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.
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:
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
The sun comes up....and BG still beat Minnesota yesterday.
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.
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.
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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.
So, the next game up is going to be probably BG's best opponent of the season, the Minnesota Golden Gophers. It will also be a reunion with our old friend PJ Fleck, who is rowing the boat in Minneapolis.
Fleck is having some success. In 2019 his team was 11-2 and ended up in the top 10 at the end of the year. It was the most wins at Minnesota since 1904 and only their 2nd 10+ win season in modern football. They won the Outback Bowl. They started out last year ranked #19, but ended up with a 3-4 season.
It is hard to believe but Fleck has been there for 5 seasons.
BG is 1-2 against the Gophers. In 2007 BG won at Minnesota (think Sheehan to Barnes in the corner of the end zone for the OT win), but BG lost both in 1986 and in 2008 in BG, a memorable game for BG having a Big 10 team in the house.
Phil Steele has them #4 in the Big Ten West. They return 10 starters on both sides of the ball.
They are 2-1 on the season. They opened playing OSU very tough before losing by two touchdowns. They also beat Colorado 30-0....the Buffs are picked to be #5 in the PAC-12 South.
But the game we are most interested in is the middle game, against Miami. The Redhawks were MAC Champions in 2019 and trailed against the Gophers by only 1 point with 12 minutes left in the game. Minnesota ended up winning 31-26.
That's a close call. Despite having a highly ranked offense, MN had only 4.6 yards per play against Miami and was actually outgained for the contest. Miami had 2 turnovers and the Gophers none...or that game could have gone the other way.
So, I don't think BG is as good as Miami, but Minnesota did not blow them off the field.
They are a run-oriented team. Phil Steele has them with the #3 OL in the Big 10 and they have run the ball on 71% of their offensive plays. Their star back was going to be Mohammed Ibrhaim, but he suffered a season-ending injury in the opener. Trey Potts has been getting the carries since then and is averaging 4.8 yards per carry, which is OK but nothing great. He averaged 5.2 yards per carry against Miami.
They also have a top-flight QB, Tanner Morgan. Morgan had committed to WMU and then went to Minnesota with Fleck. Steele has him the #3 QB in the Big 10. He is not off to a good start. He is the #11 QB in the Big 10, based on QBR. He had 55% completions, 3 TD, 0 INT...and 14.5 per completion which is good. Could indicate a lower percentage, long pass game plan. He's been sacked 4 times on 63 attempts, which is 6% and not great. He had 112 passing yards against Miami.
Their top WR is Texas A&M transfer Dylan Wright, who has 9 catches for over 18 yards per reception. They have another top WR, Chris Autman-Bell who was injured during camp and was back for the CU game.
On defense, they gave up points to OSU and Miami but shut out Colorado, which helps the overall numbers look good. Their defense was not predicted to be good--Steele ranked each unit in the bottom four of the Big 10. Miami ran for only 3.8 against them. Clearly, this will present a challenge for the Falcons.
Their pass defense is pretty solid. They are holding teams to 53% completions and held Miami under 50%. They have 2 picks on the year and have allowed 6 TDs.
For special teams, their kicker is 3-5 with one miss under 30. They are 11th in the Big 10 in net punting and #9 in kickoffs.
Minnesota is a 31 point favorite.
The Falcons have a verbal commit for men's basketball '22.
His name is Willie Lightfoot. He is a 6'0" G who is from Niagara Falls, NY. He is highly recruited. Rivals has him ranked as the #38 PG in the country and the Nagara Gazette reports offers from Oregon, Alabama, Minnesota, Marquette, Buffalo, Niagara, Canisius, Youngstown State and Stony Brook.
He was a metro player of the year in Niagara as a FR. He then played at the Sunrise Christian Academy, a top prep school program in Kansas. Next year he will finish HS at the Good Better Best Academy in Durham, NC.
Lightfoot's Coach told the Buffalo News that defense is probably Lightfoot's strength, which made BG a good fit. He also said that Lightfoot like the idea of being coached by a PG.
Welcome to the Falcons, Willie.
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