It was just one of those days where it felt like something was missing on offense. Sure, the Falcons won 48-35, but it never seemed like the offense was clicking – and that’s hard to do when the team scored so many points.
But the final score does not tell the whole story. The Falcons’ defense scored two touchdowns and also recovered the ball on the Temple 13 yard line, scoring the very next play. That’s 21 points right there that can be associated to either the defense or the special teams unit.
“Defense and special teams won us the game today,” said BG coach Gregg Brandon. “The offense was a little sloppy.”
Brandon is referencing three first-half turnovers (two interceptions and a fumble) that resulted in 14 points for the Owls. That was part of the reason the game was tied at 21 going into halftime.
The offense did not seem like it was firing on all cylinders like it had against Minnesota and Michigan State.
It was more like an old car trying to start in the winter – it took awhile to get going and even when it did get going, it felt as if there was something missing.
Turnovers and constant pressure on quarterback Tyler Sheehan led to that feeling of the offense never really got it into a high gear. That feeling could be because of the expectations placed on the Falcon offense after the first two weeks.
Brandon was not fazed about the offensive output in his post-game press conference.
“We talked about how winning college football games is not easy,” Brandon said. “It just seems like the expectations around here is that we have to blow people out, and that’s not happening anymore.”
That may be the case as the team gained nearly 500 yards of offense and Sheehan threw for 351 yards and four touchdowns on the day.
Points and yards not withstanding, it felt as if there was something missing all day on offense. Whether it was an interception and fumble lost on the first two drives of the day or penalties and sacks contributing to long third down tries, the offense never seemed to click.
“We don’t have many plays in the playbook for third and 20,” Sheehan said.
Sheehan still completed 30 passes for the third time this season and had four touchdown passes to lead the Falcons to a victory. At the end of the day, all that mattered was getting the victory, and that’s exactly what BG did.
Sheehan spread the ball around efficiently as he completed passes to eight different receivers and three different players for touchdowns. All of this while being under constant pressure from the Owls’ defense.
“I feel positive about his performance because he spread the ball around and got us all involved,” said wide receiver Tyrone Pronty.
Pronty caught three passes for 31 yards on the day, including a touchdown reception. Freddie Barnes had eight receptions for 96 yards and two touchdowns.
Getting the “W” is all that matters, and that’s exactly what they did – even if it may not seem like the same offense that fans were used to over the first two weeks. Forty-eight points and 447 yards on a bad day is not so bad.
