As the Falcon football team struggled to live up to expectations last season, the book on then-coach Gregg Brandon seemed to close ever so slightly with each misstep.

And shortly after BG’s season ended with a 6-6 record and memory of a stinging meltdown against Buffalo that kept the Falcons from a shot at the Mid-American Conference championship, Brandon was fired, closing the book on his six year run as coach and opening the door for Dave Clawson to lead his first Division I team. Previously a successful head coach at two Division I-A programs – Richmond and Fordham – Clawson comes to BG with championship hopes after a miserable year as Tennessee’s offensive coordinator in 2008.

‘We did not finish practice like a championship football team would,’ Clawson said after Tuesday’s practice. ‘We had a 10 minute period that was not up to a championship standard, and we’re not going to accept that.’ And the perfection he demands of his players in practice will need to translate into on-field success if a championship is in order as the team’s schedule is a tough one all the way from start to finish.

The team will kick off its season at Doyt Perry Stadium Sept. 3 against Troy – arguably one of the most underrated mid-major programs in the country – before traveling to Columbia, Mo., to face perennial Big 12 contender Missouri Sept. 12. BG will finish its non-conference schedule by traveling to Huntington, W.Va., to face Marshall Sept. 19 and hosting No. 16 Boise State for a Saturday night showdown Sept. 26. Last season, the four teams combined for a 33-16 record with Marshall (4-8), the only team below .500. Nonetheless, Clawson is expecting his team to show up and play in all four of those games.

‘We want to be one of the best non-BCS schools in the country,’ Clawson said. ‘And we’re playing two of the non-BCS schools in the country (Troy and Boise State). If we want to be there, we’ve got to play those people, we’ve got to compete with them and at some point we’ve got to beat them.’

But the challenge doesn’t end there, as the Falcons are also scheduled to play 2008 MAC West champion Ball State, 2009 MAC champion favorite Central Michigan and 2008 MAC champion Buffalo for three consecutive weeks in October. To get past those teams, the team will likely be relying on its strength – an offense which will be led by improved senior quarterback Tyler Sheehan.

‘He’s raised the level of his play since the spring,’ Clawson said. ‘He’s more accurate and has a better understanding of the offense.’ Not only that, he has plenty of targets to throw to with a trio of seniors in Freddie Barnes, Tyrone Pronty and Chris Wright and sophomores Adrian Hodges and Ray Hutson headlining the corps. Throw in tight end Jimmy Scheidler and the running back duo of Willie Geter and Chris Bullock, and the offense could help lift the team Barnes’ season goal.

‘If we can end up at Ford Field [for the MAC Championship game], it would be a happy ending to my career,’ he said.

But for as many solid pieces as there are in place on offense, there are as many question marks on defense. With only three returning starters – seniors P.J. Mahone, Jahmal Brown and Jerrett Sanderson – the defense has naturally seen its ups and downs throughout fall camp. ‘At times we look good and at times we look inconsistent,’ Clawson said. ‘I’m hoping as they get more and more reps and more and more plays they get better.’

Defensive co-captain Brown agrees, saying there is hope the inexperienced defense will find its stride in the next two weeks.

‘I have all the confidence in the world in the guys that I’m running with,’ Brown said. ‘The big thing is getting into that film room and paying attention to the mistakes we make.’

Last season, the Falcon defense was fourth overall in the MAC, allowing just 23.2 points per game, but also kept the team from the MAC Championship game by allowing Buffalo to comeback from a 27-7 deficit to clinch the MAC East and a spot in the title game.

FOOTBALL AT’ A’ GLANCE

LAST SEASON: 6-6 (4-4 MAC). Second in MAC East. Upset then-No. 25 Pitt in week one 27-17

KEY RETURNERS: QB Tyler Sheehan, WR Freddie Barnes, DB P.J. Mahone, DB Jahmal Brown, RB Willie Geter

KEY LOSSES: DE Diyral Briggs, LB Erique Dozier, LB John Haneline, DB Antonio Smith, WR Corey Partridge, WR Anthony Turner