Deep Breaths

windycityfalcon · Post by **windycityfalcon** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 5:14 pm

Ok.. we got it handed to us.
But the team handing it to us is ranked in the top 10.
Sure we all had great hopes of us giving them a game, and possibly even pulling the upset.
I drank the orange Kool-aid this week, too.
But it's not the end of the world.
The real season starts next Saturday at Miami.
And hopefully this team hates what a stinging road defeat and gets pumped to kick som MAC you know what.
Look at this week as a learning experience for Tyler and the rest of the offense. Our D needs to shore up and start making open-field tackles. The O needs to cut down on turnoveres, but we are control our own destiny and the schedule is set up for us to bring home a title.
This is ONE game that in the grand scheme of things doesn't mean a thing.

San Fran Falcon · Post by **San Fran Falcon** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 5:19 pm

Yep, this will be a distant memory if we can run the table. Granted, a tall order, but possible. We can even (maybe) afford one more hiccup along the way. I'm starting to calm down now, and look at the bigger picture. Hopefully, the team learns from this, and takes it out on the rest of the MAC.

JoeFalcon · Post by **JoeFalcon** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 7:25 pm

Nice post windycity. I completely concur.

While I'm aware that 90% of people on this board disagree, I absolutely hate these games. Every year it's another nonconference road game against a Top 10 team and every year you have to hope that the confidence of the team isn't shattered and no significant injuries occured.

"Challenging" ourselves on the road against Top 10 teams is perfectly fine when we've proven we can win the Mid-American Conference first. Minnesota and Michigan State are challenges. Top 10 road games are quixotic fantasies that do nothing but hurt morale and halt positive momentum. There's no proof that playing these teams "gets us ready" for conference play. If we're kicking butt year after year in the MAC and legitimately need a new challenge, then schedule all the Top 10 teams you want. Until then, let's keep our eyes on the prize.

BGSUFootballFan · Post by **BGSUFootballFan** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 7:33 pm

Interesting perspective Joe Falcon. I never thought of it like that, and I'm guilty of a lot of the points you made. I still think we didn't "lose" anything by playing this game and a win against Miami next week will go a long way into making up for it!

JoeFalcon · Post by **JoeFalcon** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 7:47 pm

BGSUFootballFan wrote:Interesting perspective Joe Falcon. I never thought of it like that, and I'm guilty of a lot of the points you made. I still think we didn't "lose" anything by playing this game and a win against Miami next week will go a long way into making up for it!

That's the attitude to take--and the attitute I hope the team takes to Oxford next Saturday! Boston was good for some decent pre-game clam chowder. It's MAC play now, and we're 1-0 and looking for more.

Schadenfreude · Post by **Schadenfreude** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 8:39 pm

JoeFalcon wrote:Nice post windycity. I completely concur.

While I'm aware that 90% of people on this board disagree, I absolutely hate these games. Every year it's another nonconference road game against a Top 10 team and every year you have to hope that the confidence of the team isn't shattered and no significant injuries occured.

"Challenging" ourselves on the road against Top 10 teams is perfectly fine when we've proven we can win the Mid-American Conference first. Minnesota and Michigan State are challenges. Top 10 road games are quixotic fantasies that do nothing but hurt morale and halt positive momentum. There's no proof that playing these teams "gets us ready" for conference play. If we're kicking butt year after year in the MAC and legitimately need a new challenge, then schedule all the Top 10 teams you want. Until then, let's keep our eyes on the prize.

Thing is, Boston College hasn't been this highly ranked in 13 years.

This wasn't a bad schedule at all this year. What I mean is, Boston College isn't Oklahoma (2004). They just happen to be playing like it this season.

I also think people tend to drastically overestimate the increased chance of injury playing a higher-ranked opponent. It's football. A serious injury can happen on any play against any team.

windycityfalcon · Post by **windycityfalcon** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 8:54 pm

It's football. A serious injury can happen on any play against any team.

true, but I'd much rather have those injuries coming against a conference team while we're slugging it out for a MAC title rather than against a team that really means nothing for our season.
Still.. point taken

Schadenfreude · Post by **Schadenfreude** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 8:57 pm

windycityfalcon wrote:
It's football. A serious injury can happen on any play against any team.
true, but I'd much rather have those injuries coming against a conference team while we're slugging it out for a MAC title rather than against a team that really means nothing for our season.
Still.. point taken

Unless the MAC increases the number of conference games -- something I think very few of us would want to see -- we are going to play four nonconference games a year. Unless we bring in Baldwin-Wallace or something, our starters are going to play the vast majority of those nonconference games.

windycityfalcon · Post by **windycityfalcon** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 9:14 pm

and to your point - brining in someone like Findlay or BW would do nothing to help us get ready for MAC play liking playing stiffer competition does.
Yea, our starters will play in non-conference games as they should. And while injuries can happen anytime, anywhere, it's always a fear that someone big will go down in a non-conference game that doesn't really mean all that much.

professorjackson · Post by **professorjackson** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 4:02 am

ass-kicking or not, you've got to play the toughest non-conference schedule possible, without sacrificing all your home games. a. you might win, b. you get a paycheck, c. you get tested, d. you might win, e. run the table on this schedule and there are b(c)s $$$ possibilities. injuries because they're top ten and we're not? i don't think they're much more likely. it's a brutal game no matter what.

BGSU Falconz · Post by **BGSU Falconz** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 5:14 am

I think it's great we play these top teams. Everyone here wants BG to become a household name, and you can't do that if you don't win big games. And you can't win big games if you don't play big games.

JoeFalcon · Post by **JoeFalcon** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 10:29 am

Schadenfreude wrote:
JoeFalcon wrote:Nice post windycity. I completely concur.

While I'm aware that 90% of people on this board disagree, I absolutely hate these games. Every year it's another nonconference road game against a Top 10 team and every year you have to hope that the confidence of the team isn't shattered and no significant injuries occured.

"Challenging" ourselves on the road against Top 10 teams is perfectly fine when we've proven we can win the Mid-American Conference first. Minnesota and Michigan State are challenges. Top 10 road games are quixotic fantasies that do nothing but hurt morale and halt positive momentum. There's no proof that playing these teams "gets us ready" for conference play. If we're kicking butt year after year in the MAC and legitimately need a new challenge, then schedule all the Top 10 teams you want. Until then, let's keep our eyes on the prize.
Thing is, Boston College hasn't been this highly ranked in 13 years.

This wasn't a bad schedule at all this year. What I mean is, Boston College isn't Oklahoma (2004). They just happen to be playing like it this season.

I also think people tend to drastically overestimate the increased chance of injury playing a higher-ranked opponent. It's football. A serious injury can happen on any play against any team.

Point taken. I can't really blame the schedule because Boston College has exceeded the expectations anyone outside of Doug Flutie had for them this year.

As to the other stuff mentioned later in the thread, I'd still like to see some tangible evidence of how playing a Top 10 team on the road "gets us ready" for the rest of the season. We played Ohio State in 2003 and still got smoked in the MAC Championship game. We've played highly ranked Wisconsin and Oklahoma teams and haven't even reached the MAC Championship game. There's always the possibility of victory and the glory that might follow, but the negatives still outweight the positives for me.

I'd rather have the team confident and clicking on all cylinders entering MAC play right now, not wondering what the hell just happened to them.

1987alum · Post by **1987alum** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 10:34 am

JoeFalcon wrote:As to the other stuff mentioned later in the thread, I'd still like to see some tangible evidence of how playing a Top 10 team on the road "gets us ready" for the rest of the season. We played Ohio State in 2003 and still got smoked in the MAC Championship game. We've played highly ranked Wisconsin and Oklahoma teams and haven't even reached the MAC Championship game. There's always the possibility of victory and the glory that might follow, but the negatives still outweight the positives for me.

I'd rather have the team confident and clicking on all cylinders entering MAC play right now, not wondering what the hell just happened to them.

Joe:

Good points. In the end, the main reasons we play these sorts of games are for exposure and money. Plain and simple. You're right ... there's no proof these games "get us ready" for anything.

hammb · Post by **hammb** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 10:50 am

I don't think the games get us ready for anything, but they are a good barometer for our program, and over the course of the season, our conference.

I prefer the "we'll play anyone anytime" attitude than the alternative which is holding out for home & home series which will invariably result in mediocre OOC schedules ever year.

I look at it this way: If we ever have that magical year where we go undefeated I want people to be able to say, "Wow, and look they went on the road and played a Big 10 & ACC school, and beat them both!"

To me there are almost no negatives to these games. If you win you're a story, and if you lose it was a game you were supposed to lose. When you do go out and perform above expectations it does world's more for the team's confidence than beating on some patsy would.

professorjackson · Post by **professorjackson** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 11:48 am

"I look at it this way: If we ever have that magical year where we go undefeated I want people to be able to say, "Wow, and look they went on the road and played a Big 10 & ACC school, and beat them both!"

Amen!

As opposed to, well we beat a couple of 1-aa's at home.

Get ready? I don't know that there's evidence either way regarding a soft or easy OOC schedule. So go for the exposure, $$$, and chance at victory.