Falcons Fall to Flashes

The topline is this.  Bowling Green is better than they were over the last two years.  We hoped to see signs of progress and they are out there.  BG competed with a team that destroyed them the last two years. The Falcons were in this game--on the road.

Having said that, this team is not ready to consistently win.  There were just too many mistakes, too many holes (especially on offense), too many turnovers, too many missed opportunities.

Whether they get there or not remains to be seen.  I am optimistic.  We are ahead of where I feared we would be at this point.  But there is still more to be done.  As the team matures, you hope these things fill out.  

Kent State set the early tone right away, taking the opening kickoff and driving 75 yards to go up 7-0, with 6 of the last 7 plays on the ground.  Bowling Green took the next kick and put together a nice drive.  They were first and 10 on the Kent 16 with a chance to tie the game when you see what is happening.  On first down there was a hurried incompletion.  BG lost a yard on a pass play on second down.  Before BG could run the third down play they had 2 false start penalties.  And then McDonald couldn't find anyone open and had to scramble for 3 yards.  Needham 42 yd FG good.

Kent marched back down the field, BG stiffened in the red zone and a FG made it 10-3 (aided by a BG roughing the passing penalty when BG was off the field and an earlier face mask penalty).  BG took the kick off, marched inside the Kent 30...only to have McDonald take a 16-yard sack very similar to the one in the South Alabama game, running in the opening field, backing up, not throwing it away and eventually getting run down.  Even with that, Nate Needham hit a 52 YARD FG...that is tied for the third longest FG in BG history...he is only the 5th Falcon to make a FG of the distance or longer.  (School record is 60).  And his second over 50 this year.

Kent drove down the field again (see the trend?) but BG's defense stiffened in the red zone and it was another FG to go 13-6.  (My preview noted Kent is not good in the red zone).

The teams traded punts (PUNTS!!) and then BG had the ball on its own 12 with 3 minutes to play.  Kent had all their time outs.  This is a time when you need to make a couple first downs and keep Kent off the field.  BG made one first down but ended up 4th and 1 on its own 32.

Here BG made a fateful choice.  The Falcons attempted a fake punt that was wide open but did not connect.  My first reaction always is that you had to have a better shot running a regular play than doing that.  It was Naranjo to Karl Brooks.  After the game, Coach said that as much as we struggle on offense, we need to make plays like that (I'm guessing the McKinstry pass plays are in the same category).  "We are not naive to it," he said.

So Kent starts deep in BG territory.  They start with 1:40 left in BG territory.  They actually had a TD called back and the missed 33-yard FG (their kicker is not good) and the Falcons dodged the bullet and trailed 13-6 at the half.

BG was getting the ball to start the second half.  They said later they were pointing to this and they got it done.  They got some help from a huge play from Taron Keith--who is going to be a big contributor for this team--running the kickoff back 76 yards.  I honestly don't remember the last impact kick return we had.  BG got to the Kent 6 and had 4th and 1.  If you fake that punt, you have to go here, and BG did and converted and then scored, McDonald to Broden.  And it's a 13-13 tie.

Something crazy happened next.  Kent went 3 and out.  BG started on their own 35.  McDonald hit Broden twice for 15+ gains, BG benefitted from a unsportsmanlike conduct penalty when a Kent player spit on one of our guys (kudos to ESPN for capturing the spray effectively) and Nick Mosely ran a 12 yard run into the end zone.  Lo and behold....BG was ahead 20-13.

And then as they say in those rockumentaries....the laughter turned to sadness.

Kent drove 75 yards in 3:30 or so and tied the game.

BG fumbled on the first play from scrimmage.  The defense holds.  BG starts on its own and 8 and makes two first downs and is outside its own 40.  Sack, sack....punt.

4th Quarter starts.  Kent goes 3 and out. BG drives to the Kent 14...and then McDonald throws a pick.  There are 10 minutes left when that happens.

Kent takes that, goes 74 yards on 13 plays (10 runs) to score and take a 27-20 lead with about 6 minutes to play.

Pretty much this is it.  BG drove to the Kent 29 and then completely stalled out, including a completely blown up 4th down and 7 play.  BG got the ball back one more time, went four and out, (with McDonald missing a wide open Broden on 3rd down) including a second McDonald fumble in the last minutes...and it was over.

There were decent moments in there.  A competitive game.  But the last 10 minutes of the game or so were one-sided and that's how you lose.

More to come.

25 Questions Questions That Are Flash Fast

 What is their body of work?

Kent is one of the MAC's historically struggling schools.  Since 2000, they have had only 3 winning seasons.   They had that dream 2012 season, but then that was followed by 6 seasons with 4 or fewer wins.  Out goes Paul Haynes, in comes Sean Lewis, who was OC at BG under Babers and who, I assume, we could have had instead of Mike Jinks.  He has done well.  In 2019 they were 7-6 and won their first bowl game.  They were 3-1 last year.  They have won the last 3 over BG, including putting up 62 in each of the most recent two games.  

 

This was once their mascot.  It is GROG from BC...
They had permission.  I once had a GROG mug

They were picked to win the MAC East by the media.  They are 1-3 to date,  but it is tough to judge.  Kent has to play 3 buy games, and that includes Texas A&M, Iowa and Maryland, all losses.  And then there was an easy win over VMI.  They have truly yet to play a comparable team.

How many seniors and juniors on the two-deep?

They have 33, which is very high, maybe the highest I recall seeing.

Who are their statistical leaders? (Top 20 Nationally)

Elvis Hines and Montre Miller, 3rd in nation in INT.

What is their turnover ratio? 

They are +8 so far.  They have 9 INT.

Offense:

This is MAC THE FLASH
Former Mascot.
GOLDEN retriever.  Get it?
Who's a good boy?

How is their QB play?

They have a good QB.  Dustin Crum is the guy, first-team all-MAC last year and pre-season this year.  He's not off to a great start by the numbers, but note the competition.

What is their scoring and yards per play

They are 7th in scoring offense in the MAC and but 3rd at 5.9 yards per play.  That's very interesting, usually they are split by that much, especially on a team with such a strong turnover margin.

Can they run the ball?

They run the ball effectively.  They average 4.9 yards per carry, which is #2 in the MAC.

Do they pass the ball?

They are 6th in pass efficiency.  BG has been good against the pass, so this is a good opportunity.  That's 60% completions, 3 TD over 2 INT, at 12.8 yards per completion.

How is their run/pass balance?

They run a lot, 65%. 

Do they convert on 3rd Down?

They are 6th at 39%

Do they score in the red zone?

They are not very good, at 3.4 points per trip--which explains why scoring is lower than yards per play.  In 17 trips, there are 6 TD and 5 FG.

Do they protect the quarterback?

Woah.  Not so far.  They have given up sacks on 14.6% of passing plays, which is a huge amount.

Nick "Sky" Saban catching a pass
at the Doyt.

Defense:

Topline: Scoring and yards per play

They are 8th in the MAC in scoring defense, and 5th in yards per play.

Do they defend the run effectively?

They struggle against the run....they are 9th in the MAC

Can they be passed on?

They are pretty good.  3rd in the MAC, led by those 9 picks.  BG is #1 and #5 in the country.

Do they get off the field on 3rd down?

They do not.  They are 10th in the MAC.

Do they defend in the red zone?

They allow 4.3 yards per trip.

Do they pressure the QB?

Not that much.  That get sacks on only 3.2% of opponent passing attempts.

This always freaks me out

Special Teams:

Punting?

They are 10th in net punting.  No blocks

Punt Return?

They have 5 returns for 25 yards, no TDSs.  No blocks

Placekicking? 

He's not great.  He is 5-7. with both misses inside 30.  Long of 37.  No blocks

Kickoff? 

It's not good.  Opponents start on the 34.

Kickoff Return?

Pretty good. They start on the 28

It's homecoming...here's an old-school
Kent Homecoming Dance.
OLD school

Miscellaneous: Overall atmospherics and intangibles.

Kent has to be looking forward to this one.  They are coming off 3 very tough P5 games and one easy FCS game.  They are 16.5 point favorites.  Look, BG is coming off a huge win, but the team is young and likely to be a little inconsistent.  Kent has destroyed BG the last 2 years.  A tough performance for BG would not be a surprise.  Stringing another game together would be a really good sign.

Dylan Swingle Appears to Have Left BG's Program

 So, if you check out the BGSU MBB Roster, Dylan Swingle is no longer listed.  Without any official word, it would appear that he has left the program.  

He transferred from Duquesne, received a surprise waiver to play right away and played 50 games over 2 years, with 22 starts. He averaged 12 minutes or so his senior year and 4 points and 2.4 rebounds.

Best of everything to Dylan.

BG Sweeps MAC East Player of the Week Awards

 First, I listened to Loeffler's presser.  He says Terion Stewart is much better.  Other than that, it was almost entirely praise for Kent State, etc.  Total Coachtalk.

Beyond that, BG won all 3 MAC East Weekly Awards. If there was any idea of when the last time BG won all 3 awards in the same week, but we can safely say it has been a while, at least six years.  At least.

Good for them.

The three honorees:

• Matt McDonald, who scored twice and converted a 4th and 1 with an 18-yard run.
• Brock Horne,  nine tackles, 1.0 sack and one forced fumble...huge week.
• Matt Naranjo, with two inside the 20 and a 77-stadium record punt.

Congrats to these young men in BG's win for the ages on Saturday.  Nice job, boys.

Past and Future Opponent Land

Tennessee (2-2):  Lost to Florida

South Alabama (3-0) Idle

Murray State: (1-2):  Idle

Kent State (1-3): Lost 37-16 to Maryland

Akron (1-3):  Led Ohio State, lost big

Northern Illinois (2-2):  Beat Maine

Eastern Michigan (3-1)  Beat Texas State 59-21

Buffalo (2-2): Beat ODU 35-34

Toledo (2-2):  Beat Ball State

Miami (1-3): Lost to Army

Ohio (0-4):  Lost to Northwestern

MAC vs. P5:  3-17 

MAC vs G5:  6-9

MAC vs. FSC:  10-1

East vs. West:  Null set

No, it wasn't a dream

The sun comes up....and BG still beat Minnesota yesterday.

Still unbelievable.  Still so proud of our guys.  Thanks so much for the heartache and hard work.  

Here's what is amazing about the result.  As surprised as we all are, I think we can agree that the most surprising element of all is that the win was led by the defense.

Let's review.  

2016:  118th in the nation (out of 128) 38 PPG

2017:  122nd in the nation (out of 129) 38 PPG

2018:  124th in the nation (out of  129), 40 PPG

2019:  126th in the nation (out of 130) 38 PPG

2020:  126th in the nation (out of 127)...45 PPG

Then, after 2020, BG loses three of its top players on the defensive side of the ball and the defensive coordinator.

I will admit, I didn't have much optimism for this unit this year.  And they have been fantastic.

I think a lot of the credit goes to Eric Lewis, the new DC.  This defense just seems to be where they need to be and they are tackling better than any defense we have had since the days of Mike Elko.  

Fleck said we ran a system that they don't see much.  

He said:  "they would move, twist, stunt and blitz to be able to create some type of fury. That is what they did. They created confusion for some of our guys and we have to give them credit."

That's game prep for our new DC.  (And a non-elite performance from Fleck's staff).

Also, BG did help themselves in the portal.  Davon Ferguson had 2 sacks in this one and Devin Taylor had the second to last INT to help close the victory out.  Bryce Brand made 7 tackles.  

One of the fanbase's biggest gripes was lack of portal usage by Loeffler, and hopefully, this will open the door to a middle ground.  We don't want to dominate the team with transfers, but filling gaps is OK.  Clawson did it with success.

Just as importantly, though, homegrown Falcons made big plays.

You have Billie Roberts making maybe the game's key play on Fleck's 4th and 1 gamble inside his own 30...as well as breaking up a pass inside 4 minutes to play on a 3rd and 8 on the drive after the BG fumble, forcing a MN punt.  (The last pass the Gophers threw that wasn't INT).

You have Jordan Anderson with the game-clinching pick--a great play.  

You have Brock Horne with 9 tackles, a sack and a key forced fumble.

Darren Anders, 7 tackles.

Karl Brooks, sack.

And, of course, an overall great team effort.

Minnesota scored 30 points against Colorado, a P5 team.

They scored 10 against us.  They made 12 first downs.  

Their lead back had 141 on 27, but that includes a 54-yard run.  Take that out and he had 87 yards on 26 carries.  And he didn't make that 4th down conversion.

They attempted only 13 passes and completed only 5.  And four sacks and 2 picks.  Literally, they had more negative passing plays than positive passing plays.

They averaged 4.2 yards per play.  They had 6.3 against the Buffaloes.

It is truly something to be proud of for our defense.  The offense really struggled again, but the defense put them in position with the 4th down stop.  The offense strung together an 8 play drive--including a 4th down CONVERSION inside our own territory (row that boat) and a big connection to Taron Keith and then the defense closed the door at the end.

In fact, MN was completely imploding at the end.  BG had a drive from 13 minutes to 7 minutes that was extended twice by MN penalties, including after a missed FG.  Their last four plays were blocked pass, heart-stopping muffed punt, and then 2 INT.  Meanwhile, our guys were making plays.

It is one for the ages.  All Big Ten wins are...truly all of them....but this was special because of the struggles that the program has had and the patience required as we rebuild.  At last, we have some evidence--something beyond blind faith--that we are getting there.  In my preview, I thought we might win 0 and would be likely to win 2.  We are at 2 now...enjoy the ride.

Sweet Sweet Sweet Sweet Sweet Sweet Victory

Always a GREAT day to sing AY ZIGGY ZOOMBA 🟠🟤#ToTheMoon 📈 pic.twitter.com/EBH1gx68Il

— BG Football (@BG_Football) September 25, 2021

Oh, man.  That's one for the ages.

31 point underdog.  No FBS wins since that Akron game in 2019.  Coming off our worst season in 85 years.  On the road, homecoming, Big 10 opponent.

And the Falcons get the win.  So improbable.  So unlikely.  And yet it happened.  Say what you like about Scot Loeffler, but he now owns two of the 20 biggest point spread upsets in college football history.

According to ESPN, it was the second-biggest point spread win in FBS on FBS action in the last 10 years and the other one (Texas State over Houston) was Texas State's first FBS game.

So happy for our players, who have suffered through a lot of rough days in the past few years.  They were outscored 225-57 last year, for heaven's sake.  And, frankly, it wasn't looking like there were going to be too many good moments this year, either.

Those who stuck it out got rewarded with the thrill of a lifetime today.  Those who didn't....didn't.  Hopefully not the last one, but this is a day they will always remember.  So happy for them to get that victory.

And how about Sam Nemerov leading Ay-Ziggy-Zoomba?

Does that get your heart racing?  Sure did for me.

As a fan...this is why we love sports.

Say what you like about Minnesota...but every MAC win over a Big 10 is meaningful.  And that is #9 for the Falcons.  (I originally said 8 but I forgot Maryland).

It's highly satisfying.  Get paid $1.5M to come in and win on the Gopher homecoming.  It cannot be a good feeling up in Minneapolis.  In fact, I peeked in on Twitter and it isn't.  

Fleck's dinner restaurant

The Star-Tribune isn't much better.

How's this headline work?

Saturday shocker: Lowly Bowling Green beats Gophers 14-10 in historic upset

Lowly?  What's lower than low?

Or this one:

Worst Gophers upset ever? Among the worst in recent decades, at least

From their columnist Chip Scroggins

...one of the most inexcusable losses in program history

This latest embarrassment belongs entirely to Fleck. All of it. The stain of a 14-10 loss to Bowling Green can't be scrubbed away with catchphrases.

They [BG] were the better team in every facet. Coaching. Offense. Defense. Special teams.

Pretty good, though Scroggins took an unnecessary shot at hot dish.

More to come as we savor this moment.  For tonight, and every minute of the 24 hour rule....laissez les bon temps rouler.