vs. Ohio (11/26)

[jpfalcon09]

It is nonsense to create the straw man that SL critics are expecting an elite OL ...I know I'm not. I do expect to see improvement over time ...which we are not seeing...and an understanding that this problem was present three years ago and it's present now. How has it not been fixed to ANY extent

Y'all can yammer on and on about improvement, but we are one loss away from another 3-9 season. The same record we had in SL first year with the dumpster fire team he inherited

Case and point for why consistency between hires and philosophies is important.

New guy comes in and scorches earth, puts a lot of his chips in the development game, experiences attrition (some of his own doing), and then is left with trying to push along kids either too soon, or they don't have the skill set.

It'll always be my contention that continuing the Babers offense should have been the biggest priority after he left. That style of football was dominant in conference and helped pick off three B1G programs who didn't have the horses to keep up. Now the program is in the mess it is.

[Schadenfreude]

It'll always be my contention that continuing the Babers offense should have been the biggest priority after he left.

One could argue Chris Kingston tried.

https://www.toledoblade.com/sports/coll ... 0181014165

[Flipper]

But we were told that those players Jinks had were poor citizens, couldn't even line up right and they were weak as kittens..that's why they were 3-9.
Here...in year three we aren't supposed to be back at square one if those basic problems have been fixed.

[Tony4BG]

2018 vs 2021 team, who wins??

[TommyG]

I don’t think there has been much progress on the field…actually I think there has been regression from early in the year.

There hasn’t been much development happening outside of just normal physical maturity from a strength program. You don’t see anything improving and as was mentioned we are playing the softest part of the schedule. Going blown out a bunch of times is a big indicator there is a lack of preparation and scheme issues. Size and strength help that but aren’t going to fix it.

[Flipper]

2018 vs 2021 team, who wins??

Blind people everywhere...

[BGSU33]

We lost 4 starters from last year's team in the offseason. Starting center Cameron Stage transferred to WKU, starting LT Joe Ware transferred to Austin Peay, starting RT Derek Downs medically retired and starting RG Tim Tanner-Blair didn't return. That left only OG Sam Neverov as the lone returning starter on the OL. Then, he was ruled out for the year before the season started meaning we lost our entire OL. And who did BG add to offset this? NO ONE!!! This was a colossal F-up by our coaching staff, which falls right on Loeffler's lap. What's more, since the season started, we also lost Brian Kilbane who was slated to start at RG, and Chris Oliver, Joey Carroll and John O'Brian who were all set to be on the two deep. In short, we lost 9 offensive linemen (nearly 2 full offensive lines!) since this past offseason without replacing any of them! No one! This is what brings us to the mess we have now. And to be clear, this isn't our current OL's fault. These guys are busting their asses as best they can, but they should NOT all be out there like this together right now. And all of this 100% falls on our coaching staff. I see potential from some of the guys we are playing on the OL, but some of them are in over their head right now. It's also why BG must - MUST - hit the transfer portal in the offseason. It's the only way we're going to fix this mess in a timely manner, and that's not a knock on our current OL. This is our coaching staff's fault and this is the only way were going to be able to properly fix it for next season at this point. Because this is what should have been done this past offseason and wasn't touched, and this is exactly why we are in the mess we are right now.

[roguewarrior]

Unfortunately, I think “hitting the portal” is easier said than done. It’s not a magic place to grab Uber talented players to plug in, “compete for a spot” and lead the locker room. We need them to hit major home runs……they are taking 11 HS kids, and the rest from the portal. I am not optimistic. In any way.

[guest44]

Wait, so after all that ranting during the 2020 season about how he wasn’t going to “use” BGSU like the previous coaches, it appears Loeffler spent more time focused on Westside Marathon than the fixing the offensive line. How could anyone see this coming. The motto of “ going to the moon” and losing by 35 a game wasn’t enough?

Regardless, Moose and Kingston Jr. careers and now completely tied into this result, so he will get every chance to accomplish something. 6-22 is pathetic. However, progress was made. Buffalo hired the next Mike Jinks and destroyed its program, and Ohio better fix it quick. Light at the end of the tunnel in the form of other MAC members incompetence.

[Tony4BG]

Anyone else notice every team in West division bowl eligible? Anyone remember NIU record last season?

[Flipper]

2018 vs 2021 team, who wins??

Blind people everywhere...

I think the 2018 team wins. Scotty Miller, Doege, Clair, Denley...better weapons at the skill positions. Far more experienced OL and a stronger DL secondary was deeper as well

[roguewarrior]

2018 vs 2021 team, who wins??

Blind people everywhere...

I think the 2018 team wins. Scotty Miller, Doege, Clair, Denley...better weapons at the skill positions. Far more experienced OL and a stronger DL secondary was deeper as well

Imagine if Scotty Miller was a 2019 recruit…..He wouldn’t likely see the field in this offense, and certainly have no numbers. Instead of 3 years plus(?) In the NFL and a Super Bowl ring, extrapolated out in the SL era future, he would be getting ready for something entirely different…..

[jpfalcon09]

Aside of the usual banter, it's sad this is the last football game of the season already. The season seems to fly by faster every year.

Agree that this offseason needs to be filled with home runs for the coaching staff in the portal. As rogue mentioned, there's going to be plenty of competition for guys who play in the trenches. I suspect we're going to have to rely on more guys on the current roster to take a big leap next year than guys riding in on white horses.

[BGSU33]

Unfortunately, I think “hitting the portal” is easier said than done. It’s not a magic place to grab Uber talented players to plug in, “compete for a spot” and lead the locker room. We need them to hit major home runs……they are taking 11 HS kids, and the rest from the portal. I am not optimistic. In any way.

No one’s talking about grabbing Uber talent. We simply need guys who are able bodies to play at this point. If they’re mediocre in all aspects of their schemes, it would be an improvement. The portal is swelling in mass numbers again, 77 guys jumped in just one day the other day when I looked. Rest assured, there will be options. If, and that’s a big if, but if all our OL stay (and I hope I’m wrong, but I highly doubt they will), we could have a decent OL next season if we add some transfers to go along with them. Going back a decade or so, our DL suffered a ton of attrition for years. Now that positional need is the OL.

We’ve lost essentially a full two-deep of OL players (9 out of 10 spots were vacated) in one offseason - in a year you were able to return everyone because of Covid! Think about that for a second. We’ve never seen it before and we won’t ever again. But it is what it is right now and it’s the biggest issue to fix if next season is to be any better.

[roguewarrior]

Maybe a smarter tact then raiding the portal like every single other team is doing, would be to scoop up the prime HS kids left behind from scholarship? There will be some grade A MAC talent available. Probably too late, since they likely didn’t do due diligence on the HS talent. I bet we will read of someone doing just this….