BG at Akron

10/11/2008

Well, it was a win and that s what matters most. But looking big picture, BG has to improve. I don t like what I ve seen the last two games and I can t imagine you do either. You d hope in an incredibly weak division BG would be able to separate itself from the pack, but I wouldn t count on it at this point.

Some thoughts:

-Kudos to the offense for being able to crack Akron s defense in the fourth quarter. I thought Anthony Turner was huge and was used the way he ought to be --- runner first, receiver second, passer third. Sign me up for inserting AT as the starting running back from here on out. Let Geter and Bullock fight over the remaining carries.

-Two weeks ago after the Wyoming win I pumped up the defense, saying that four solid games in a row is not a fluke. Well, we ve seen two average to below average performances since and I really don t know what to make of the unit. It s equally as hard to defend only having one sack over the last two games as it is to allow 182 rushing yards to a guy who had 23 last week.

-Kenny Lewis has some serious wheels. He had 170 yards on five kick returns and nearly broke a couple. I d pay money to see a 100-yard sprint between Lewis, Adrian Hodges, Roger Williams and Eric Ransom (healthy, of course).

-Tyler Sheehan s 19-yard TD run was set up by a BEAUTIFUL fake handoff to Turner. No one in the press box had a clue Sheehan had the ball until he was inside the 10. And I think we caught on quicker than Akron s defense.

-Jimmy Scheidler has 10 catches this year and five TD receptions. That s a darn good batting average.

-BG s kickoff coverage is abysmal and almost makes scoring a TD a double-edge sward. Sure you get seven points, but the opponent is taking over at the 45. Not good.

Halftime:

-Akron leads 21-14 heading into the lockerroom. BG cut the lead to a touchdown on an 8-yard hookup from Tyler Sheehan to Corey Partridge with 42 seconds to go. For whatever reason, Partridge is sometimes on the sideline on third downs. Fortunately he was on the field for this one.

-Dennis Kennedy is running all around the Falcons. He has 113 yards and two TDs on 13 attempts. The former Ohio State Buckeye ripped off a 55-yarder.

-The Falcons need to continue to run the ball to have any chance of winning. Anthony Turner (12 carries, 96 yards) has been able to carve up the Zips defense pretty routinely working out of the shotgun and as a tail back. Willie Geter has only rushed twice but he s got 14 yards. Tyler Sheehan is 13 of 23 for 103 yards. He s been OK but the rushing attack is moving the offense.

-The same official did the following: Threw a flag for delay of game with seven seconds left on the play clock (the penalty did not stick), couldn t find his flag on a pass interference call (he threw his hat instead) and called a bogus defensive pass interference call against Akron.

-Kenny Lewis is a great cover corner, but he got worked on a 37-yard TD by Deryn Bowser early in the second. I can t be certain if Lewis bit on a pump fake or just got beat, but it was ugly. To Lewis credit, he s played excellent otherwise particularly as a kickoff returner.

Pregame:

-No injuries to report for BG. Willie Geter (knee) is available and I m assuming he will play. The last time Geter played in northeast Ohio he rushed for more than 200 yards in a win over Kent last year. Also, Anthony Turner is taking snaps at running back in pregame warm-ups. I like it. I was never a proponent of moving Turner to receiver.

-They should call the Rubber Bowl the Rubbish Bowl. This place is really bad and I m glad Akron fans only have to deal with it for three more games. It s like the university totally declined to make any cosmetic upgrades to the facility once plans for the new stadium were announced.

-This is close to a must win for BG. Should the Falcons lose they d have to run the table to have even a chance of playing for the MAC title. It appears Buffalo is serious, as evidenced by its 14-3 lead over Western Michigan at halftime. In a perfect world BG would be in a position to play Buffalo for the pseudo East title on Nov. 21.

-I m a big fan of GPS systems and would encourage anyone who travels frequently to purchase one. HOWEVER my TomTom sent me to Bedford, Ohio, which is about 45 minutes away from Akron. Usually these things are mistake free, so I won t completely curse it out. Anyone mind calling me at about 1 a.m. to make sure I got home safely?

-I m on deadline tonight, so I ll probably wait until I get home before providing insight on the game.