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Let's all just back up here for a minute. If the D knocks down a pass we would all be claiming how the team and coaching staff have turned a corner. This loss hurts, not just for the fans but the players too. Just think of those seniors giving their all and the sting of losing to Toledo 4 times in a row. Let's not give up on them yet. There are still 4 games to be played and I am sure the team is going to be even hungrier to prove all the doubters.

Miami, Ohio, EMU, Buffalo. The only thing between us and Detroit. Miami and EMU are definitely winnable games. Buffalo has looked great, but played no one (just like us). Let's see what there made of after playing Toledo and Ohio (plus Miami & BG). Ohio has a MAC loss to CMU and still plays Buffalo, BG, Kent & UMASS.

We control our own destiny, which is a great place to be. No excuses from here on out. Let's see what we're made of.

We seem to be made of things that never enable us to catch that one pass, block that one kick or make that one defensive stop that seals a close win.

Flipper wrote:We seem to be made of things that never enable us to catch that one pass, block that one kick or make that one defensive stop that seals a close win.

Agreed. That is why it is so frustrating, because we're that damn close to turning the corner, but instead still seem to spin our wheels. Hence the 4-14 record in these one-score games. It would be one thing if teams were just kicking our ass. They're not. We're right in these big games but either stumble or piss down our leg in the decisive moments. Until we actually DO win these kind of games, we can't ever expect our guys to ever learn how or to overcome it. They need to actually go out there and do it. Because for years, no matter how young or veteran we are, we're still doing the same things in keeping us coming up short.

thewebboy wrote:Let's all just back up here for a minute. If the D knocks down a pass we would all be claiming how the team and coaching staff have turned a corner. This loss hurts, not just for the fans but the players too. Just think of those seniors giving their all and the sting of losing to Toledo 4 times in a row. Let's not give up on them yet. There are still 4 games to be played and I am sure the team is going to be even hungrier to prove all the doubters.

Miami, Ohio, EMU, Buffalo. The only thing between us and Detroit. Miami and EMU are definitely winnable games. Buffalo has looked great, but played no one (just like us). Let's see what there made of after playing Toledo and Ohio (plus Miami & BG). Ohio has a MAC loss to CMU and still plays Buffalo, BG, Kent & UMASS.

We control our own destiny, which is a great place to be. No excuses from here on out. Let's see what we're made of.

I'm perfectly calm and will never stop supporting the team. That doesn't mean I won't criticize poor coaching when I see it -- especially when it's been a pattern over a number of years.

I've already gone on record here as saying I don't believe this team will win the MAC East and will lose its bowl game (assuming it gets to one). That's not because I don't support the team; it's because I have no faith in this coaching staff to pick this team back up and get them through the rest of the schedule unbeaten.

I hope and pray they all prove me wrong...and I'll be rooting each game for them to do just that.

thewebboy wrote:Let's all just back up here for a minute. If the D knocks down a pass we would all be claiming how the team and coaching staff have turned a corner.

I agree 100%, but the fact that it didn't happen is eEactly why we are having these discussion. We have seen this kind of thing happen way too many times before in recent years. The bomb followed by the TD pass and 2-pt conversion vs Idaho in the bowl to lose by 1, the blocked PAT vs Wyoming to lose by 1, the missed 2-point conversion vs Temple to lose by 1, the FG by Ohio to lose by 1, the missed FG vs Buffalo to lose by 2, the 7 point loss at home to Kent State for the MAC East title, etc.....and we can add the last-minute TD by Toledo to lose by 3. We have seen this stuff all too much before. So yes, had we made a stop on 3rd and 26 (then on 4th and 9) and won 25-21, we could have said FINALLY - "we turned the corner!" But instead we're saying "it happened yet again."

I have to admit, when we had UT at 3rd and a mile at then end, I wasn't thinking about how we were going to win. I was thinking how is UT going to score. They played "Don't Stop Believing" during the timeout, and all I could think was - give us something to finally believe in! You have to start believing before you can stop it.

You hear coaches including Clawson remark all the time about how a game is sometimes decided (won or lost) by about 5 or 6 plays throughout the course of a contest. Well we can easily point to 5 or 6 plays that doomed us in this one (Burbrink's drop inside the 5, the two penalties that allowed UT a TD instead of the FG, the false start that cost us a possible TD from a half yard out, the TD pass to UT on their last drive after the 3rd and 26 and then 4th and 9, and the drop by Joplin). That's ballgame folks. More of the same old, same old we've grown accustomed to seeing.

The main point of this thread was to try to keep a positive mindset, amid all these threads bashing the coaching staff and program in general.

We still have 4 games to be played. I'm pretty sure Toledo is better than anyone left on our schedule. Maybe something positive can come from the heartbreak of this loss.

Some of the people on this board could NEVER be Cleveland fans.

Flipper wrote:We seem to be made of things that never enable us to catch that one pass, block that one kick or make that one defensive stop that seals a close win.

This is spot on.

Dayons_Den wrote:Some of the people on this board could NEVER be Cleveland fans.

Nearly all Cleveland fans are Buckeye fans too. They win in the end.

Dayons_Den wrote:Some of the people on this board could NEVER be Cleveland fans.

I've been a Browns fan for more than 40 years. How's that for a lot of bad teams and heartbreak? I also was an Indians fan until I just gave up on baseball about 5 years ago when it became too obvious the big money teams will most likely make the playoffs (and the Indians weren't spending...so why bother?)

Lots of losing in my sports past, including some heartbreaks while I was at BG. I saw them fall short in basketball to OU by a point or so in overtime to win a MAC title; and Kent won the football title while I was there ahead of BG and got to the Tangerine Bowl instead of the Falcons.

So I've seen lots of ridiculous heartbreaking losses being a BG fan as well.

What bothers me more than losing is seeing an athletic department that seems to accept mediocrity from its main men's sports so easily. I would wager no other school in the MAC has gone as long as BG (combined) in both football & basketball without a league title -- and we know BG is one of only something like five or so D1 schools that haven't been to the NCAA tournament in the past 40 years.

So I have the "heartbreak" fan credentials...and I'm sure many others here do as well.

BGWriter wrote:

Dayons_Den wrote:Some of the people on this board could NEVER be Cleveland fans.

I would wager no other school in the MAC has gone as long as BG (combined) in both football & basketball without a league title -- and we know BG is one of only something like five or so D1 schools that haven't been to the NCAA tournament in the past 40 years.

It's been 45 years, but who is counting?

BGWriter wrote:

Dayons_Den wrote:Some of the people on this board could NEVER be Cleveland fans.

I've been a Browns fan for more than 40 years. How's that for a lot of bad teams and heartbreak? I also was an Indians fan until I just gave up on baseball about 5 years ago when it became too obvious the big money teams will most likely make the playoffs (and the Indians weren't spending...so why bother?)

Lots of losing in my sports past, including some heartbreaks while I was at BG. I saw them fall short in basketball to OU by a point or so in overtime to win a MAC title; and Kent won the football title while I was there ahead of BG and got to the Tangerine Bowl instead of the Falcons.

So I've seen lots of ridiculous heartbreaking losses being a BG fan as well.

What bothers me more than losing is seeing an athletic department that seems to accept mediocrity from its main men's sports so easily. I would wager no other school in the MAC has gone as long as BG (combined) in both football & basketball without a league title -- and we know BG is one of only something like five or so D1 schools that haven't been to the NCAA tournament in the past 40 years.

So I have the "heartbreak" fan credentials...and I'm sure many others here do as well.

Agreed on all accounts. I grew up a Browns & Tigers fan. I don't know why the disconnect, but it's always been that way. The Browns are the Browns...obviously one of the most disheartening franchises to root for in all of sports. The Tigers are now spending money like the big boys and winning a lot because of it, but through most of my childhood and adulthood they were one of the worst franchises in baseball...including almost setting the record for the most losses ever in a single season. It's worth noting that even as they're pretty good now they still haven't actually WON a championship as well...


So yeah...I've got plenty of "heartbreak" in my sports fandom as well.

Anyhow, I agree with you. What frustrates me more than the losing (clearly I'm used to the losing) is the apathy shown by the athletic department. If you're not willing to do what it takes to TRY to win, then what the eff is the point?

Like BGWriter said, I'll always support the team.

I'm inclined to ruminate on the big-picture stuff after the season when a championship isn't still in the balance. Some of the reasons we lost the Toledo game aren't fixable in a week but many of them are. It would be interesting to know what the staff is doing to specifically address these.

Like Kingston and the parking/concession/rent-a-cop abominations, recognizing the problem is step one. Fixing it is step two and I think we're ready for that at this point in the year.

mscarn wrote:Like Kingston and the parking/concession/rent-a-cop abominations, recognizing the problem is step one. Fixing it is step two and I think we're ready for that at this point in the year.

I have one question from this and the attendance thread, what is the parking/traffic flow problem you guys speak of. I just ask because for the games I've been able to make I had no issues getting into a pay lot, parking, and getting out after the game (aside from waiting a bit to get out of the lot after, which is common at any sporting event) I guess I have been showing up early enough to avoid any problems so I was just wondering what they were

You can always go down to zero state. Maybe you can get out of the lot faster, but you had a 30 minute walk to get to your car!