Welcome to Falcon Fodder, coming to you live from the Doyt as we get ready for BG's Friday afternoon game against Western Michigan. I'll share thoughts, stats, and anything of interest from the game (newest posts are at the top). Here we go ...
7:59 p.m. -- About to pack up and leave the Doyt for the final time this season ... thanks for following along! I'll have one more "Sunday Morning" QB look at the Falcons, and a few other season-ending thoughts. 'Til then ... Roll along!
6:07 p.m. -- Clawson was asked about freshman TE Alex Bayer: "Alex is going to be a good player. He was a guy that we red-shirted a year ago, and I don't think he was ready for the speed of the game at the start of this season. But the more he played, he more he understood what he had to do -- and the game slowed down for him. If he works hard -- and this is for all of our young players -- just because they're young and they play doesn't guarantee they'll be good players later. But if they work hard, I think we have a number of young guys who will become good players, and Alex is one of them."
5:55 p.m. -- A quote from coach Dave Clawson about the fans at the game: “I really want to thank our fans. This was a 2-9 football team, and for all the people that showed up for this game in these weather conditions, we really appreciate their loyal support.” The official report was a game-time temperature of 31 degrees, with winds from the SW at 21 mph that made the temperature feel as if it was in the teens.
4:44 p.m. -- There's 3:39 left in the game ... two blow-'em-up hits by the Falcons on a punt return by Eugene Cooper. Of course, when that's your game highlight, that isn't a good sign ... Folks, check back in about an hour or so and I'll put a few thoughts together for you ... for now, gotta head down for the post-game press conference.
4:20 p.m. -- The season is down to its final quarter ... WMU 41, BG 7. Not exactly the way this was supposed to go down. ...
4:11 p.m. -- How's this for a back-breaker: BG has first-and-goal on the six and can't score on four plays (a sack really hurt their chances); on WMU's first play on its own 4-yard line Tevin Drake ran 55 yards to flip field position. Then a 34-yard TD pass from Carder to Nunez makes it 41-7 Broncos with 41.6 seconds left in third quarter.
3:36 p.m. -- Second UGLY stat of the day ... BG was outscored 27-0 in the first half, meaning the Falcons were outscored 67-14 in the first half in their three November games ... it was 26-7 UT at the half and 14-7 Miami at the half.
3:29 p.m. -- First half stats ... BG has 130 yards of total offense, including 27 yards rushing (Willie Geter has 23 yards on five carries) and 103 yards passing (Matt Schilz is 7-for-14 for 103 yards). Kamar Jorden has two catches for 41 yards, while Ray Hutson has two catches for 25 yards. Dwayne Woods leads the defense with eight tackles, while Eugene "Champ" Fells has seven. ... WMU has 256 yards of total offense, including 69 yards rushing (Tevin Drake has 32 on six carries) and 187 yards passing (Alex Carder is 19-of-26 for 187 yards and 3 TDs). Jordan White has six catches for 99 yards, while Juan Nunez has five catches for 42 yards). Jamail Berry leads the defense with five tackles.
3:24 p.m. -- Kyle Burkhardt missed a 47-yard field goal attempt on the final play of the first half ... WMU 27, BG 0.
3:19 p.m. -- Another senior playing hard ... Calvin Wiley blocked the WMU punt.
3:14 p.m. -- Signs of life from senior DE Darius Smith ... two good plays, making the stop on the first play of WMU's last drive of the first half, then sacking Carder to set up a second-and-21 play (there was a penalty on first down).
3:01 p.m. -- First UGLY stat of the day ... BG did not have a first down in the first quarter against Western Michigan, marking the third consecutive game in which the Falcons did not have a first quarter first down. In other words, BG didn't have a first-quarter first down in the month of November.
2:46 p.m. -- First quarter stats ... BG has 10 yards of total offense, including 10 yards rushing (Hopgood had 20 yards on five carries) and minus-four yards passing (Schilz was 1-for-3 for minus-four yards). Wiley caught the minus-four yard pass ... WMU has 137 yards of total offense, including 45 yards rushing (Carder has 24 yards on four carries; Drake had 21 yards on four carries) and 92 yards passing (Carder is 11-for-15 for 92 yards). White has three catches for 39 yards, while Nunez has three catches for 26 yards).
2:35 p.m. -- The Falcons went to two tight ends on their last offensive possession, and two of the three running plays netting no yardage. Tough day to have to live by throwin' in the wind.
2:28 p.m. -- Not the start the Falcons imagined. Their first two drives have netted minus-six yards, while Western Michigan has 89 yards on 15 plays that have netted a touchdown and a field goal. WMU leads 10-0 with 6:29 left in the first quarter.
2:09 p.m. -- Jordan Hopgood started at tailback in place of Willie Geter. The rest of the lineup was traditional.
2:04 p.m. -- Western Michigan won the toss and deferred its choice to the second half. Bowling Green took the ball; WMU will defend the south end zone (the Broncos will have the wind in the first half). GAME ON!
1:51 p.m. -- The weather report here is 29 degrees, with winds from the WSW at 19 miles per hour, which makes it feel like 13 degrees.
1:31 p.m. -- Oh, and Willie Geter is not working on plays with the first team. He is in uniform, but he's not running plays (and guys like Ben Bojicic were, so draw your own conclusions).
1:24 p.m. -- Big news brewing from points east of here ... Kent State is leading Ohio 21-6 in the fourth quarter. That loud cheer you just heard is from Miami, which wins the MAC East Division if the Bobcats lose.
1:17 p.m. -- Junior C Ben Bojicic is out warming up, and he was snapping to QB Matt Schilz. It looks as if he will be available for today's game. ... Freshman CB Cameron Truss is warming up, but the "starting" four DBs include freshman Aunre Davis and junior Adrien Spencer. It bears watching.
12:54 p.m. -- An unofficial record set today ... Freshman K Kyle Burkhardt is wearing #16 today, making his third number this season. Has any other player ever had three different numbers in the same season?
12:40 p.m. -- Need to do a little running around ... don't forget that there's a Western Michigan scouting report just below this blog ..
12:33 p.m. -- As you might expect, there's quite a strong wind blowing west to east here at the Doyt. Punt down the middle of the field were pushed to the east, especially on kicks into the south (open) end zone. There isn't quite the same effect in the north end zone. There's bright sun, so fog doesn't seem to be a problem. But the wind is going to make The Doyt a cold place.
12:31 p.m. -- Thanks for tuning in, everyone! Drove down to the Doyt on Route 25, and there was a pretty serious accident along the way. PLEASE be careful out there, everyone!
Comments