Is this the worst team in BG history?

[BGSU33]

Is this the worst team in BG history? I'm asking, not quite declaring, but I'm certainly not opposing the idea. It very well could be and has all the makings of it. I've been following BG since the early 1990's, which is longer than some and not as long as others on this board. But in the 25-plus years of following this program, only two teams rival what I'm seeing from this year's team and that is the 2000 team that went 2-9 and the 2010 team that went 2-10. But even though those two seasons have gone down as two of the worst winning percentage seasons in school history, what I'm witnessing from this year's team might even be worse. Yes, those two teams were beaten pretty good a few times, but not annihilated like this team was not once, but twice. Those two teams did not play an FCS team, this year's team did which is the only game it won, by a single point, at home. Those two teams were also not coming off a MAC Championship, this year's team was and in fact was a 3-time East champion. Those two teams were not picked to win the MAC or a division, and this team was picked to win its division. Which leads to another question. Has a team ever been picked to win a division only to finish last??? But back to the topic, this team could still beat a team or two like Kent State or Buffalo and it doesn't change this discussion at all. We're horrible, actually, beyond horrible and very well might be the worst team in BG history. And if not "the" worst team, it's certainly one of them without question. And as bad as 2010's team was from a win-loss record, I do believe that team would beat this year's team. Not by a lot, but I do think it was better. The 2000 vs 2016 matchup might be a toss up. But either way, this year's program very well could be the worst ever. And it's doing nothing to prove that thought wrong.

[Kruks1207]

Long time reader first time poster. I too started following this team as a kid when our family had season tickets through the 90's and early 2000's. I graduated from BGSU in 06 and was a student all through the J5 and Omar years. We canceled our season tickets after the Greg Brandon UB game and just started back up this year. I can say without a doubt this is the worst coaching staff BG has ever had... maybe in any major revenue sport. This years players have talent there is no doubt there. However, they have zero discipline, character, toughness both mental and physical and are lacking in heart. This falls squarely on the coaching staff. It was 51 degrees and half of our team is bundled up like we are playing in snow and ice. Not one Miami player had a jacket on. Half our team had winter coats on while our cheerleaders were on the sidelines in skirts. This is why we have zero wins and will have zero wins vs FBS teams. Are you kidding me??? It's truly a shame especially for these seniors. You have a senior class that doesn't know what it's like to not win the east, a 4 star redshirt freshmen quarterback, a 4 star senior running back, a senior quarterback that won the MAC his sophomore year, and an all conference linebacker and this is the best you can do with that??

[Class of 61]

Thought it was unusual to even SEE the long robes on the sidelines. But if there was ANY game this year where BG was outcoached and outclassed it was today. Miami showed some creativity in play calls and BG never seemed to adjust to the play action man in motion look. This is coaching 101 and a sign that Mr. Jinks and co. Have a LONG way to go. I mentioned in a post awhile back how many of these guys weren't even position coaches a yr. ago. Quality control coaches? Where's the QUALITY?

I mentioned a half dozen times to my friends that BG was playing STUPID football, with too many self inflicted wounds to keep track of. Jinks had said in his presser that we wouldn't have a letdown after Toledo. Wonder what he'll be saying on Monday this week.

[Falconfreak90]

The 1988 team...that was a BAD team at 2-8-1. Probably the worst I've ever seen. The 2000 team lost more game at 2-9 but they had a lead or were tied in the 4th quarter in 4-5 games that year. They just couldn't close. Check out the 1988 results, which was my JR year.

Lost to WVU 62-14
Lost to Ball State 34-10
Lost to TCU 49-12
Lost to tsun 34-5
Lost to WMU 37-10
Lost to CMU 21-3
Lost to Kent St 31-19
Lost to EMU 28-3

We beat Ohio U 42-0 (Don't know how that happened) and 1-AA Youngstown State, 20-16. Oh, and we tied Miami 21-21, who ended up 0-10-1 in 1988.

Thoughts?

[Rightupinthere]

Could be but I'll reserve my thoughts until season's end. '88 strands out as Freak stated. Gads. Saw every home game plus a Kalamazoo road trip (all day driving drizzle.)

[guest44]

Worst I've seen. Those other awful teams came during beat down periods of the program. This dumpster fire hire is off a MAC title. The Louis Jinks era has arrived.

[apollo]

I don't see how you can afford to bring Jinks back...Football loses so much money as it is, but if Jinks is here for a year or two more our athletics department may be on life support.

What a terrible, terrible hire. We certainly were benefactors the last few years of playing in the MAC East against garbage competition....but to go from at least being top 4 in the conference to having lost to every D1 opponent thus far is baffling. There is plenty of talent to compete in the MAC on the roster. The coaches aren't putting the players in situations to be successful.

[hammb]

I don't think this team is as bad as the 2000 team that had Blackney resign a month into the season, yet still coach the rest of the string out. And losing to Buffalo who hadn't won a game in a couple years...

Even though I THINK this team is better than that squad? I have a hard time putting any sort of legit argument into it. This team is talented enough to have won the MAC last year and now looks like garbage. That team was talented enough to win a lot of games under Urban Meyer the following season.

Maybe the fact that we, in desperation, took the RS off J5 in that 2000 season should work as some sort of tie breaker? Obviously didn't hurt us much since Omar was huge in '04 anyhow, but I still feel a bit cheated that we only got 3 seasons of J5, when we should have had 4.

[hammb]

I don't think this team is as bad as the 2000 team that had Blackney resign a month into the season, yet still coach the rest of the string out. And losing to Buffalo who hadn't won a game in a couple years...

Even though I THINK this team is better than that squad? I have a hard time putting any sort of legit argument into it. This team is talented enough to have won the MAC last year and now looks like garbage. That team was talented enough to win a lot of games under Urban Meyer the following season.

Maybe the fact that we, in desperation, took the RS off J5 in that 2000 season should work as some sort of tie breaker? Obviously didn't hurt us much since Omar was huge in '04 anyhow, but I still feel a bit cheated that we only got 3 seasons of J5, when we should have had 4.

I knew I had it in my head that the '00 team was more unwatchable (and thus IMO making them worse) than this current iteration. So I went back to look at some stats. Good god, they're almost unfathomable by current standards.

Andy Sahm led the team with 1,490 passing yards.
Oh, so we're a RUN team! Not so fast...JG led the team in rushing with 514 yards, at a whopping 3.3 yards per carry clip.
On the whole we rushed for 1082 yards at 2.5 yards per carry (VOMIT!)
On the whole we passed for 1801 yards completing only 48.4% of our passes

Somehow David Bautista, in this anemic offense, managed 69 catches for 915 yards. Kurt Gerling added 29 catches for 325 yards, and no other receiver had 175 yards.

On the season we managed only 2883 yards for a pathetic 3.5 yards per play.

Now THAT is unwatchably bad football. On the season we were outscored 280-174. That's a point differential of only 9.6 ppg, so certainly we had the illusion of being more competitive than this current squad, but given our offensive numbers, we were pretty much out of it as soon as we gave up a TD. Hell we only scored 19 offensive TDs all season...


By comparison this current group has already eclipsed that rushing total and is averaging, a not good but still over a yard higher, 3.8 yards per carry. Morgan, who didn't start the season, has already thrown for as many yards and more TDs at Sahm did in 10 games that year. On the whole our team is averaging a not very good 5 yards per play, but that's still a lot better than the 2000 team managed.

Of course this current defense is far worse, and we've been outscored 361-171, an average of 23.75 per game. I guess it ends up being pick your flavor of shitty football, but if you're going to force me to watch one or the other, I'll take this current group. At least there's a chance they can hit the occasional big play or put a drive together for a TD. That 2000 group felt completely out of every game as soon as they gave up their first points...it was awful.

[guest44]

Interesting comparison. I guess I'd rather watch the 2000 team play as I would be 16 years younger, and tailgating was much more fun then. Either way, both teams flat out stink.

[Flipper]

When you're bad...does it really matter how bad?

[kdog27]

Hammb, not disagreeing those are bad bad numbers. Football was different then though evident by the fact that we weren't outscored by that much. Take 2 70 point blowouts from this year and you have eclipsed that 9ppg easily.

My main problem is this should be a 7 or 8 win team in the division we play. They have been coached down to a 2 win team. Maybe. That's awful.

[footballguy51]

I have a hunch this will be a Clawson rebuild. Babers Sucked a lot out of this program and didn't put much into it. We now have a team that struggles with chemistry and can't find an identity. The team is fighting with itself because discipline is being re-instituted. This might be a 2-10 year. I'd be curious to see how we fare the next year. I know many players were not happy with having a coach enforce the rules, but having a team that is structured and follows rules can only lead to good things in the long run.

[MarkL]

My biggest concern has always been the lack of experience on the coaching staff. This may be a Clawson style build. Clawson also came in with years of head coaching experience at the FCS level and he brought a staff with a bunch of parallel moves.
What we have here is a head coach with high school head coach experience and a fresh coaching staff with all vertical moves into this position. I have no doubt that the staff can grow into their roles. It is just frustrating that we will see growing pains across the entire coaching staff as opposed to some key veteran assistants led by a head coach who has done this before.

[Schadenfreude]

This isn't the worst team in Bowling Green history. It *might* be the worst team Bowling Green has fielded since the Falcons moved up to Division I in 1961.