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We lost in Madison. Our D got manhandled.

We won in Muncie. Our offense turned the ball over way too much and our special teams looked weak.

1-1, 1-0.

That doesn't look too bad.

While it felt early in the 4th qtr. like the sky was falling last night, as it turns out, the sky is doing just fine this morning. Was our win over Ball State pretty? No. Did this team get the job done when it had to in a hostile environment? Yes.

Here are some reasons I am very excited about this season's potential:

(1) We are sitting in the catbird seat. With Miami already having lost, and apparently reeling as a program, this division is ours for the taking.

(2) This team doesn't turn the ball over. Hopefully we got that out of our system last night. I think the BSU game, even moreso than the Wisconsin game, will prove to have been a learning experience for this whole team. Gregg Brandon may not be willing to yell at the defense, but I would be willing to guarantee that he lost his voice yelling at the people who fumbled last night.

(3) P.J. will be back soon. As tough as the game last night was, it is easy to forget that we were without one of our greatest weapons in P.J. With P.J. back, our offense will look more like the offense in the 1st qtr. of the Wisconsin game than the offense in the 3rd qtr. last night.

(4) We are young on defense. The defense last night did perform better than they did in Wisconsin. Were they perfect? Not at all. But they did show improvement - and that is all one can ask from a young D. Expect this trend to continue throughout the year.

(5) Nine days. We have nine days before our next game to learn our mistakes and bye week after that. The best news here? Our next two games are OOC - they don't matter in terms of winning the conference. We will take them seriously, no doubt, but even if we falter in one area or another, we will still be able to learn and grow for quite a while here before we get into our conference schedule - the only games that truly matter from here on out.

(6) Timchenko is a senior. Our kicking situation isn't permanent. We only have to overcome this weakness for a year - a very doable task, in my opinion. Hopefully we'll learn from this and take recruiting kickers seriously in the future. I would like to think that we will.

(7) The MAC is back? If there is anyone here that is not excited about the apparent resurgence of some perennial bottom-feeders, QUIT BEING SUCH A HOMER AND GET EXCITED!!!!! OU looks to be on the fast track, CMU has performed well in both of their games and beat a very talented Miami team on the road and EMU has also looked very good. Ball State played the HELL out of us last night. The more these programs can continue to improve, the better it is for the conference, and the better it is for BGSU. Yes, Buffalo still sucks, but that just means the world is still spinning.

The one thing that makes me sad? The fact that our renewed rivalry with Miami may not be all that exciting if that program doesn't turn itself around - and quick.

Bleeding Orange wrote:The one thing that makes me sad? The fact that our renewed rivalry with Miami may not be all that exciting if that program doesn't turn itself around - and quick.

I'm willing to give them a few years. I think the Miami(OH) Whammy II could be forgotten just nicely with a 56-0 win in Oxford (OH) this year.

Of course, they could get the whole CMU thing out of their system and all will be back to normal by Nov. 15...

TG1996 wrote:

Bleeding Orange wrote:The one thing that makes me sad? The fact that our renewed rivalry with Miami may not be all that exciting if that program doesn't turn itself around - and quick.

I'm willing to give them a few years. I think the Miami(OH) Whammy II could be forgotten just nicely with a 56-0 win in Oxford (OH) this year.

Of course, they could get the whole CMU thing out of their system and all will be back to normal by Nov. 15...

Considering the pure hatred I have of Miami, I'd rather them keep getting manhandled for a while too,

Was Omar's fumble a fumble? I thought the play should have been over before the fumble, but since I had no chance of seeing a replay, I'm not sure.

Not sure if this is the right place to post this or if it already has been discussed, but does Miami's loss really help BG that much? If both win the remainder of their conference games, BG would lost to Miami on the heads-up tiebreaker...

professorjackson wrote:Not sure if this is the right place to post this or if it already has been discussed, but does Miami's loss really help BG that much? If both win the remainder of their conference games, BG would lost to Miami on the heads-up tiebreaker...

at this point, i wouldn't worry too much about us. 0-2 with a swiss cheese defense is no way to go through life, son.

At this point I'm not sure either team runs the MAC table from here on out. This is going to be a crazy year methinks.

If redskin-hawks didn't win another game for the next 15 years, that would be fine with me.

professorjackson wrote:Not sure if this is the right place to post this or if it already has been discussed, but does Miami's loss really help BG that much? If both win the remainder of their conference games, BG would lost to Miami on the heads-up tiebreaker...

Anytime a team from the East losses to a team from the West, it helps us out ALOT! I don't expect Miami to go to DeKalb and get a win either. So that would give them two losses. Miami losing at home to Central is absolutely HUGE.

At this point I am at odds thinking we may end playing a stronger than thought OU team....
and maybe a NIU team that can run behind a big O line in the Championship.

MACMAN wrote:At this point I am at odds thinking we may end playing a stronger than thought OU team....
and maybe a NIU team that can run behind a big O line in the Championship.

That's if they can Beat Toledo

I honestly beleive that the Turds are going to take care of business in the West.

MACMAN wrote:At this point I am at odds thinking we may end playing a stronger than thought OU team....
and maybe a NIU team that can run behind a big O line in the Championship.

I think we will match up pretty well against Ohio U. and win going away.

First, the Bobcats had that Palko kid rattled up, something that would be difficult for them to do to Omar, especially with his quick release.

Second, Pittsburgh's play calling was abysmal. They kept trying to run the ball out of the I, and a lot of it was straight ahead. They seemed to try very little misdirection, which could have helped.

Finally, Ohio only managed a field goal on offense. The touchdowns were both picks for six.

So, while their defensive line looked pretty darned good and they have an absolutely fearsome corner, I like the matchup. I don't think their offense will be able to keep up with ours. They'll grind it out, but eventually we will pull ahead and take 'em out of their game.

The team in the East that makes me nervous, at this point, is Akron. They moved the ball quite well against Purdue.