Now that the Bowling Green football team has played two of their three meaningless non-conference games this season, it’s time for the real test to begin.
With the match-up against Northern Illinois just under two weeks away, the Falcons have some time to get ready for what may be their most important game of the season. Last season, the Falcons destroyed the Huskies perfect record as they waved goodbye to their No. 12 BCS ranking. The Huskies will no doubt be ready for revenge, but if the Falcons come out on top in DeKalb, expect another successful season to be in the works.
But the question is: can the Falcons repeat as MAC-West Champions for the first time in this school’s existence? Of course they can!
Many sports analysts seem to think that Toledo will take over BG’s MAC-West title this year, which is really just a bunch of crap. While Bruce Gradkowski may be the best quarterback in the MAC, his team certainly isn’t. The Rockets defense gave up 63 points to both Minnesota and Kansas in these first two weeks. Unless Gradkowski can get his team to score in the 70’s every game it will be another disappointing season for Toledo fans.
We all now that this year’s Falcons squad is without last year’s savior, quarterback Josh Harris, who led the Falcons to an unbelievable season. Heck, all that stood in the way of the Falcons having a perfect season was Ohio State’s end of the game magic and Miami’s Ben Roethlisberger. Any team that can say that should be recognized as one of the best in the country.
Not only that, but the Falcons also helped put the MAC in the national spotlight, with many MAC teams finally getting the BCS recognition they deserve.
This year’s Falcons might not be quite that good, but then again they won’t have to. It’s safe to say that the rest of the MAC isn’t nearly as good as it was last year either. Losing Ben Roethlisberger to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the NFL Draft will kill Miami’s chances of repeating as overall MAC champions this season. The RedHawks went from having a 14-game winning streak to a two-game losing streak in a matter of weeks after getting pummeled by both Michigan and Cincinnati.
In fact, Miami won’t even get to defend their MAC-East throne, something Marshall should so graciously take over this season.
That brings us back to Northern Illinois. The outcome of the Sept. 24 match up with BG could potentially make or break the momentum of the Falcons’ season. However, the health of Huskies quarterback Josh Haldi is still uncertain. The Huskies barely squeaked past Division 1-AA Southern Illinois last week without their star, so hopefully Haldi will decide to stay on the bench a little longer.
Bowling Green’s receiving corps are widely recognized as third best in the nation just behind Michigan and Oklahoma. With such a deep and talented group of receivers including the likes of Charles Sharon, Cole Magner, James Hawkins and Shawn Sanders, there couldn’t have been a better situation for quarterback Omar Jacobs to be in right now. If Jacobs and company beat up on the Huskies just like they did last season, we will truly know how good this team really is.
With that being said, Jacobs has the potential to lead this year’s Falcons squad to the MAC Championship game, and give Marshall’s Thundering Herd a run for the title. Let’s just hope that Marshall doesn’t become this year’s version of Miami.
