Charleston-Gazzette Article on Omar

[Dayons_Den]

November 11, 2004
Soph QB keys BG’s high-flying attack

By Doug Smock
Staff writer

After the echoes of Lee Corso finally left Bowling Green in 2003, the rest of the Mid-American Conference wondered how the Falcons’ offense would function after the departure of quarterback Josh Harris.

With sophomore Omar Jacobs at the controls, the answer is pretty well, thank you.

For starters, Jacobs leads the country in touchdown passes with 27. He has the Falcons (7-2, 5-1 Mid-American Conference) chugging along at a cool 42.6 points per game.

That production will be the toughest challenge for Marshall’s defense since the Herd exited its Ohio State-Georgia stretch in September. That sets up a colossal matchup at noon Saturday at Doyt Perry Stadium when Marshall (5-4, 5-1) and Bowling Green battle to keep their division title hopes alive.

“They’ve been explosive on offense and have exploded on everybody, including Oklahoma and Northern Illinois,” said MU coach Bob Pruett. “The reason they lost to Northern Illinois is they were coming out after [walk-on Aaron Richardson] died and a bye week. And they dropped the ball. ... Similar to what we did up at Akron.”

Really, the Falcons were held in check in Jacobs’ debut, gaining just 269 yards in a 40-24 loss at Oklahoma. But since then, nobody has stopped BG’s attack, which has averaged 519 yards a game since. Even Northern Illinois, which beat BG 34-17, gave up 417 yards.

“We sputtered in the red zone,” said receiver Cole Magner. “We had penalties, and a blocked field goal really hurt. Our defense couldn’t stop them.”

Jacobs hails from Delray Beach, Fla., where he was named player of the year by the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel and Boca News. He didn’t even play tackle football until his freshman year in high school.

He injured his knee in an all-star game, causing a number of bigger-name schools to back away from recruiting him. The Bowling Green coaching staff, then led by Urban Meyer, stayed with him.

Jacobs isn’t necessarily as slick as Harris. He likes to stay in the pocket, which has been quite a safe place this year. Between the Falcons’ goal of unloading the ball in 2.5 seconds and a veteran offensive line, he and backups have been sacked just seven times.

“He can and will run,” Pruett said. “I just think he’s got people running wide open and he’s hitting them. He’s getting the ball out on time and getting protection. And with the option game, people are afraid to blitz him.”

Last year, Jacobs watched as Harris led BG to an 11-3 season, including an upset of then-No. 12 Northern Illinois before ESPN’s GameDay crew. The Falcons went on to beat Northwestern 28-24 in the Motor City Bowl.

Under the direction of Jacobs, an experienced receiving corps and the running of P.J. Pope, the Falcons are upholding or exceeding last year’s lofty offensive stats. They rained 70 points on Temple and 49 in the first half last week against Western Michigan.

- advertisement-

A statistical comparison from 2003:

Total yardage: A MAC-leading 491.2, down slightly from 496.6.
Passing yardage: A MAC-leading 320.9 yards, up from 300.4.
Passing efficiency rating: A MAC-leading 167.6, well ahead of last year’s 147.3.
Third-down conversion: A MAC-leading 49.6 percent, down slightly from an even 50 percent.
Marshall’s defense, last week’s slip-up against Akron notwithstanding, will bring some contradictory numbers to Bowling Green.

The Herd defense gives up 294.4 total yards, 191 passing yards, a 108.7 pass efficiency rating and a filthy 22.7 percent conversion rate on third downs. Three of those numbers lead the MAC; the pass efficiency rating is second behind Bowling Green.

But the Herd will have to contend with BG’s scheme, which spreads the field, yet can easily switch to power running or speed options.

“They try to keep you off balance, try to keep what they’re doing hid,” said strong safety Curtis Keyes. “That’s what a good team is going to do. Basically, what we’re going to try to do is stick with a base package, with some basic ideas on how to cover that.”

Jonathan Goddard, who had six of his 121/2 sacks against Georgia and Miami (Ohio), relishes the challenge.

- advertisement-

“It’s not as tough for the defensive line as it is the linebackers and the [defensive backs],” he said. “They’ve got a lot of stuff they’ve got to look at. We’ve just got to get up, get some pressure and help them out.”

Will the game be a scoring bonanza, a defensive struggle or something in between?

“They hit some big plays on [Western Michigan],” said Herd quarterback Stan Hill. “Once again, I haven’t seen a defense like ours. I don’t think it’s going to be as much a shootout as everybody’s predicting.”

To contact staff writer Doug Smock, use e-mail or call 348-5130.

[bgsuman]

He injured his knee in an all-star game, causing a number of bigger-name schools to back away from recruiting him.

muwahahahaha

[BelieveNBG]

“They hit some big plays on [Western Michigan],” said Herd quarterback Stan Hill. “Once again, I haven’t seen a defense like ours. I don’t think it’s going to be as much a shootout as everybody’s predicting.”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I haven't either...but some team by the name of Oklahoma is certainly a bigger test.