The team, with most of their starters healed from injuries, has gained the depth they have sought.
If you would have told Urban Meyer three weeks ago that a rash of injuries to his starting lineup — at times totaling over 10 players — would have ended positively in the long run, he might have told you to get out of his office, following you out the door with expletives.
Or, he might have just said you were crazy.
Now, though, Meyer and his 21st-ranked Falcons are reaping the benefits, as the group of players who filled in for those starters are now very solid backups, filling Meyer’s rotation out very nicely.
“The good news is, some of those guys that shouldn’t be playing, now they’re backups like they should be” Coach Urban Meyer said. “Now they have played in games, and if something ever happens, and you push their button, you’re not going to see those big wide eyes like before.
“P.J. Pope is an excellent backup, and he should be. So we’re going to split time with those two backs [Pope and Joe Alls].
Robert Haley and Jon Culp give you some depth at those positions. On defense, we have all kinds of depth. Daniel Sayles and Marcus Allen have played a lot. TJ Carswell has become a starter, where he wasn’t a starter in preseason. There’s a lot of guys now who have that game experience, which is hard to get.”
The depth Meyer speaks of has arrived just in time, because his team will play four of their last five games on the road, where they have struggled a bit this season. That stretch of games begins Saturday at Kent State, a team who is a bit of a mystery this year to onlookers.
The Flashes have shown brilliance and ineptitude thus far this season, and will enter Saturday’s tilt at 3-5 and 1-4 in Mid-American Conference play. KSU has played both Miami of Ohio and Northern Illinois — two teams at or near the top of their respective divisions in the MAC — very tough, losing to both teams by just a touchdown. The last three weeks, though, it has been a whole different story, as they have been manhandled by Marshall, 42-21, Ohio, 50-0, and barely gotten by a poor Buffalo team.
“I think they’re a team a lot like us in that they’ve had some devastating injuries,” Meyer said. “They’ve lost three linebackers on defense. If you take three or four players off our lineup, we would struggle. I think they’ve struggled through some tough injuries.”
The key to the Flashes’ attack is sophomore quarterback Joshua Cribbs, who at one point led the nation in rushing. Cribbs, though, pulled a hamstring in the team’s loss to Ohio, and is questionable for Saturday’s game.
“The whole key to this game is Josh Cribbs,” Meyer said. “If he plays, in my mind, he is one of the finest players in the country. He ran for 200 yards against Marshall, he’s probably as fast or faster than anyone we have on our team. He’s a fantastic player. … [We will prepare like] He’s playing and he’s full speed and he’s faster than they’ve ever been.”
The Falcons, on the other hand, enter the game riding the second-longest winning streak in the nation, at ten games, behind only Miami (FL). After their 38-20 win over Ball state this past weekend at Family Day, BG has moved into the top 20 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll, ranking 18th, and holds steady at 21 in The Associated Press poll.
And finally, the team is getting healthy. Joe Alls returned last weekend and ran for over 100 yards. Defensive backs Michael Malone and Jason Morton are back to 100 percent as are linebackers Luis Llamas and Jovon Burkes. Only defensive lineman Rick Mauer and offensive lineman James Williams will see limited action as they recover from their injuries.
