After once again having a bye week interrupt their early-season momentum, the BG football team takes to the field tomorrow afternoon, hosting the Ohio Bobcats in the Falcons’ annual homecoming game.
Deemed most important this week during practice and in film sessions for the Falcons is a combination of things, issues which go hand-in-hand on the football field: the defense limiting the Bobcats’ run-oriented offense to short drives, and in turn, the Falcon offense sustaining drives when they do get the ball in order to keep their defense fresh.
“What we didn’t want to happen what happened with OU,” Falcon coach Urban Meyer said. “After two weeks, they changed offenses and went back to what they know. They ran for 400 (406) yards against Buffalo, and they’re strictly an option team now. … Tim Beckman (defensive coordinator) and our staff think Chad Brinker is the number one running back in the conference.”
Brinker, a 5’11” senior workhorse has rushed for 536 yards, a 107-yard-per-game average. Brinker recently moved to the fullback position in the Bobcats’ three-running-back formations, in hopes to get him the ball more. Handing the ball off to him will be quarterback Dontrell Jackson, a great running quarterback who has trouble through the air. Jackson has amassed 370 yards of his own on the ground, but has completed just 26 passes to his own team, while throwing seven interceptions.
“They’re in first place in the MAC right now, and that’s all I know about them,” Meyer said. “They’re going to come in here all charged up, it’s been a long time coming.”
Ohio enters the game at 1-4, but did indeed get into the win column for just the second time under second-year head coach Brian Knorr last week against Buffalo. The Bobcats used a last-second field goal to take a 34-32 win. Previously, though, Ohio had struggled this season, with losses to Pittsburgh, Northeastern, Florida and Connecticut.
BG has used its second week off in three weeks to get ready for the Bobcats’ unique offense. Meyer, despite facing a run-oriented team, will stay with his three-down linemen formation on defense, due to lack of depth on that line.
Tomorrow’s contest kicks off at 4 p.m.
