BG lost to Virginia Tech by a score of 37-0 this Saturday, in a pretty cut-and-dry whipping. The Falcons were smothered like pouring syrup on pancakes.
“Obviously when you get shut out, it’s not a good day,” said head coach Dave Clawson.
Nothing seemed to go the Falcons way on the field and all aspects of the game were struggling. The failure to put up any points is the most notable however the defense failed to stop 37 points worth of opposing offense.
“What struggle didn’t we have?” asked Clawson. “We didn’t play well across the board.”
The offense was plagued going three-and-out on every possession except one 9-play drive that resulted in a turnover on downs. By the end of the day, BG punted eight times while adding on three turnover on downs, an interception and a fumble.
Matt Schilz went 9-for-26 for 87 yards before he was replaced with Matt Johnson. Johnson didn’t have much success following his third quarter substitution as he was already down 27-0. Johnson went 5-for-17 and 46 yards.
“Our offense didn’t score and we lost the game,” Clawson said. “When you don’t score points and you don’t win the game, your quarterback didn’t play well enough to win.”
Outside the quarterback position, the receivers struggled even more. They faced an excellent coverage team in Virginia Tech and couldn’t get free when covered one-on-one. Even when the young receivers were open they couldn’t come down with catches as the game yielded several dropped balls, yet many times when they were open, the quarterbacks couldn’t find them.
Typically, this would lead to a more run-approach, however the success wasn’t coming there either. Anthon Samuel carried the bulk of the load for the Falcons but managed only 32 yards total. Freshman Andre Givens ran a pair of runs for 55 yards and took the honors for highest rusher of the game.
“We didn’t play well,” Clawson said. “We couldn’t sustain anything on offense”
Defensively, the Falcons were able to pick off the opposing quarterback, Logan Thomas, at least once despite the dominating performance he exerted.
The Falcons closest chance to scoring any points came in the first half when kicker Stephan Stein attempted a 41-yard field goal and hit it off the uprights. Surprisingly close considering all his struggles this season.
It isn’t much of a shock that Virginia Tech was so dominate. Until this past week they were ranked 12th in the nation and Virginia Tech is always an ACC contender and is the school that currently holds the record for most ongoing 10-win seasons. Their head coach, Frank Beamer, is the winningest coach to still be actively coaching. Add all that with the fact that they had a vendetta to avenge after an embarrassing loss to Pittsburgh the week before, made Virginia Tech one potent potion.
Despite the tough loss, the Falcons have escaped their hardest part of the season. With MAC play rapidly approaching, the Falcons can show how mentally tough they are and what they have learned from playing big name schools. By scheduling these tough games, the team doesn’t build false confidence like they would by playing small schools.
Small schools would be a nice change of pace and it is just what the doctor ordered as Rhode Island will come to town for homecoming. The Rams are in the FBS (Football Bowl Subdivison), or formerly known as division 1AA. Perhaps Bowling Green can do what Virginia Tech did following a bitter loss and dominate their opponent in front of a home crowd.
