The number of the week in the Bowling Green football camp is 11. It’s not 23 or 25, the Falcons’ rankings in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll and the Associated Press poll, respectively.
It’s not 15.6, the average points per game scored by Josh Harris, and it’s not 49.6, the number of points the Falcons are averaging per game.
No, 11 is the most important number this week, and will likely remain that way for an extended period of time. The 5-0 Falcons have 11 starters hampered by injuries this week, as they continue down a tough road of nine straight games with a home date against Western Michigan Saturday night. The Falcons are coming off a 45-35 win over Central Michigan Saturday, their fifth win this season and seventh straight overall, including last season.
Before the season, defensive lineman Will Teague, tight end Craig Jarrett, and offensive linemen Andrew Hart and Rob Warren were casualties. Now, though, BG has been bit by an abnormally large injury bug, having lost numerous other starters within the past few weeks.
Defensive back Michael Malone and tailback Joe Alls both separated shoulders in the Falcons’ win over Ohio two weeks ago. Defensive back Jason Morton, offensive lineman James Williams, defensive lineman Rick Mauer, linebackers Luis Llamas and Jovon Burkes were all hurt within the past week or in the game at Central Michigan.
“Malone will play, and that’s great news for me,” Coach Urban Meyer said. “We could not win that game without Mike. He’s a good player, he’s fast. They throw that ball 40-50 times a game.
Williams will be out Saturday for sure with an MCL sprain, as well as Llamas, who had arthroscopic surgery yesterday. Mauer and Alls are questionable, and Meyer termed Morton, Burkes and Malone as 50-50 for this week’s game.
“I think these injuries have brought us closer together,” linebacker Chris Haneline said. “It is making us stick together as a unit, and play as a team. The offense picks up the defense and the defense picks up the offense and the special teams changes the game.
“With the young guys unfamiliar in their roles, it’s critical we come together as a team and stick together until these older guys are able to heal up and be back on the field.”
Besides the glaringly large number of injuries the Falcons have sustained, BG is sitting pretty in the Mid-American Conference and national pictures. BG is the only remaining undefeated team in the MAC, and is a game behind Northern Illinois in the MAC West Division standings.
In addition, the Falcons are ranked nationally for the first time since 1985, when the Falcons were ranked 20th in the AP poll.
“This is all about recruiting,” Meyer said. “You wake up in the morning and think about recruiting. You practice and you look and visualize and say we need to find more players at this position.
This whole program is about players. … The quarterback and the offensive line and the receivers are talented guys; but, there’s not enough of them.
“Bowling Green is pretty good, there’s a whole lot of championships out there on that wall. In the coaching world, people know about Bowling Green. The non-coaching people — you want to make sure they make it out as what the program is: It’s a first-class, good bunch of kids who go to class and play hard on game day.”
Meyer also acknowledged that the players on the team are smart enough to not allow all the hoopla to distract them.
“You have to be careful,” Meyer said. “If I had immature, non-bright football players, then I’d be more concerned. We’re a very smart team and very understanding of who we are.”
