Campbell's foot injury leaves BG thin on line
9/18/2012BOWLING GREEN — The Bowling Green State University football team has suffered a limited number of injuries in its first three games this season.
But an injury Saturday in the Falcons' 27-15 loss at Toledo adds concern to one of the thinner positions on the team's roster.
Junior nose tackle Jairus Campbell suffered a foot injury in that contest and will not play Saturday when BG faces Virginia Tech.
"It's not good for us, because Jairus is having a great year," Falcons coach Dave Clawson said. "He's a great kid that's worked very hard and he's overcome injuries in the past.
"We're going to have to have somebody step up. He's one of our best players, so it's tough losing him."
Campbell started in BG's first three games and had four tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss. In previous weeks he was listed as a co-starter at nose tackle with junior Ted Ouellet, who has 10 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss, in those three contests.
Ouellet and senior defensive tackle Chris Jones are the only experienced players in the middle of the line. Ouellet's backup at the nose will be Michael Minns, a true freshman from West Palm Beach, Fla., while freshman walk-on Taylor Royster backs up Jones.
Another potential option in the middle of the line, sophomore Hunter Maynard, was injured during fall drills and will not play this season.
SECOND EFFORT: The discussion of Clawson's decision to go for two points early in the final quarter was rendered pointless by Toledo's next drive.
The Rockets started on their 18 but put together a 14-play, 57-yard drive that consumed 7:46 of the clock.
When Toledo kicked a field goal to make it 27-15, it became a two-touchdown game instead of a two-score game, and Bowling Green had just 5:42 to get those two scores.
"Up until that drive we had done a pretty good job of getting them off the field in their previous few drives, and we had forced a fumble on the last possession," Clawson said. "But that 14-play drive put it on ice.
"They converted a bunch of third downs, but what made it frustrating is that we had them second-and-long two or three times and they were able to make it third-and-short. We lost that drive on second down as much as third down."
In that drive the Rockets:
- turned a second-and-6 into a first down by gaining 11 yards.
- turned a second-and-8 into a first down with a nine-yard gain.
- turned a second-and-16 into third-and-1, then converted on third down.
- turned a second-and-10 into third-and-1 that they again converted.
Curiously, Toledo's final second-down play on that drive was a second-and-1, which the Falcons stuffed for a one-yard loss. BG also held on a third-and-1 play, but by then the damage had been done.
JONES HONORED: Jones was named MAC East Division defensive player of the week for the second week in a row.
The senior finished with four tackles, including a pair of sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss, as well as a forced fumble against the Rockets.
Jones has 11 tackles in three games, including six tackles for loss and 3.5 quarterback sacks. He is tied for 10th among all FBS players with two tackles per loss per game and is tied for 12th with 1.17 sacks per contest.
Penrod earns MAC volleyball honor
BOWLING GREEN — BGSU volleyball player Paige Penrod was named MAC East Division offensive player of the week.
A junior, Penrod was named to the Purdue Active Ankle Challenge all-tournament team after leading the Falcons to a 2-1 record. She averaged 4.91 kills per set and 5.41 points per set, totaling at least 14 kills in each of the three matches.
She had 21 kills in a win over Jacksonville State and added 19 in a victory over Alabama-Birmingham.
Contact John Wagner at: jwagner@theblade.com, 419-724-6481 or on Twitter @jwagnerblade.