Ay-Ziggy-Zoomba.com

It is unfortunate what happened to our QB. Also it was humbling to watch our guys get man-handled on Friday. It was probably the ugliest BG game I have ever seen. We came in with HUGE expectations. Looking back, maybe a little too high considering where we were just last October. We beat up on a lot of bad teams but showed up big vs NIU.

We have a new coach, a new scheme and now a new QB. It's easy to give up hope after what has transpired over the last week.

With that being said, the MAC is still there for the taking. The East is wide open and the 3 best teams in the West are also breaking in new QBs. Non of these teams have a dominant defense. I believe no team (outside of Toledo maybe) has better skill players than us.

We have 3-4 games to adjust and figure out this new scheme with our new QB. We should handle VMI this weekend. It would be great to take one from Indiana or Wisconsin. Our coaches SHOULD know what we are and how we'll need to adapt by the time we play UMASS. I am going to be fine with a 1-3 start if are learning and making progress along the way.

Expectations may be tempered at this point, but we have time to figure it out. Let's give it some time here.

I think the right word in seeing Johnson going down for the season is heartbreaking. High character kid, a leader who the whole team admires, a guy who the whole fanbase has rallied around in a way we haven't seen since Freddie Barnes, Omar Jacobs or Josh Harris, and a guy who worked his butt off to become the starter and leader of the team.

Now it's time to back Knapke the way we have backed Johnson since the Tulsa game last year. We haven't seen a ton from Knapke but at least against Murray State he looked impressive. Like Johnson taking over last year, Knapke is an unproven redshirt sophomore coming in to take command of the team. He has some very big shoes to fill, but he'll have a great mentor behind him the whole way.

As for the team, the offense needs to rally around Knapke the way they did around Johnson last year, and the defense needs to throw out the schemes from last week and remember the basic fundamentals which have led to great defensive successes. I would without a doubt say this is the most talented team in the MAC East, maybe in the entire conference, and now it's time to play to that potential.

We have three games to figure out what we have and where we stand before we either make hay or s**t hits the fan. Yeah, I want to win every game just like the next person does, but let's face it, the VMI, Indiana and Wisconsin games are now a platform to get our QB situation in some sort of order and to get the rest of this team playing to its best ability.

I believe we will beat VMI by default if it comes to it, but I really don't care if we lose to Indiana and Wisconsin at this point because of our current situation. Aside from the humbling and humiliating loss in the opener, we were dealt a severe blow losing Johnson days later. We will live and die by what we do against the MAC, not what we do against a pair of Big Ten teams.