BG vs IU thread
Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2014 6:31 pm
My how the excitement and anticipation of the 2014 season has stalled. On the eve of hosting a Big 10 opponent, this board is as quiet as the men's basketball forum has been in the last several years. I admit, my enthusiasm has also been leveled. Let me rephrase that, it's been flattened. That said, I still am excited about tomorrow's game as well as the rest of the season.
There's no doubt that expectations were very high heading into this year. We won our first MAC championship in over 20 years, we returned much of our offense and half of our defense and were primed - on paper - for a huge year. But after getting punched in the mouth in week one and then being dealt the huge blow of losing Johnson, it's safe to say expectations have gone out the window.
There used to be a time not long ago where BG used to feast on upending Power 5 teams (BCS foes), but that feasting has ended and has turned into our Achilles' heel. With all that has happened to this team already, I'm essentially looking at our next two games against Big 10 opponents as very demanding preseason games in a way. Don't get me wrong, I want to win no matter who we play, but the bigger picture in all of this is the MAC season. There's a very good chance we are going to enter MAC play with a record of 1-3. But that will have no impact on whether we return to Detroit or not and that is the bigger picture in all of this.
If this game against Indiana was our season opener and we could turn back the clock, I would be looking at a prediction of BG 31, IU 28. But after losing our starting quarterback, and seeing our defense get severely shredded through the air the first two weeks, I just don't see us winning this game or keeping up. I'm calling for IU 45, BG 24.
It looks like the weather will be dry come kickoff and I hope for a good crowd. I will now be able to sit back and enjoy this game without feeling like our season is riding on it, because quite frankly, it just isn't. We have three weeks and two more games to get ready for what will determine our "real" season, and that begins with our conference opener at UMass. GO BG!!!
There's no doubt that expectations were very high heading into this year. We won our first MAC championship in over 20 years, we returned much of our offense and half of our defense and were primed - on paper - for a huge year. But after getting punched in the mouth in week one and then being dealt the huge blow of losing Johnson, it's safe to say expectations have gone out the window.
There used to be a time not long ago where BG used to feast on upending Power 5 teams (BCS foes), but that feasting has ended and has turned into our Achilles' heel. With all that has happened to this team already, I'm essentially looking at our next two games against Big 10 opponents as very demanding preseason games in a way. Don't get me wrong, I want to win no matter who we play, but the bigger picture in all of this is the MAC season. There's a very good chance we are going to enter MAC play with a record of 1-3. But that will have no impact on whether we return to Detroit or not and that is the bigger picture in all of this.
If this game against Indiana was our season opener and we could turn back the clock, I would be looking at a prediction of BG 31, IU 28. But after losing our starting quarterback, and seeing our defense get severely shredded through the air the first two weeks, I just don't see us winning this game or keeping up. I'm calling for IU 45, BG 24.
It looks like the weather will be dry come kickoff and I hope for a good crowd. I will now be able to sit back and enjoy this game without feeling like our season is riding on it, because quite frankly, it just isn't. We have three weeks and two more games to get ready for what will determine our "real" season, and that begins with our conference opener at UMass. GO BG!!!
I was worried about our D as well but they are playing better today.