the depth chart.  Let's see how it looks.

On the line, the starting tackles are the same as they were for the bowl game, as is RG Alex Huettel.  There was some talk of Huettel playing C this year, but partway through camp Coach moved him back to G.  The LG is new starter Ben Steward, who played as a backup G last year.  The C is apparently an open battle, with JJ Beggan, last year's backup and R-FR Tim McAuliffe from Illinois.  With as much shotgun as BG will play, this is an important position, so it will be interesting to see how this shakes out.  I doubt those guys share time.

One other newcomer is on the two-deep O-line, and that's Ryan Hunter.  Hunter is a R-FR who is from Canada but played HS ball in Buffalo for his last season.

Spencer Cairo and Christian Piazza are back on the two-deep as reserve lineman, and Darion Delaney (R-SR) is backing up at T.  He played the first 3 games last year...during the 2013 Spring, Coach termed it a make or break year for Delaney.

Moving behind the line, BG is starting Lewis, Dieter, Moore and Jackson at WR...no surprises there.  The backups include Ryan Burbrink, a former starter, Jermal Hosley who was getting some run before an injury last year, Herve Coby who has great promise but has been injured, and (the surprise) John Klingerman.  Klingerman made a big splash in the spring game and is a very interesting player.  He was a walk-on, but had the 2nd most receiving TDs in Pennsylvania HS History, which has to mean something.

At RB and QB, no surprises at all, and Clay Rolf and Chris Pohlman will split time at "TE," whatever that might mean in a Falconfast world.

Moving to defense, BG returned 3 of its 4 two-deep ends, and they are still in place.  Goble graduated, and his spot is taken by Bryan Baird, who was injured near the end of last year but played in 10 games.

On the other hand, BG lost both of its starting DTs.  In addition, Mike Minns is not on the 2-deep, though he is on the roster.  No idea if he is injured.  Zach Colvin is the only man back, and he is starting.  He is joined by R-JR Taylor Royster, who was in the rotation last year, Jhalil Croley who saw action at LB, and Gus Schweiterman, a R-FR who was a walk-on.  This is a position to keep an eye on and pray for health.

The Depth Chart shows BG playing 2 OLBs as opposed to employing a ROV, as they did last year.  I suspect these names are pretty subjective.  Anyway, Lynch and Martin are back at OLB and should be very solid for BG.  Their backups are new--former QB Austin Valdez and James Sanford, a R-So who missed last year due to injury.

In the middle, the chart shows Paul Senn and Nate Locke as OR starters.  Senn was a JUCO transfer who contributed last year, and Locke is a R-FR.  At the end of last year, Paul Swan and Coy Brown were on the two-deep...Swan graduated and Brown left the program.

BG lost 3 of its 4 starters in the d-backfield from last year, but that probably overstates the issue.  First, Darrell Hunter is back from injury and Jude Adjej-Barimah has seen a ton of snaps but was playing ROV due to the injury to Martin.  Those are your starting CBs, backed up by Will Sutton, who has seen time, and true-FR Nick Johnson.  So, in nickel and dime sets, BG will play some untested guys, but there is more back at CB than might have appeared.

At S, BG returns Ward to a starting spot.  Boo Boo Gates graduated, and Brian Sutton (who had also been playing ROV last year)  will take his spot.  Backups at S are Dernard Turner (more on him later today) and Isaiah Gourdine, who did play last year.

Finally, Tyler Tate has finally solidified the K position and Joseph Davidson will be the new punter.

Moore and Givens are expected to run KOs back and Burbrink will be back on PRs.

Realize this:  BG has only 3 Seniors on the offensive two-deep:  Delaney, Pohlman and Jackson.

On the other side of the ball, BG has 8 defensive starters in their senior year.

2014 Football: Game By Game....

AT WESTERN KENTUCKY   WIN

WKU is a new member of Conference USA and is picked to finish 4th in the Eastern Division of that league.  Phil Steele is showing them to be weak at LB and in the DB, so I believe the Falcons get a nice win here.

VMI   WIN

Look, I don't want to get too arrogant, but this one could get bad.  VMI is an FCS team that has not won more than 4 games in any season in the past few years, is picked last in their conference and ended last year one of the 20 worst teams in FCS.  This has Omar Jacobs/Temple written all over it.

INDIANA   WIN

An early candidate for a very exciting day at the Doyt.  The Hoosiers embarrassed BG last season.  This year, with both teams playing the same style of play...it could be a wild one.  I am hoping for a huge crowd and I'm going to call the Falcons for a victory--63-56.

AT WISCONSIN  LOSE

This is a very tough game, especially on the road.  The Badgers are a good bet to win the West Division in the Big 10.  It will be a contrast in styles--and BG played a very close game @WI under those conditions one time in the past.  On balance, though, I expect this to be BG's toughest game.

AT UMASS  WIN

Hawaii is thinking of dropping football, and the UMass move into FBS might be one of the most ill-advised (or at least ill-timed) moves in NCAA history.  Falcon win.

BUFFALO  WIN

Beating Buffalo to end the season has gotten to be a nice little tradition for BG.  This lovely event will move earlier in the year.  The Bulls lost a lot from last year's team and figure to struggle to score against the Falcon defense.

AT OHIO  WIN

This is one of three games that will provide a huge moment of truth for BG, all on the road.  OU has had massive injury problems, but the Falcons totally dismantled them last year.  Cheap shot artist Tyler Tettleton has moved along, but Vick could be competitive.  I'm going to say BG wins this game, and this is one that will be needed to get back to the MAC East title game.

WESTERN MICHIGAN WIN

The MAC's do-or-die crazyman, PJ Fleck, brings his team into BG.  The Broncos were 1-11 last season (Thanks UMass) and while they may have had the most talented recruiting class in MAC history, it is too soon for that to make enough impact for them in this game.

AT AKRON  LOSE

Terry Bowden has succeeded everywhere and he will at Akron.  They will have a strong defense, they played BG very tough at the Doyt last year, and I predict they pick up the home win.

KENT STATE WIN

BG finally broke the rough patch they were having with Kent last year, and I don't think Kent has the horses on either side of the ball to win this game.

AT TOLEDO   WIN

I'm picking BG to win.  I don't really have a reason.  Except it is time, and DINO, PLEASE...make it stop.  (Oh, and hopefully we are continuing to execute the new system better as the season goes along).

BALL STATE WIN

We have a little dispute in the MAC blogosphere about this one.  Most of us think the Cardinals are due for a down year.  The CPL (Coach Pete Lembo) Cult in Muncie sees no such thing.  We shall see.  For now, Ball State lost its best two offensive players and a key defensive piece and I think the Falcons win this one.

So...I see 10-2 and 7-1 in the MAC.  You want best case?  If you beat Wisconsin you could run the table.  Worst case, you could easily lost @OU, @UT and to Ball State, which would leave you 7-5.  Certainly, 8-4, while a disappointment, would not be a complete surprise.

I'm going to wear the orange-colored glasses.

Last year I said that BG finally had some expectations behind them.  After the long early Clawson years, BG was in a position to win and it was time to deliver on high expectations.  And they did.  In fact, the Falcons took it over the top and won the whole conference.

This year, expectations are really high.  Anything less than an East title will be a disappointment.  The schedule is difficult.  You have OU and Akron (tough East opponents) on the road and you have UT and Ball as cross-over opponents.  But, I feel like there is plenty back from this team, the defense will not fall off as much as might have been feared and BG has awesome offensive weapons to unleash--and that is without any news on eligibility for Rhodes, which I don't expect.

I will say this.  I have not anticipated a season of Falcon football as much as this in a very long time.

MAC and ESPN Tie the Knot...

New MAC 13-year deal w/ESPN worth over $100M, about $8M/year industry sources told @ESPN #MACtion
— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) August 19, 2014

New MAC deal worth more than $100,000,000 over life of 13-year contract. Schools go from $90K per year to more than $650K per year
— Jason Arkley (@JasonAmessenger) August 19, 2014

The MAC's marketing is hugely important. The first TV deal worked because this league, plain and simple, is fun. Can't forget that.
— Nick Piotrowicz (@NickPiotrowicz) August 19, 2014

Huge news in MAC-land today.  Actually started to leak out yesterday, but the league has nailed a big deal with ESPN that will take a couple of important steps to helping the conference provide a better product to fans in the coming years.

If you read this blog, you know we have gone on and on about the sacrifices made by the fan bases for weeknight games.  The emptyish stadiums for most of the games has backed me up...among those of us who are the year-in and year-out fans, I think we felt a little sold out.

Early on, (like 2 ESPN deals ago), it was especially irksome because we were more or less doing it for free.  So, maybe the feeling that we were sold out was acerbated by being sold out for a bag of potato chips.

Those things have changed...and, there's significant benefits to the programs and the fans in the ESPN deal announced today in Bristol.

The MAC's official release can be read here.

The deal is big. It is long-term, involves real money and provides some important benefits to fans.  Let's review.

First, the money is finally reaching a critical mass.  At $90K per year, it was pretty weak.  $650K per year per school is a big step up and is meaningful cash to everyone program in the MAC, allowing better coaches, better facilities and better recruiting, all of which makes life better for fans.

Second, ESPN is going to contribute space on ESPN3 to ensure that every MAC football game can be viewed through the platform with an expanded presence of men's and women's basketball.  This is a big deal for fans...especially basketball games.  Yes, I know it is not the same as being on the actual TV, but video is moving to the web, and what the MAC will have has been described elsewhere as an SEC-lite/virtual network.  If you have access to ESPN3 (and Comcast and Dish customers both do), then you will be tied in to a lifeline to feed your MAC habit.

It means that hard core fans can follow their team more effectively on the road...this is especially true for fans that have dispersed around the country.  I see this as a payback to fans for sacrificing by attending a football game at 6 pm on a Tuesday night...even if it is a partial payback, fans clearly get something out of this deal.

I think the added cable sports networks really helped the MAC nail this stuff down.  Like any 24-hour channel, ESPN has to think, "WTF are we going to put on the air," and with Fox, CBS and NBC all trying to answer the same question, I think the MAC had some negotiating power.  Also, people did watch the MAC games in very solid number for cable and MAC football is entertaining.

Anyway, I'm excited and happy for our conference.  I have been critical in the past, so credit where credit is due to conference leadership.  To me, this is five times more beneficial than another obscure and money-losing bowl tie-in.  They have delivered what appears to be a very good deal for us and I think fans will get some benefits.  Nicely done.

Update:  Hustle Belt has a comprehensive explanation of what the deal entails.

William Houston Update

From today's Sentinel, William Houston was indicted for attempted rape by a Wood County grand jury.

For people curious about Houston's status, here is a statement in the paper from BGSU:

Jason Knavel, BGSU's assistant athletic director for athletic communications, said this morning that Houston is not working out or practicing with the team currently, nor is he taking part in team activities in any way, but he is not a "former" member of the team. He further said that Huston's case is going through the university's code of conduct.

Houston is also still listed on the roster on the website.

Greene Brothers Re-United

The Blade had this nice story.  You might remember BG had a guy starting to make some special team tackles back in 2012--his named was Trenton Greene.  Then, he left the program and there was another guy named Travis Greene who kind of burst out of nowhere and had the most yards in program history.  Turns out those guys are brothers...

Trent Greene had transferred to Bethune-Cookman and didn't like the "vibe" there so he's back at BG.  Check out the story to see what the Greene brothers have to say about being reunited.