Crazy times in the MAC East

[1987alum]

Ohio layed a big, fat egg and lost to Kent in Athens. Suddenly, the Flashes have a pulse and the Snobkitties have a lot of doubts.

Meanwhile, Temple is laying a major beatdown on Toledo, up by 13 midway through the third and in the red zone. Bernard Pierce is pounding out a lot of yardage there.

So when the day ends, the East standings will look like this ...

Temple 4-0
Kent 3-1
Ohio 3-1
BGSU 2-2
Buffalo 1-3
Akron 0-3
Miami 0-4

[Flipper]

Can we put to rest the idea that JD Brookhart is an "up and coming" head coach?

[Falconfreak90]

Can we put to rest the idea that JD Brookhart is an "up and coming" head coach?

Absolutely. I would love to see UA keep JD around because other than the miracle MAC title of 2005, he's done little.

Temple is playing very well...give the Owls credit. And Kent State is one play away from being 4-0 in the MAC.

BEAT BUFFALO

[1987alum]

Yeah, ol' J.D. has gone from "up and coming" to "down and out" in a hurry. I can't see him being back next year. And what about Turner Gill? He goes from being the next wunderkind to 1-3 in the MAC?

[mmisbg]

We are officially out of the MAC east hunt. If we won yesterday there might have been an outside chance, but it is all but officially over now.

I really think it is time to give our redshirt QB some playing time. He's most likely to going to be our QB next year, and it is time to give him some experience so he doesn't start the season cold next year.

Yeah we lose Barnes to graduation, but Justice Jones is starting to look good. If we can break in a new QB, establish a running game, and plug a few holes in our defense during the offseason...next year could be interesting.

Go Falcons!

[TG1996]

We are officially out of the MAC east hunt. If we won yesterday there might have been an outside chance, but it is all but officially over now.

So is it official? Or all but official?

Not looking probable or even likely, but they're still teeing it up four more times this season. Ask Twins fans if its over. (Or even more fun, ask a Tigers fan.)

I'm all for giving the backup some reps a little sooner if a game gets out of hand, but Sheehan has by far earned and deserved as much PT as his heart desires.

[mmisbg]

Yes, thank you for getting picky with my grammar.

As for Sheehan, I have not been impressed with him this season. He has had some impressive stats from time to time. However, he has not been doing a very good job of finding open receivers downfield.

For example, during the Marshall game, he set a school record for the most completions in a game. In that same game, we scored 10 points. How does that happen? I think it is mostly because he can't find open guys downfield...and there are usually guys open to be found.

Yesterday's game was another example of how Tyler has not been able to get this done. His reads have been terrible this year. It has been making Freddie Barnes look good, because there has been a bunch of short range passes to him this season. However, even Freddie has been invisible to Tyler when he has been running a streak. Right before our last punt of the game, Tyler checked down when Freddie was running down the sideline with no defenders anywhere near him.

Furthermore, Sheehan's inability to stretch the field is part of why our rushing attack struggles. Defenses know that it is unlikely Sheehan will complete passes beyond 15 yards, so they don't drop back.

What does BGSU owe Sheehan on his senior year? In my opinion: nothing. He has had plenty of chances, and has not been getting it done.

It IS all but over. I think we could possibly win out on our schedule. I never expect us to beat Miami, but maybe hell will freeze over this year. Problem is, a staggering list of things will have to happen in order for us to get the nod. It is time to accept that this is a rebuilding year for us, and proceed accordingly. In my mind, it is worth losing another game or two if we find a quaterback in the process.

[TG1996]

Yes, thank you for getting picky with my grammar.

I wasn't getting picky with the grammar, I was disagreeing with more defeatist attitude around this place.

In my mind, it is worth losing another game or two if we find a quaterback in the process.

Football season's too short to not mind losing games for whatever circumstance. All four games left are winnable games and even if you think Tyler deserves "nothing", what about all the other seniors? There's a whole list of guys that definitely deserve more than throwing in the towel for the sake of next year.

I understand what you're saying, I just don't agree.

[VDub26Falcon]

I think what it may be time to do is start implementing the offense that will be around for the next few years. We all know that Clawson isn't a Spread Offense guy. Why not throw out the playbook, since we have a little extra time until our next game, and start learning the new stuff the players are going to have to have in place for next year? I guess I shouldn't say throw out the playbook but I think we at least have to start adding a few plays into the rotation that more resemble next years offense.

[JohnnySwoop '85]

Jeez....so much angst, already looking to the off-season and next year. 4 games left, all serve a good chance for a win. 7-5 could be Bowl Eligible...even if MAC East is out of reach and that isnt a mathematical certainty yet.

Saturday, they beat themselves but they played tough. Turnovers, especially Red Zone turnovers hurt big. Clawson emphasized that point + the missed field goal. The Offense moved the ball well pretty much the whole day and against one of the, if not theee, best teams in the league. A team that also beat Sparty. I never thought the D layed down either.

We've been at this point in Week 8 before. Typically, they've gone in one direction, let's see if the fellas can go in the other one...which they are certainly capable of.

Anybody got MobileBama's email address. Looks like we need him around here to fire some people up

[Flipper]

Bench Sheehan?...that's crazy drunk talk. We have 4 games left against beatable oppostion...there's no reason in the world we can't win all of them and as Johnny Swoop pointed out, become eligible fo rone of them bowl thingies.

Tell you what...you go ask some UM fans if hey would have liked to see Rich Rod go 7-5 or 6-6 last year instead of 3-9...

[Redwingtom]

I can only assume those assuming the MAC East title is already a fore gone conclusion have not watched very much MAC football recently.

And those not recognizing how well Tyler has played in spite of being sacked the 4th most times in FBS (23) is being just plain silly. Granted, he might not make the best read all the time, he has a 3:1 TD to interception ratio, he leads the nation in completions and attempts and is 18th in completion percentage.

[1987alum]

Clearly, BG isn't out of the race mathematically, but it would clearly be a steep uphill climb.

That being said, I see no reason to throw in the towel on the season. This program needs some positive momentum. Winning out - forget about a bowl for now - would be a huge step in that regard as it would instill some confidene in the players that Clawson's plan will work. And, maybe, show recruits that they can be a part of building something special.

[TG1996]

Remember 2005 when about four teams needed to lose on the last day and we had to beat Toledo to win the East and we were the only team not to hold up the bargain? Yeah, it's not over.

Though not getting a shot to give Temple a loss and take a potential tiebreaker hurts. They're going to have to lose twice with nothing we can do about it. At least we had and blew a chance to beat OU on the field.

Stupid Temple. Stupid Rick Chryst.

[MarkL]

How about last year? It looked down and out with 3 losses after losing to NIU, but had the horror not happened when we played Buffalo, we would have won the MAC East. Likely? Hell no. Possible? Yes.

This team isn't throwing in the towel. Let's return the favor to our team by not throwing the towel in either.