Keeping pace BG's challenge

Bowling Green's Chris Jones (91) applies pressure to Troy University quarterback Corey Robinson during last Saturday's game at Troy. Enlarge

BOWLING GREEN - Few college football teams suffered a season-opening loss as heart-wrenching as the one the Bowling Green State University squad did last Saturday.

But the Falcons, who lost at Troy on a field goal with four seconds to play, will face one of the teams whose loss was even more painful when they travel Saturday to Tulsa.

The Golden Hurricane lost Sunday at East Carolina 51-49, with the Pirates scoring the winning touchdown on a 33-yard fourth-down pass with just five seconds left.

"It was a great play by East Carolina to make that play," BG coach Dave Clawson said. "But I'm sure that Tulsa felt the same way that we did: The game wasn't decided by that one play or by one field goal.

"There are numerous other plays in a game where, if you make that play, you're not in the position [to lose] to begin with."

But both teams failed to make those plays, so they enter this game looking to bounce back from a tough start.

"I could tell how they felt because we went through the same feelings last year after Idaho," senior defensive lineman Angelo Magnone said, referencing the Falcons' last-second loss in last year's Humanitarian Bowl. "If you're a team that dwells on [that type of loss], you want to get it out of your system so you can get ready [for the next game] the next day.

"We can't keep thinking about our loss. We got it out of our system on Monday."

Both Tulsa coach Todd Graham and Clawson said their teams could learn some valuable lessons from the tight setbacks.

"In a close game, you have to learn not to make critical errors in crucial situations," Graham said. "Adversity can make you better, but you don't want to have a lot of it."

Clawson agreed, adding, "When you're in those tight, fourth-quarter games, every play can mean the football game. Our inability to make a play on offense, and our inability to wrap up on defense, really ended up costing us a game.

"In the 14 games we've been here as a staff, all but two have come down to the last five minutes of the game. We want to be on the right side of those games."

Clawson said there are things the Falcons need to work on both offensively and defensively.

"When you look at the [Troy] game, one thing that sticks out is the number of penalties that we had on offense," he said. "When we had 11 games on the same page, doing things the right way and going on the right snap count, we were a pretty good offense. But we just had way too many penalties. Part of that was [playing] game No. 1, part of that was guys playing for the first time, but it's something we have to get cleaned up.

"And the thing that stuck out on defense was just how poorly we tackled. We had 21 missed tackles. If you get two or three of those back, it's probably a much different football game."

The challenge the Falcons face is a high-powered Tulsa offense that has scored 40 points or more in 20 of the 41 games it has played under Graham. The Golden Hurricane rolled up 538 yards of total offense, averaging 6.6 yards per play, and threw for 383 yards and five TDs at East Carolina.

"They run a really fast-paced offense," Magnone said. "They'll try to catch you sleeping. They'll get a first down, and they'll run up to the line. You have to keep up with them.

"They also run a lot of formations, so you have to make sure everyone is sound on every play because if one guys out of alignment, everybody is out of alignment."

One player to watch for the Golden Hurricane is junior wide receiver Demaris Johnson, who reminds Clawson of Troy's Jerrel Jernigan, a do-everything player who gashes the Falcons for 193 all-purpose yards last week.

"Demaris Johnson led the NCAA in all-purpose yards last year and is very dynamic as a kick returner, punt returner, wide receiver, and wildcat quarterback," Clawson said. "It's a different version of Jernigan, but [Johnson] is very talented.

"But I think what impressed me about Tulsa is there overall skill level. They have so many skill guys, and the versatility of their skill guys is very unique. They are able to do a lot of different things with the same personnel group, and they are very creative on offense."

Contact John Wagner at:

jwagner@theblade.com

or 419-724-6481.