vs. Western Michigan (11/2)

[mbenecke]

Losing this one would definitely kill a lot of momentum. Can’t even think of the last time this program had the potential of a winning streak.

Serious question - does 2 in a row not count as a streak?

According to the great, great film Major League: "We won a game yesterday. If we win today, it's called "two in a row". And if we win again tomorrow, it's called a "winning streak."

Well folks… we’re streaking.

[Beaker]

Happy to see a win on the board but unless they can cut out the loss of mental focus mistakes and start finishing off possessions it will be our last win of the year. This should have been a comfortable win instead of a down to the last minute mail biter. Need to show a killer instinct when getting a team in that possession and instead we let them right back into it. Will not get away with a game like this against the upcoming opponents.

The penalties showed improvement tonite but all pre-snap penalties are preventable and 1 is 1 too many.

[Falconfreak90]

Happy to see a win on the board but unless they can cut out the loss of mental focus mistakes and start finishing off possessions it will be our last win of the year. This should have been a comfortable win instead of a down to the last minute mail biter. Need to show a killer instinct when getting a team in that possession and instead we let them right back into it. Will not get away with a game like this against the upcoming opponents.

The penalties showed improvement tonite but all pre-snap penalties are preventable and 1 is 1 too many.

Agreed. Sims holds on to the ball and we're up 20-6. Still, after the last 5 years, I'm just damn happy we have a winning record right now and Kent State up next. Team is learning how to win consistently and it sure beats the hell outta losing.

GO FALCONS!!

[jpfalcon09]

Losing this one would definitely kill a lot of momentum. Can’t even think of the last time this program had the potential of a winning streak.

Serious question - does 2 in a row not count as a streak?

According to the great, great film Major League: "We won a game yesterday. If we win today, it's called "two in a row". And if we win again tomorrow, it's called a "winning streak."

Well folks… we’re streaking.

Through the quads?

[Schadenfreude]

Another awful spot. That was a stop on 4th down.

I agree. That really seemed like a bad spot. That was an agonizing mistake. So was Christian Sims' fumble just inches from the end zone. So was the roughing the passer penalty by Demetrius Hardamon.

This game was closer than it should have been. I was on the edge of my chair the final 10 minutes. I'm still trying to settle down. But Bowling Green won. They outplayed Western Michigan most of this game. They were better on offense and on defense. They deserved this win.

Despite the Falcon mistakes that landed oh-so-hard, we saw some good football, too:
-- Only five penalties tonight. Amazing!
-- The punting was excellent.
-- The defense was fierce.

For those of us at home, we also got to see a well-produced game. Compared to some of the ragamuffin broadcasting crews we've had this year, this was like watching Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth.

So, no, it wasn't a perfect night, but it was a good night. After finding ways to lose last season, Bowling Green is now finding ways to win. This is now officially the best football we've seen around here since 2015. One more win, and the Falcons are almost certainly in a bowl game, and they may have a chance to clinch it next week against Kent State.

I'll take it. This has been a long time coming.

[Schadenfreude]

Great play call getting the ball to the best player on the field. Can not fumble that ball.

I would add that while I thought the ESPN2 team called a good game, they were way off base questioning that play call. Bowling Green has been running end-arounds all year, and it has been working for them. I'm not sure the broadcasters realized that.

[Hammer]

Thank god wins and losses aren’t based on style points. It is still ugly but you can definitely see improvement over the last few years.

[jpfalcon09]

Another awful spot. That was a stop on 4th down.

I agree. That really seemed like a bad spot. That was an agonizing mistake. So was Christian Sims' fumble just inches from the end zone. So was the roughing the passer penalty by Demetrius Hardamon.

This game was closer than it should have been. I was on the edge of my chair the final 10 minutes. I'm still trying to settle down. But Bowling Green won. They outplayed Western Michigan most of this game. They were better on offense and on defense. They deserved this win.

Despite the Falcon mistakes that landed oh-so-hard, we saw some good football, too:
-- Only five penalties tonight. Amazing!
-- The punting was excellent.
-- The defense was fierce.

For those of us at home, we also got to see a well-produced game. Compared to some of the ragamuffin broadcasting crews we've had this year, this was like watching Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth.

So, no, it wasn't a perfect night, but it was a good night. After finding ways to lose last season, Bowling Green is now finding ways to win. This is now officially the best football we've seen around here since 2015. One more win, and the Falcons are almost certainly in a bowl game, and they may have a chance to clinch it next week against Kent State.

I'll take it. This has been a long time coming.

Special teams won BG the game. Converted two field goals, had a big return to setup the only TD, Sir had another good game punting, and Lawler threw a massive hit. On the flip side the botched extra point really put WMU in a bind the rest of the game. They were chasing that point. And it was the difference between WMU not kicking a field goal late to possibly go to overtime.

[Schadenfreude]

Lawler threw a massive hit.

Oh, he sure did.

https://twitter.com/mas_lawler/status/1 ... 8389437440

[jpfalcon09]

BTW announced very late last night that the Kent game will be on CBS Sports Network.

[Schadenfreude]

BTW announced very late last night that the Kent game will be on CBS Sports Network.

I wonder: Was this a case of CBS Sports Network deciding to broadcast a game that otherwise would have defaulted to ESPN+, or was this a case of ESPN deciding which two games it was going to keep for its networks, and the remaining game defaulting to CBS? (In theory, I suppose CBS could have had second choice.)

In terms of the competitiveness of the teams involved, our game seems better than the Western Michigan-Northern Illinois game. But I could see how ESPN might have wanted to keep that one for ESPNU that it has tie-ins to bigger markets (Chicago and Detroit).

[jpfalcon09]

BTW announced very late last night that the Kent game will be on CBS Sports Network.

I wonder: Was this a case of CBS Sports Network deciding to broadcast a game that otherwise would have defaulted to ESPN+, or was this a case of ESPN deciding which two games it was going to keep for its networks, and the remaining game defaulting to CBS? (In theory, I suppose CBS could have had second choice.)

In terms of the competitiveness of the teams involved, our game seems better than the Western Michigan-Northern Illinois game. But I could see how ESPN might have wanted to keep that one for ESPNU that it has tie-ins to bigger markets (Chicago and Detroit).

It's a sublicense agreement through ESPN, so I'd imagine by that language that ESPN gets to pick which two games will be on the Deuce and the U, and CBSSN gets the leftover. Prior to that the 3rd midweek game was on ESPN3 (now ESPN+). CBSSN is better than no TV.

[Flipper]

Thank god wins and losses aren’t based on style points. It is still ugly but you can definitely see improvement over the last few years.

We've been fortunate...no doubt. Miami didn't have their starting QB and CMU and WMU were both starting freshman QB's. Kent, OU and Toledo have more offensive firepower so the defense will be tested over the last three weeks .

[jpfalcon09]

Thank god wins and losses aren’t based on style points. It is still ugly but you can definitely see improvement over the last few years.

We've been fortunate...no doubt. Miami didn't have their starting QB and CMU and WMU were both starting freshman QB's. Kent, OU and Toledo have more offensive firepower so the defense will be tested over the last three weeks .

Dante Cephus missed the last game for Kent against Ball State so something to watch for next week, he's their top receiver. Schlee at QB has been pretty average. Marquez Cooper gets the bulk of their touches and is a dual threat in the run and pass game, over 1,000 yards rushing for him. Their offense has not been nearly as potent as previous seasons under Crum but BG has always struggled defending tempo teams. No way is 13 or even 20 points going to be enough to beat the Flashes next week.

[Falconwriter]

That game last night was ridiculously closer than it should have ever been. So many errors because of unfocused or undisciplined play. If they can ever clean those up, this could be a very good football team. Glad they won, and this year has exceeded my expectations by a lot. Hopefully, they can keep improving and shock a few more teams this season.