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I was as disappointed as anyone in our performance last night.

I am also, however, becoming increasingly disappointed in some of the reactions I'm reading.

Northern Illinois is a good team who should have won at Iowa State and was in the game at Maryland until the last snap.

Now, that doesn't excuse our performance. But we lost to a good team at their place.

I hope our team's confidence and perseverence is stronger than some of our fans.

To suggest that the season is lost and to raise doubts about whether Coach Brandon can take the Falcons to the next level is way too overboard.

What I'm going to do is see how the team performs in the next few games. I think there are good reasons to believe that this team, barring a rash of injuries, can get better with each game and end the season at 8-3 or 9-2.

To lose support of our fans at this point shows more about our fans than our team or our coaching staff.

I'm with you Sal. Maybe our being away from Ohio changes our expectations or frame of reference, but I still think we have the chance to have a succesful season.

1. Omar is going to be fine. No real problems with ints or bad decisions. Nice threat to run.

2. Good receivers will help the offense.

3. We'll need to perform like we did on the first two drives every time we touch the ball.

I'm not as high as I was at 7:15 last night, but I'm not ready to leave. When you think this is bad, think back on some of the other seasons.

Salsa:

I believe we have a good team, but I expected us to have a great team. And great teams don't get mauled in crucial conference games. Our offense will obviously do the job over the course of the season - no doubt. But a second-string tailback ran for more than 200 yards - IN THE SECOND HALF. I'm hoping this debacle will be the wake up call that the defense needs and they'll get things untracked starting Saturday against the Owls.

The second string aspect doesn't mean everything in my opinion. First, it's NIU, a RB reloading team with a great base of recruiting. Second, the difference between 1st and 2nd is sometimes who is the senior or who has been the best at practice. In the case of Wolfe, he was rated higher as a recruit than their other RB's. I guess we'll see as the season goes on, but I think they have a gem. Add in the fact that NIU was able to wear down our D in the first half when our O should have been focussed and our play calling should'nt have been scripted by a high school with a terrible QB.

I fully expect to watch a sound beating of the Owls. This team is much better than that performance.

This therapy really helps! I'm now actually thinking about speaking today.

Salsa wrote:I was as disappointed as anyone in our performance last night.

I am also, however, becoming increasingly disappointed in some of the reactions I'm reading.

Northern Illinois is a good team who should have won at Iowa State and was in the game at Maryland until the last snap.

Yeah, shoulda woulda. They lost those games. I had believed we were better than Iowa State. Now, I'm not so sure.

Now, that doesn't excuse our performance. But we lost to a good team at their place.

We didn't lose to a good team at their place. We got embarrassed by the backups of a good team. I can overlook the fact that they were backups, it could just be that they are underclassmen otherwise would be starting. However, I cannot excuse the fact that we got embarrassed.

I hope our team's confidence and perseverence is stronger than some of our fans.

Obviously I would as well.

To suggest that the season is lost and to raise doubts about whether Coach Brandon can take the Falcons to the next level is way too overboard.

This is clearly directed at me as you nearly quoted me exactly. For your first point, the season IS over as far as I'm concerned. Sure we can go out and win the rest of our games and hope NIU loses 2 in the MAC, but I don't like to rely on the help from other teams. We knew we had to win this game if we wanted to win the west, and we failed miserably.

As for Coach Brandon, I like the guy. I just don't like his coaching style or philosophy. I have made mention of much of what I don't agree with over and over again, and everyone continues to tell me that I'm wrong. That's fine, but until he does something to prove otherwise I don't think he's a great coach. He's a good coach, but not good enough to get BG football where I want them to be. The way he coaches he better hope he continues to be a good recruiter or we'll be going the way of the Blackney years. I'm not just complaining in our lowest moment either, ask many others I have raised my same questions in both victories and losses. Until I see convincing evidence to the contrary, I will continue to do so.

What I'm going to do is see how the team performs in the next few games. I think there are good reasons to believe that this team, barring a rash of injuries, can get better with each game and end the season at 8-3 or 9-2.

I agree, that is a possibility. But I would still consider an 8-3, 9-2 type season a failure. The team admitted that its goal was to not only win the west, but the entire MAC now. They're going to have a very tough time fulfilling that goal now. They've put their goals into someone else's hands, and that's never good.

To lose support of our fans at this point shows more aboutour fans than our team or our coaching staff.

Who's quit supporting? You cannot support a team, and at the same time complain about them? I'll still be at the games, as I have been since I was a student during the lowest of the Blackney era. Just because I don't choose to blindly believe we have the best coach in the country and the best team in the MAC doesn't mean I'm not supporting the team. Friday's game made it plainly obvious that we are not as good as we'd like to believe we are.

Well...I just hope they get there heads screwed on straight!!! They need to practice Omar and the WR's on the long ball and the d-line needs to pund and pound and pund away this week! I hope Brandon makes them run till they can't run no more!!! I was so tried of watching the D get burned by that little guy!!! I still am reeling from the loss, but we have to put it behind us and move on. BRING ON THE OWLS!!!! GO BG!

For the record, Harris has been getting the bulk of the carries, but Wolfe has been playing quite a bit - he has TDs in each of our 4 games this year, the only player to do so. That was the first time we relied on him running the ball like that, but the bottom line is that our OL dominated up front in that second half. We were gonna ride that horse!