BGSU vs NIU - MAC Championship Game Thread

[Falcon137]

BGSU 9-3 (7-1) vs N. Illinois 12-0 (8-0)
Ford Field (65,000)
N. Illinois -3.5
8 PM - ESPN2

Tale of the tape:
Individual Leaders

Passing:
Matt Johnson --- 196 / 310 ; 2802 ; 63.2% ;18 TD ; 7 INT
Jordan Lynch --- 212 /329 ; 2457 ;64.4% ; 22 TD ; 5 INT

Rushing:
Travis Greene -- 235 carries ; 1422 yards ; 6.1 YPC ; 10 TD
Jordan Lynch ---248 carries ; 1755 yards ; 7.1 YPC ; 20 TD

Receiving:
Shaun Joplin -- 47 Receptions ; 807 yards ; 17.2 AVG. ; 62 long ; 3 TD
Da'Ron Brown - 42 Receptions ; 689 yards ; 16.4 AVG. ; 58 long ; 9 TD

X Factor
Ronnie Moore - BGSU
Receiving - 22 receptions ; 390 yards ; 74 long ; 6 TD
Rushing - 127 yards ; 13 attempts ; 37 long ; 9.8 yard AVG

Tommylee Lewis - NIU
Receiving - 74 receptions ; 623 yards ; 41 long ; 3 TD
Rushing - 24 attempts ; 321 yards ; 54 long ; 13.4 AVG. ; 1 TD

Total Offense:
BGSU -
Total Yards 464.1 (27th) ; Rushing - 209.7 (24th) ; Passing - 254.4 (40th);
PPG - 35.36 (30th)

NIU -
Total Yards 542.3 (4th) ; Rushing - 318.9 (4th) ; Passing - 223.4 (74th)
PPG - 42.8 (9th)

Total Defense:
BGSU -
27 sacks ; 6 INT ; 11 forced fumbles
Total Yards -296.6 (7th) ; Rushing - 134.8 (28) ; Passing - 161.8 (4th)
Points Allowed - 13.8 (5th)

NIU -
30 sacks ; 17 INT ; 12 forced fumbles
Total Yards - 412.1 (74th) ; Rushing - 147.9 (41st) ; Passing - 264.2 (110th)
Points Allowed - 23.6 (39th)

Key Matchup -
BooBoo Gates - 57 tackles ; 3 tackles for loss ; 2 INT ; 2 forced fumbles ; 3 fumble recoveries
vs
Jordan Lynch (stats above)

[mscarn]

Total Defense:


NIU -
Passing - 264.2 (110th)

Is this more a product of teams throwing alot once they've fallen behind or a genuine weakness? Our offense usually operates best with the ball in the hands of Greene and the backs more.

[Falcon137]

Total Defense:


NIU -
Passing - 264.2 (110th)

Is this more a product of teams throwing alot once they've fallen behind or a genuine weakness? Our offense usually operates best with the ball in the hands of Greene and the backs more.

They are out scoring opponents
267 - 184 in the first half (22.3 - 15.3)
247 - 93 (20.1 - 7.8) 2nd half

Passing yards against
Iowa - 256
Idaho - 251
Purdue - 371
E. Illinois - 450
Kent St. - 245
Akron - 262
CMU - 271
EMU - 173
UMass - 169
Ball St - 324
Toledo - 235
WMU - 163

All except the Purdue, EMU, UMass, and WMU games were close going into the 4th quarter.

[NIU007]

Total Defense:


NIU -
Passing - 264.2 (110th)

Is this more a product of teams throwing alot once they've fallen behind or a genuine weakness? Our offense usually operates best with the ball in the hands of Greene and the backs more.

It's a combination of the pass defense being a weakness and the rush defense being relatively good. And, we play soft to keep things in front of us so teams march down the field but get fewer big plays against us. Although Toledo beat us deep a couple times. When we played EIU our secondary looked totally lost out there. I think they're a little better now but still not that good.

[kdog27]

I think BG needs to come out aggressive with their play calling. Get Moore involved early and take a shot deep with Joplin. The running game will be there.

If we can get to halftime with it within a score either way I like our chances given how great of a second half team BG has been.

[svillefalcon]

I think BG needs to come out aggressive with their play calling. Get Moore involved early and take a shot deep with Joplin. The running game will be there.

If we can get to halftime with it within a score either way I like our chances given how great of a second half team BG has been.

+1

"Aggressive" should be one of the words in the locker room for this week. Throw the first couple punches then let the far superior defense settle in. Like kdog said, the running game will be there so take your shots early and then grind it out in the second half!

Roll Along...

[HuskieJWN]

You flip flopped Lynch and Greene's stats, FYI.

Otherwise good breakdown. I wouldn't call the match-up Gates vs. Lynch though, Lynch will win the one-one game there, even though Gates is really good.

Also, I wouldn't say BG's D is FAR superior, better yes, but not far superior. NIU gives up more yards and about 10 points more per game, but they have more sacks and turnovers.

Since BG hasn't won a close game all year, I think they have to blowout NIU. To do that, they have to completely dominate on defense and take chances on offense. Not saying they have no chance of winning, because I think it will be a good game, but creating a bunch of scenarios, their best chance to win is in blowout fashion.

NIU 37
BG 27

[thewebboy]

This game reminds me of the Houston/Southern Miss game a few years back.
http://espn.go.com/ncf/recap?id=313370248

Conference championship game
Houston undefeated
BCS bid on the line.
Senior quarterback with Heisman hopes.

Houston fell flat on their faces. Here's hoping for the same from NIU Friday

[AZZZZ]

Line is moving away from us. They now have NIU giving 4, was 2 1/2 earlier in the week. Nothing major and perhaps b/c of Lewis?

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/odds

Is it Friday yet???? I'm like a kid waiting for Christmas this week. Can't focus on work, etc...

[jpfalcon09]

Line is moving away from us. They now have NIU giving 4, was 2 1/2 earlier in the week. Nothing major and perhaps b/c of Lewis?

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/odds

Is it Friday yet???? I'm like a kid waiting for Christmas this week. Can't focus on work, etc...

Makes sense, a majority of bets have been on NIU this week, somewhere in the 70-80% range. Line might move to 4.5 before Friday.

[svillefalcon]

You flip flopped Lynch and Greene's stats, FYI.

Otherwise good breakdown. I wouldn't call the match-up Gates vs. Lynch though, Lynch will win the one-one game there, even though Gates is really good.

Also, I wouldn't say BG's D is FAR superior, better yes, but not far superior. NIU gives up more yards and about 10 points more per game, but they have more sacks and turnovers.

Since BG hasn't won a close game all year, I think they have to blowout NIU. To do that, they have to completely dominate on defense and take chances on offense. Not saying they have no chance of winning, because I think it will be a good game, but creating a bunch of scenarios, their best chance to win is in blowout fashion.

NIU 37
BG 27

Point well taken about close games, two of BG's losses have been by a total of 4 points. That doesn't mean they can't win them. Most of our games have been close at halftime, but we make the adjustments at halftime and just run past teams.

And yes, BG has a FAR superior defense. 7th in total defense and 5th in scoring compared to 39th in scoring for NIU. I will say they have been improving throughout the year, but they aren't on BG's level defensively. Offensively, the roles are basically reversed. NIU has a dominant offense and BG has a methodical offense that has been improving as well throughout the season.

Should be a fascinating game.

[NIU007]

You flip flopped Lynch and Greene's stats, FYI.

Otherwise good breakdown. I wouldn't call the match-up Gates vs. Lynch though, Lynch will win the one-one game there, even though Gates is really good.

Also, I wouldn't say BG's D is FAR superior, better yes, but not far superior. NIU gives up more yards and about 10 points more per game, but they have more sacks and turnovers.

Since BG hasn't won a close game all year, I think they have to blowout NIU. To do that, they have to completely dominate on defense and take chances on offense. Not saying they have no chance of winning, because I think it will be a good game, but creating a bunch of scenarios, their best chance to win is in blowout fashion.

NIU 37
BG 27

Point well taken about close games, two of BG's losses have been by a total of 4 points. That doesn't mean they can't win them. Most of our games have been close at halftime, but we make the adjustments at halftime and just run past teams.

And yes, BG has a FAR superior defense. 7th in total defense and 5th in scoring compared to 39th in scoring for NIU. I will say they have been improving throughout the year, but they aren't on BG's level defensively. Offensively, the roles are basically reversed. NIU has a dominant offense and BG has a methodical offense that has been improving as well throughout the season.

Should be a fascinating game.

Considering both teams seem to be second half teams, we might see a snoozer in the first half, and cardiac arrest in the 2nd half.

[svillefalcon]

You flip flopped Lynch and Greene's stats, FYI.

Otherwise good breakdown. I wouldn't call the match-up Gates vs. Lynch though, Lynch will win the one-one game there, even though Gates is really good.

Also, I wouldn't say BG's D is FAR superior, better yes, but not far superior. NIU gives up more yards and about 10 points more per game, but they have more sacks and turnovers.

Since BG hasn't won a close game all year, I think they have to blowout NIU. To do that, they have to completely dominate on defense and take chances on offense. Not saying they have no chance of winning, because I think it will be a good game, but creating a bunch of scenarios, their best chance to win is in blowout fashion.

NIU 37
BG 27

Point well taken about close games, two of BG's losses have been by a total of 4 points. That doesn't mean they can't win them. Most of our games have been close at halftime, but we make the adjustments at halftime and just run past teams.

And yes, BG has a FAR superior defense. 7th in total defense and 5th in scoring compared to 39th in scoring for NIU. I will say they have been improving throughout the year, but they aren't on BG's level defensively. Offensively, the roles are basically reversed. NIU has a dominant offense and BG has a methodical offense that has been improving as well throughout the season.

Should be a fascinating game.

Considering both teams seem to be second half teams, we might see a snoozer in the first half, and cardiac arrest in the 2nd half.

You just might be right. haha. Could it be that the team actually losing at halftime would have the advantage?

[MarkL]

NIU's defense has improved greatly throughout the course of the season. So has our offense. I feel like Greene can have a good day on the D and set up an efficient pass offense.

Of note ... dropped passes have been a BIG problem for us. We are playing indoors. Cold and rain will only be factors if some game-ending event happens to the stadium. No excuses for dropped passes.

[Falcon137]

Anyone coming from Dayton / Cincy, drive safe. Sounds like ice overnight with 3-5 inches of snow through the day.