BG-Buffalo game

[always a falcon]

They also fail to acknowledge the blatant hit on geter on that punt return.

The guy that hit him grabbed his own helmet in disgust after he hit him....he knew right away.

[bgsufalcon24]

24 must be ripping his hair out in Buffalo right now.

I feel so warm and fuzzy on the inside knowing that you were thinking of me during such the anxious and difficult ordeal that was tonight's game. No hair pulling though, I got a haircut last week and it's much too short for that right now.

Anyway, what a big win for us, great win. We sure didn't look good in the first half, especially on defense. But thanks to some big special teams plays and some offense we were able to just stick around, stick around, until Buffalo seemed to let off the gas. From the middle of the 3rd onward, I thought this gamme was eerily similar to the Kent State game. Kent thought they had the game in the bag up 35-23 and got conservative. This is certainly not a slight on our defense, which was GREAT in the 2nd half, but I think Buffalo may have psychologically done the same thing up 28-16. They started running on 1st/2nd down every time and the QB got out of rhythm. One thing that I really liked was that once we fell behind by 12, we turned up our aggressiveness. We threw it deep, dialed up the blitz, and really got after the ball carrier for the first time all night. We were trying to respond to them in the first half, and in the second half, we made them respond to us, and they couldn't.

It's hard to make heads or tails of our team. Some days we look good, others we don't. But one thing is certain, the late game failures earlier in the year at Marshall and at home vs Ohio seem to have rubbed off on us and provided some good experience. Now we're calm and collected, and our guys seem to thrive under that kind of pressure. Like the Kent game, Tyler was a stud, and looked very poised. Freddie did a great job as did Willie throughout that final drive, and Adrian even came up with a big grab on a crucial 3rd down. We're at the point where when the game is on the line, our playmakers are stepping up and making plays. That's going to serve us well down the stretch if we were to get into another comeback scenario against Akron, Miami, or Toledo.

Bottom line, we've got a good chance to still get to a bowl game, and with this win tonight our small hope of reaching the MAC Championship Game is still alive. Really all we need is to win and have some dominoes fall our way a la 2005 Akron or 2008 Buffalo. Stranger things have happened.

Forward Falcons!!

[60yearsofsicsic]

Some Quick Hits:

1. I believe in balance of course when you average .8 yds a carry from the Rb seems like a waste huh?

2. Tyler did not look good. I know some of you said he did.. but really he looks like he is aiming the ball and is slow on secondary reads

3. Wow! The D stepped up... in the 2nd half it was like a different team... I must say I am impressed we actually blitzed a lot in the second half and did not stop... something I have not seen from a BG "D" in a long time

Just some thoughts

[SB-50]

What makes the win even more amazing is that we were -2 in turnovers and outrushed 262-48. A win "rarely" comes out of a stat line like that.

I do wish we could commit more to running the ball and stopping the run. Football is still fairly simple, and teams that do that consistently win more often than not.

Oh, the replay can be seen via ESPN 360.

[1987alum]

Wow, what a rush! Gutsy comeback by our Falcons.

A few quick hits from someone who saw the entire 2nd half, but only a few plays of the first ...

* Tyler looked shaky tonight. The fact that our O-line had some struggles didn't help that, I'm sure, but he did hold on to the ball too long. And somebody already said it - he definitely looks like he's aiming the ball.

* Then again, there were a couple really, really painful drops. That will wear on a QB's mind.

* Freddie was open all night long. All. Night. Long.

* The running looked putrid. Midway through the third, I said to Noah, "I wonder where Bullock is." The kid comes in and reels off an 11-yard run. His only carry of the night.

* Kudos to the defense for stepping it up. The later it got, the tougher they got.

Bottom line - it's a conference win! And, selfishly, I actually got to see the Falcons! W00t!

[Dayons_Den]

When Bullock came in he was open out of the backfield 2-3 times but Tyler was locked on the other side of the field. After Bullock was free from blocking he would slip out and be open but nary got a look which disappointed me.

I definitely think the stem of our running woes comes from a poor line. Both Bullock and Geter are capable backs, but they rarely get good holes to go through. They have both shown they are average to above average backs on any given night (in years past), but they can't seem to get any openings. People have said Bullock has regressed or that Geter is too small, but I don't think that either of those things is the case.

[Rette]

Troy Trojan fan here. Congratulations on your win over Buffalo! We went out last night and only got to see a little of the first quarter. However, I recorded on DVR and plan to watch it tonight. Again congratulations on your win.

[cowboyjoe]

No Chris Bullock...not going there. It's a given he should be getting carries. It's an absolute crime to have this happen to him in his senior year.

[Dayons_Den]

No Chris Bullock...not going there. It's a given he should be getting carries. It's an absolute crime to have this happen to him in his senior year.

We know your love for CB33 cowboy joe, and I've liked the Destrehan Destroyer since his freshman year, but.... with the woes in the o-line I don't think carries are the answer. That is why I was hoping for some dump off passes where he can get some YAC.

[cowboyjoe]

I'm with ya...but he creates space as evident in his last couple of carries. 30 yards and a TD against Ball State and 11 yards last night. I hope people don't think that our line all of a sudden blocks great when Bullock runs. It's because he can get those tough hidden yards!

[MarkL]

Bullock is most effective late in the game when the defense is worn out. Look at most of his big carries since 2007. He's not the most powerful of all backs - he's not going to bulldoze through many linebackers. But, late in the game, he seems to be good at punishing a tired defense.

[BGFootball]

The worst part of this team, minus stopping the run, is our O-line. I am sorry but this line is absolutely terrible. I was getting frusturated all night watching our guys get beat off the ball. I know it doesn't help that Bojicic and Minturn have been out but our line just look slow and the holding calls were a result of that. I dont think its Geter or Bullocks fault at all for our poor running game. I just think the coaches feel our best bet is Geter because they know we can't run the ball and he is a better receiver out of the backfield.

Yes, Sheehan might have looked shaky a little bit today, but he had pressure on him nearly EVERY play. I remember turning to my buddy and saying "Why is Sheehan getting up off the ground after EVERY play." He is a leader though and extremely poised and he needs to be our QB the rest of the season, he has deserved it and played a lot of good football over the past 3 years. That last drive was absolutely amazing.

I feel like there gameplan tonight was to try and spread the ball around to other receivers besides Freddie, which is why Tyler probably didn't look his way a lot when he was open. There were many key drops by the other guys and it seemed like in the last quarter they just said, F it, lets go back to our bread and butter and give Barnes the ball. It worked and we got the Win! Go Falcons!

[musicman2343]

What a great way to end the game. I have to admit, when we went for the 4th and 2 and got stopped I was really worried... Great job by the defense to stop Buffalo and get the ball back. What a dumb penalty by Buffalo to run straight into Geter! But hey, I'll take a 15 yd penalty in our favor anytime!
What a way to win especially converting two 3rd and 10s. Great job by Barnes to get open - nobody near him. Only two more wins til bowl game eligible! Go Falcons!

[TG1996]

Only two more wins til bowl game eligible! Go Falcons!

That's true, but it's not. I think there will be enough 7-win MAC teams to fill our slots, meaning we need to be one of them if we want to go bowling. 6-6 teams are only picked if the conference doesn't have enough teams with winning records to fill their bowls. "Bowl eligible" only equals "bowl bid" in the major conferences, where they have 9 bids for 11 teams.

That said, I read somewhere that the MAC is a "bailout plan" for one of the bowls if the ACC can't fill their spots, and right now, it doesn't look like they will. That would make four potential bowls for MAC teams. Win 'em all and let someone else sort it out!

On a side note, since bowl games are now counted in personal stats, I'd love to see Freddie get an extra game to put up some more numbers. Hell, win the division and get TWO games to pad the stats!!!

[Flipper]

...in much the same manner that you "pad" your post totals?