I normally never pay much attention to what is going on around me, but for some reason it seems like this year has brought more changes for the Bowling Green football team than in any of my previous three years at this school.

The first changes many will notice for our Sept. 11 home opener is the new scoreboard.

Now, I’m not so sure what the point of a new scoreboard is so it is time for a bit of speculation.

Judging from the team’s performance since switching to a spread offense, the best bet for a new scoreboard would be to add extra point slots, to allow score keepers to take the Falcons’ scores into the hundreds, and maybe even into the thousands.

The second noticeable change for the football team will be their new uniforms. From the looks of things, the uniforms have a more aero-dynamic look. While I’m not a rocket scientist by any means, I am nearly certain that this will allow for more team speed, causing wide receivers Charles Sharon and Cole Magner to be nothing more than a blurry blur and giving defensive lineman Mitchell Crossley a chance to be a cover corner.

The next, and possibly most dramatic, change in the football team is the absense of last year’s star quarterback Josh Harris.

Harris led the team to their first bowl victory in over a decade and to their first ever ranking.

While many fans may see this as a cause for concern, I see this as a chance for sophomore Omar Jacobs to prove himself.

In EA Sports’ NCAA Football 2005, I gave Jacobs a chance to prove himself and he did in prime time fashion.

If everything plays out in real life like it did in NCAA Football, then a Heisman Trophy is not out of the question for Jacobs, who unfortunately beat my monster linebacker alter ego out for the prestigious trophy en route to winning a national title for the Falcons.

And the same way things are changing, they are staying just the same.

Most noticeably, the Falcons receving corps is as strong as ever. One of the top receiving teams in the nation last year returns all of their receivers including Magner who finished with a team record 99 receptions last year and Charles Sharon, who finished with a team record for highlight reel plays (which isn’t a stat, but he had quite a few).

The team also returns much of their defense, which was one of the best in the Mid-American Conference. The Falcons lost defensive leaders Mitch Hewitt and Janssen Patton but return sack master Mitchell Crossley and tackle master Keon Newson.

When taking scoreboards, uniforms and NCAA Football into effect, this looks like a good year to be a Falcons’ fan.