25 Ramblin Wreck Questions

 What is their body of work?

Georgia Tech has experienced an extended downtime.  Geoff Collins was 10-28 when he was fired four games into last season.  Brent Key was named the interim coach and went 4-4 in that role with two ranked wins.  He got the job full time and is 2-2 this year.  Key played at Georgia Tech and was an assistant at Alabama before returning to his Alma Mater as an assistant in 2019.

They lost narrowly to Louisville to open the year....the Cardinals are undefeated so far.  The Yellow Jackets beat South Carolina State (FCS) before losing at #17 Ole Miss and then winning at Wake Forest--the Deacons are 3-1 so far this year.

They are 1-0 vs. BG and 21-point favorites.

How experienced are they?

They have 26 juniors and above on the roster, which is on the low side.  They returned 12 starters.

Who are their pre-season all-conference players? (Phil Steele)

Here are players on the pre-season all-ACC team

2nd Team

DB LaMiles Brooks

3rd Team

K Gavin Stewart

4th Team

LB Trenilius Tatum

What is their turnover ratio? 

They are +3 so far this year and +11 last year, which helped lead to their success.

Offense

How is their QB play? 

Their QB is Haynes King, a R-SO who made 7 starts at Texas A&M before graduate transferring. He was a highly touted recruit who has battled injuries. He has been effective this year, #27 in the nation in passing efficiency.  He has 65% completions, with 13.5 yards per completion and 11 TD over 2 INT.  He can also run, getting 6.5 yards per non-sack rushing attempt.

What is their scoring and yards per play

Note that Georgia Tech does not play the wishbone, as they did the last time BG was down there in 2018.  They are scoring 35 a game, which is #35 in the country and they have 6.7 yards per play, which is #29 in the country.

Can they run the ball?

They are 27th in the country at 5.1 yards per rush.  Their main backs average 5.6 per carry.

Do they pass the ball?

As mentioned, King has been very effective.  Eric Singleton is their top WR threat, with 14 catches, 18 per catch and 4 TDs.  He is a true freshman.

How is their run/pass balance?

They run on 52% of their plays, which represents a balanced attack.

Do they convert on 3rd Down, 

52% conversion, #15 in the country.

Do they score in Red zone

4.6 points per trip, which is not great.  They have 4 whiffs and 4 FGS in 18 attempts.

Do they protect the QB?

They do.  Sacks on 2.2 of attempts.

Defense:

Topline: Scoring and yards per play

So, they are 2-2 and have a great offense.  You know the defense isn't as good. They allow 29 points per game and 6.4 yards per play.

Do they defend the run effectively?

No.  They have allowed 6.3 yards per rush, sack adjusted

Can they be passed on?

They are better.  They are 59th in pass efficiency defense, allowing 55% completions but 14 per catch and 5 TD/5 INT.

Do they get off the field on 3rd down?

Not too good....#73 at 40%.

Do they defend in the red zone?

Allowing 5.5 points per trip, which is OK.

Do they pressure the QB?

Sacks on 8.3% of passing attempts which pretty effective.

Special Teams:

Punting?

Not bad, just under 40 net yards per punt, #56 in the country.  No blocks and barely any returns.

Punt Return?

7 returns 84 yards which is pretty good.  No TDs and no blocks.

Placekicking? 

Gavin Stewart, the Steele pre-season guy, was benched. New guy is 6-7, long of 48 and blocked once. 4-4 inside 40.

Kickoff? 

Pretty normal, opponents start on the 25.  They have 20 touchbacks in 25 attempts.

Kickoff Return?

Started on 24

Intangible Miscellany

The predicted temperature in Atlanta will be 84 with an 89 heat index.  Last time we played down there, heat was a big issue.

Coach says we are focusing on ourselves.  We have two very tough weeks coming up and coming off a terrible game.  We have tended to save our rare best performances for the "big" stages, so maybe the Falcons turn up with a stronger game.  I'd prefer they do it next week in Oxford, but there you go.

MBB Scheduling Updates

 A couple scheduling updates for men's basketball.

In the Northern Classic in Quebec, BG was originally slated to play Dartmouth, UMass-Lowell and UNC-Asheville as part of an 8-team event.  Dartmouth and Lowell are no longer going to the tournament and the opponents for BG have changed accordingly. 

BG's schedule now says we will play WKU, Lipscomb and Canisius. 

Blue Ribbon has WKU #6 in the C-USA.  Lipscomb #6 in the A-10.   Canisius #3 in the MAAC.

Also, the last game for BG has been slotted.  BG will host Ohio Dominican at the Stroh on December 10, with time TBA.

Loeffler Presser--You Can't Snap the Ball For Them

So, Scot Loeffler had this week's presser.

First, the news on Demetrius Hardamon.  He had long surgery at UM and it was successful.  He might play football again.  He's in the hospital up there, where Jim Harbaugh has visited twice and other Michigan players as well.  So that's excellent news and extremely nice of those folks to come and help him pass the time.

Wishing him nothing but the best.

Coach said the game film might have been worse than he thought.  He then went on to discuss how the team's entire problem is its "mindset."  He says we have plenty of talent to compete, but we do not have the right mindset.  We are inconsistent (I suspect you noticed) and the same thing is true in practice.

There was not any discussion of whether that's a reflection on coaching.  He said we are at the point where "you can't snap the ball for them."

Which is obviously true.  

There was also a ton of conversation about the state of college athletics and how hard it is to create a cohesive unit in the era of the portal. A lot.  I can see that.  Still, it's not impossible. Others are doing it.  I would suggest he ask Tim Albin, Frank Martin, Jason Candle, etc for advice if he needs it.

Regardless of whose "fault" it is, we are not going to be what we want until we are putting consistent, quality efforts on the field and that has been very rare.

As for why we can play well against Michigan in the Big House or against Toledo, but then pull a stinker like last Saturday, maybe we decide focus for the big games but don't choose to do so for the rest of them.

He said Bazelak is really tough and intimated that he played very injured on Saturday.  Orth is back.

He says we are paying little to no attention to who the opponent is.  Our focus is on our own game and consistency.  If we have the right mindset, we have a chance.

He called our schedule "preposterous."

Past and Future Opponent Land

The MAC's record of 16 straight years of beating a Big 10 team ended (h/t to Hustle Belt).

Liberty:  (4-0) Beat FIU 38-6

Eastern Ilinois: (3-1) Beat McNeese St

Michigan: (4-0) We played them

OU (3-1) We played them

Georgia Tech: (2-2) Beat Wake Forest

Miami: (3-1) Beat Delaware State

Buffalo: (0-4) Lost to Louisiana

Akron: (1-3) Lost in OT to Indiana

Ball State: (1-3) Lost to Georgia Southern

Kent: (1-3) Lost to Fresno State

Toledo: (3-1) Beat WMU

WMU: (1-3) Lost to UT

VS:

P5: 3-16

G5:  5-9

FCS: 10-2

East vs. West: Null set.

Falcons Embarrassing at Homecoming

"The one thing I can assure you is the people that are in there, we are going to have a really good game plan for and I can promise you they will play their tails off."

Scot Loeffler, Monday

“First half was the ugliest half I’ve ever seen in coaching... I asked our team to play super hard and to make sure we played super hard between the whistles, and we were poor outside of the whistles. That is not how football should be played...We are going to watch this tape and throw up."

Scot Loeffler, Saturday

Ooof.  It was a low point Saturday.  It started out glorious.  Beautiful day.  Nice crowd.  People fired up.

Sadly, when the team came out of the locker room in the 2nd half, they could look out and literally watch 75% of the people who had stayed to see the band (totally worth it, by the way) streaming for the exits.

Certainly, the first half had a lot of misfortune.  Balls slipping out of hands. Deflected touchdowns. Just weird plays, for sure.  Also, at halftime, OU also had 6.8 yards per play and over 10 in the first quarter. BG had 3.65 yards per play and 8 yards on 13 plays in the 2nd quarter.

There was misfortune and then also just getting beat.

A good example was when BG got a big special teams play and the ball deep in OU territory.  Game was over at 31-0, but there we were.  BG had two false starts and a sack and turned the ball over on downs.

OU is good.  They are a division championship team.  That's how good we need to get.  The head-head results speak for themselves.

And then we lost our composure.  Three ejections, one on targeting.  A melee where we got 3 or 4 penalties and OU got one.  A disappointing lack of discipline. 

It's one thing to play like crap.  It's another to embarrass the program like we did.

Here is a sad record.  In 4+ seasons under this coach, we have lost MAC games by 24+ or more 17 times. Five were in the COVID year, so 12 times in 3+ seasons if you prefer.  Or, 7 times in the 2+ years since COVID, when we were supposed to be on the rebound.  There were a couple high points (UT, Minnesota) and we did win 3 in a row last year.  But you can't get smoked like that at home by a MAC opponent in front of a crowd we're hoping to get back to the stadium someday.

1. 2019 Kent 62-20
2. 2019 WMU 49-10
3. 2019 Miami 44-3
4. 2019 OU 66-24
5. 2019 UB 49-7
6. 2020 Toledo 38-3
7. 2020 Kent State 62-24
8. 2020 Buffalo 42-17
9. 2020 Ohio 52-10
10. 2020 Akron 31-3
11. 2021 EMU 55-24
12. 2021 Toledo 49-17
13. 2021 Miami 34-7
14. 2022 UB 38-7
15. 2022 Kent 40-6
16. 2022 OU 38-14
17. 2022 OU 38-7

OU, for comparison, has gone 18 MAC games in a row without losing by 20.  The last was to the Babers BG team in 2015.

You could go on and on. You are what your record says you are.  

It was ironic having the 2013 MAC Champs at yesterday's game, since that was the model we are or were using.

There's still 8 games left.  We will see what happens.  As Gibby said, we could still make a bowl, but that wasn't what it was about.  Do we want to be EMU--playing for a bowl berth every year.

2020 should have been rock bottom, you know?

25 Questions....Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty

 What is their body of work?

OU is as good as they have ever been in football.  From 1968 to 2005 when Frank Solich arrived, the Bobcats had 8 winning seasons and 8 zero or 1 win seasons.  Since then, they have been consistently competitive and made 10 bowl games.  It's a new day in Athens.

Of course, they won the East last year and they have five division titles since Solich arrived.  Their last MAC Championship was 1968.

They are 3-1 this year.  They lost their opener at San Diego State and since then beat Long Island, won @Florida Atlantic and they beat Iowa State in Athens.

They have beat BG 5 of the last 6, including last year when the game was for the MAC East and they trounced the Falcons with their backup QB, scoring 28 points in the second quarter to put the game away at halftime.

How experienced are they?

They have 28 juniors and above on the roster, as those COVID years clear out.  BG has 37.  Phil Steele ranks them the #4 most experienced team in the MAC.

Who are their pre-season all-conference players? (Phil Steele)

Here are players on the pre-season all-MAC tea

1st Team

QB Kurtis Rourke

RB Sieh Bangura (FR of year last year)

WR Sam Wieglusz

DE Vonnie Watkins

LE Keye Thompson

2nd Team

RB Jacoby Jones

LB Bryan Houston

KR Keegan Wilburn

3rd Team

OT James Amburgey

4th Team

OT Shedrick Rhodes

CB Torrie Cox

What is their turnover ratio? 

They are -1.

Offense

How is their QB play? 

Kurtis Rourke is the best QB MAC, and won the Offensive POY last year.  He was injured for the BG game and the UT game and bowl game last year and then at the start of this year. He's played in 3 games this year.  He's a dual-threat QB and a really good player.

You may recall CJ Harris, who played the BG game last year, along with the MAT title game and the bowl game and the opener this year, has left the team due to a "recent medical emergency."  Happened this week.

What is their scoring and yards per play

They have not been an offensive juggernaut, scoring 16 PPG and 4.5 yards per play so far this year.  That includes their FCS game, when they scored 27.

Can they run the ball?

They are a run focused offense, but averaging only 4.3 yards per carry this year.  (sack adjusted).  MAC average was 4.8 yards per carry last year.  Their backs are averaging 3.6.

Do they pass the ball?

Rourke is not off to a great start.  He has 59% completions, only 9.8 yards per completion and 2 TD over 2 INT. His efficiency is 111, with Orth and Bazelak in the 130s.  They throw a lot of short passes, so sacks are low but you'd expect a better pass completion rate.

How is their run/pass balance?

They run on 55% of their plays, which is actually fairly low for them.

Do they convert on 3rd Down, 

42% which is above average.

Do they score in Red zone

4.2 points per trip, which is not great.  They have 3 whiffs and 4 FGS in 13 attempts.

Do they protect the QB????

They do.  Sacks on 2.3% of attempts.

Defense:

Topline: Scoring and yards per play

Here the story turns.  They are the best defensive team in the MAC and one of the best in the country.  They are allowing 11.8 point per game (#14 in nation) and 4.46 yards per play (29th).

Do they defend the run effectively?

Yes, they do.  They allow 2.5 yards per rush, #16 in the country.

Can they be passed on?

It's harder. They are #30 in the nation. They allow 62% completions, but only 9.5 per completion and 6 INT over 4 TD.

Do they get off the field on 3rd down?

They allow 28% which is #12 in the country.  So yes.

Do they defend in the red zone?

Allowing 4.3 points per trip, which is really good.

Do they pressure the QB?

Sacks on 6% of passing attempts which is a little below MAC average.

Special Teams:

Punting?

Not good.  To date, #112 in the nation. 5 of 15 punts inside the 20, which could bring the overall average down.  No blocks and no returns.

Punt Return?

6 returns 16 yards.  No TDs and no blocks.

Placekicking? 

They have used two kickers.  The current one is 5-7 but long of 40.

Kickoff? 

Not good, opponents start on the 29.

Kickoff Return?

Started on 24

Intangible Miscellany

Well, here we go.  This is a big game.  A loss would mean BG needs to win out and OU lose twice for BG to beat OU in the East.  A championship is a lot tougher without this game.

BG has struggled with OU and laid an egg last year in the first meaningful game in years.  Also, BG is not looking healthy, although we will see who takes the field Saturday.  The Bobcats play great defense. BG will need both dimensions to succeed and that looks to be really difficult.  Tough to run against, and for all we know the #3 QB will be in the game.  The defense will need the performance from the first half against McCarthy to keep the game close and then who knows.

It will be homecoming.  Forecast looks awesome.  OSU game safely at night.  Hope for a little home field, and as I said on Monday, for BG to be bigger than the circumstances this time.

Falcons Get Verbal from Highly Recruited TE

Ay Ziggy!🟠🟤 @CoachBayer_ @JaredEmerk @CoachLoefflerBG pic.twitter.com/CHFIJsjsQB

— Eli Jacon-Duffy (@elijaconduffy) September 20, 2023

BG has its latest verbal, this one a highly recruited TE who plays at Cincinnati Moeller. His name is Eli Jacon-Duffy.  

He is 6’4”, 220 lbs.  Moeller was a regional champ last year.  He didn't have eye-popping numbers but his recruiting took off after the season ended and he ended up recruited in G5 and smarty-pants FCS circles and a 2-star recruit on 247.  Also, second team All-GCL South.

• 20 catches, 254 yards, 2 touchdowns
• 7 pancakes, 5 knockdowns

Offers are from OU, UA, EMU, UT, WMU, Temple, Liberty, Air Force, Army, UAB, and Temple, plus 8 Ivy League schools, Bucknell, and four other FCS schools.

He also played rugby.

Welcome to the Falcons, Eli!  (When he gets here, he will be referred to online as EJD. :))