BG football -- Update on Nov. 5

Here's an update on the Falcons as they begin this week's preparations for their contest Wednesday, Nov. 7 against Ohio to be played at Peden Stadium. ...

• The extra rest the Falcons have received has been good for the injury report. At practice Monday the only players wearing yellow "do not hit" jerseys were running backs Anthon Samuel and Andre Givens as well as wide receiver Bart Tanski and defensive lineman Zach Colvin.

Samuel was taking reps with the first team, and Givens was on the field for reps as well, while Colvin was a reserve on the defensive line. The yellow jersey was more of a reminder that the players needed to be "watched" so they would not get reinjured rather than a signal that they would not be available.

• Coach Dave Clawson said he expects all four to be available for Wednesday's game in Athens, Ohio. Clawson said Samuel was "good to go" and Givens was available for the contest, as is Colvin.

• Wanted to share a statistic I heard for the first time today regarding Mid-American Conference football this season, especially its position among FBS schools. I believe I have this right when I say the MAC's two victories over ranked BCS opponents (Toledo over Cincinnati and Kent State over Rutgers) gives it more wins over ranked BCS opponents than either the Big East Conference or Conference USA. Pretty impressive, eh?

• And while there's a big game on the immediate horizon, it's not too early to think about the bowl situation, is it? The magic number for the bowls this season is 70. Why? There are 35 bowls, which means 70 teams can earn bowl bids.

After a quick check of the FBS standings I count 48 teams as "bowl eligible" -- meaning they have at least six victories and are eligible for a bowl (Ohio State, Penn State and North Carolina fit into the latter category). There are 19 teams that have five victories, and 16 teams that have four victories -- and that totals 76.

I have seen projections sending Bowling Green to the Military Bowl in Washington, as well as the BBVA Compass Bowl in Birmingham, Ala. I also have seen projections that leave BG on the outside of the bowl picture.

There are two ways to approach things from this point: One is the negative, which involves rooting for those four- and five-win teams to lose and limit the number of eligible teams. The other is to root the Falcons on to more victories that make them a more attractive opponent. This second plan also involves having large crowds for the remaining "home" games, including the contest at Crew Stadium, to make BG as attractive to bowls as possible.