End Zone: BGSU

9/29/2011

The Falcons are getting set to play the toughest game on their schedule in Morgantown against West Virginia. But the fact that the Mountaineers are ranked No. 22 is only part of what makes this game difficult.

Sure, it’s easy to get a team excited for this game: BG will face a nationally ranked squad in front of 60,000 screaming fans. But there’s more to a season than just one game, even a game as big as this one. In fact, the gauntlet BG still has to run, which includes games against Western Michigan, Toledo, and Temple — three of the MAC’s best teams — will force coach Dave Clawson to make some tough
decisions.

Here’s one: Do you play injured players such as Chip Robinson, Cam Truss, and Anthon Samuel, or give them another week to heal? Your chances of beating the Mountaineers certainly improve if they play, but the chance of getting them injured further, and hindering your opportunity to win the three tough league games that follow, also rises.

The decision Clawson has made seems clear: He’s going to give his team a chance to win on Saturday.

“Any time you say to your players, ‘This game isn’t important because it’s not a conference game,’ you set yourself up for failure,” he said. “Every game is important to us. We get one or two games a year where we give ourselves a chance to earn some respect nationally, and we want to take advantage of these opportunities.”

Is that the right decision? Ask me in a month.

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