The win BG had to have....they got. As Coach said after the game, "no disrespect, but we are better than they are, this is what should have happened." And it did.
On to the Rockets.
Much of the first half was uncomfortably close. Kent's coach noted that BG was focused on McCray and Floreia, so the run game did open up. They had 8 rushes for 68 yards in the first quarter. With the score 13-6, Kent drove deep into BG territory but the BG pash rush forced two incompletions and Kent had to settle for a FG. (Ulatowski was running for his life almost the entire day...no one has run from danger this much since the last Jurassic Park movie).
The key sequence came next. With 2:39, BG actually ran a two-minute drill. Working flat passes, they moved down the field, got a DPI in the end zone and then Lucian Anderson ran it in to make the score 20-6 at the half. That was huge.
The rest of the game was much more one-sided. BG only scored once more, but held the ball for 21 minutes of the second half. Kent ran only 25 plays for 41 yards--10 plays for 3 yards in the 3rd Quarter. The game was never in doubt in the second half, 27-6 final.
Coach said we had some adversity this week. He chose not to elaborate, but remembering that Monday he talked about dealing with "NIL, portal and redshirts," I think we have an idea of what he was talking about. As always, I'm just putting things together.
I know this....BG started the game with 3 WRs who have played before. The pre-game injury list had Garcia, Tillman and Hogan out. Tillman is no longer listed on the roster. Then, Johnson was injured during the game. Anthony Wayne's Winn Sharp was out there, and Jared Merk (RFR) made an incredible catch on an absolute hummer thrown behind him to convert a 3rd and 13 on the late 2nd Quarter TD drive.
Interestingly, Coach said after the game that when it comes to WR, some guys we have who haven't been producing have to start producing. There aren't many of them, so you can probably ID who he means.
In addition, Darrius Lorfils and Dierre Kelly were on the "out" list this week.
BG rode the backs of their three offensive stars. Bazelak had a great game. Some people in our section were heckling him, but he was 23 of 27 for 313 yards. Two TDs, no INT. Yes, he had a lot of high-percentage passes, but he was also executing the game plan.
And then there's Harold Fanin Jr. From a back shoulder fade that had Coach Loeffler dreamy-eyed....to catching a pass against his head and then finishing the run, Fannin does not disappoint. He was 10 for 171, with 91 after contact. PFF graded him 96.6 overall.
Stewart also had his first big game in a couple weeks. He had 25 carries (thank you) for 134, which is a 5.4 average. Patterson was 6 of 25. BG ran the ball effectively...as they should have.
On defense, the second half tells the story...when BG figured out how to stop the run and the pass.
Ulatowski dropped back 29 times, and was pressured on 13. His most common pass play was throwing it away. He was 7 of 27, 78 yards, 2 TD and 2 INT, The Flashes came in with a full #MACTION tag on offense...we now know something about the Ball State and EMU defenses.
Those 78 yards would have been like two completions in those previous weeks. BG held McCray to 21 yards on 3 catches in 8 targets. Floreia was 2 for 35. Great job by the BG secondary. Oladokun had McCray most of the time and held him to 5 yards total. Not per catch.
BG got the win they had to have and should have had. Toledo is next, followed by three winnable games. More on the MAC race this week, and even acknowledging BG's hit and miss style, there's a very good chance that if BG wins 3 of the next 4 they are playing Miami for a spot in Detroit.
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