Blog swap with Bowling Green writer

This week's blog swap was conducted with my colleague, John Wagner. Here are his answers to my questions. ...

1. Do you expect Matt Schilz to make a big jump in this his third season at quarterback?

Yes, but a "big" jump in a subtle way. From his freshman to sophomore year he raised his yardage from 2,223 to 3,024 yards, dropped his interceptions from 14 to 13 (in two more games) and raised his TDs from eight to 28 while his completion percentage stayed pretty much the same (60.7 percent freshman to 59.5 percent sophomore). His improvement this year will be measured in more subtle ways, such as managing the game (done VERY well at Florida), keeping the interceptions down (two in two games) and keeping the BG offense moving. So far, he's been very good.

2. The win Saturday over Idaho has been classified as ugly. Where does this team need to tighten up the most?

I'd say execution, especially on offense. There were so many unnecessary penalties against Idaho (like false starts -- there were SIX in that game), it caused some dysfunction of the offense. At one point the Falcons faced a first-and-40 (yes, FORTY yards!) because of penalties. Here's something worth noting, though: BG came very close to CONVERTING that first-and-40 (if they would have completed a third-and-11 pass, they would have done it). I think a young offense, especially on the line and at wide receiver, needs to become more consistent for the team to have success.

3. BG has been young the past two seasons. Looking at their two-deep, it appears the Falcons are still young. Is this because underclassmen are beating out upperclassmen or is experience still an issue?

There is youth on offense, with four freshman starters among the top 12 (BG lists three wide receivers and a fullback), but only one sophomore, along with six juniors and one senior. Of the non-freshmen, the only players without starting experience are Shaun Joplin at wideout and David "Chief" Kekuewa at center, and Kekuewa has two years of junior college experience. I'd call it "experienced youth." On defense the breakdown is two seniors, four juniors, and five sophomores -- and all 11 saw time on the field last season, as did a large number of backups. The reason? You remember our story about draft classes, right? Well, the 2008 class -- those that would be fifth-year seniors -- has only ONE player on the entire roster, Chip Robinson. Currently he's a back-up on the offensive line, although he's seeing plenty of action. So it's underclassmen forced into duty ... but they were forced into duty last season (or two years ago), and now they have some experience.

4. One of the top defensive tackles in the MAC in BG's Chris Jones will go head-to-head with two of the best linemen in Zac Kerin and Greg Mancz. Is this a key to the game in your opinion?

Absolutely. Jones has been an extremely disruptive force on the line the last few seasons. In the opener at Florida the Gators were forced to double-team him (and on a few plays they triple-teamed him). He has ranked among the MAC leaders in sacks and tackles for loss the past two years. Also, nose tackles Ted Ouellet and Jairus Campbell have played well, and both Bryan Baird and Bryan Thomas have been productive. The fewer guys it takes for BG to create a pass rush (assuming they CAN create a pass rush), the more guys the Falcons can commit to coverage of Toledo's squirrel circus of potential receivers running all over the place.

5. Toledo fans are familiar with BG receiver Shaun Joplin, or at least his last name. How is he progressing, and do you sense he has hard feelings for the school that dismissed his father as basketball coach a few years ago?

He had an inconsistent game at Florida -- everyone remembers the interception and the drops, but he also made some tough catches -- and bounced back with a good game against Idaho. He is playing the same position as Freddy Barnes (155 catches, 1,770 yards in 2009) and Kamar Jorden (96 and 78 catches the last two seasons, 1,109 and 1,089 yards), so it's a position that demands game-in and game-out productivity. He's talented enough to do it, but he has to be consistent and productive. As for hard feelings: If he has any, he's keeping them well-hidden. When asked what colors his father, former UT basketball standout and coach Stan Joplin, would be wearing, Shaun said probably blue -- after all, Stan is the coach at Springfield High School, and blue is Springfield's color. Pretty clever, I thought. I'll have a story about Shaun in Friday's paper, so UT fans can learn more there.