As Akron was giving Michigan a scare, another MAC school was getting punished by another Big 10 foe.
Spoiler alert: It was BG.
In Bloomington, Ind., the Hoosiers showed it was no longer the team of past years while BG looked exactly like a team from its past. The Falcons reverted back to their 2011 ways, where they were down and out through three quarters.
They looked like they took some punches from Floyd Mayweather.
Going into the game Indiana had the line but it wasn’t by much. At game time, Vegas varied between Indiana by two and Indiana by three and half points.
I was always told, whether there is any truth to it or not, that the home team got three points just for being the home team. So for all intents and purposes, it was an even game.
But it didn’t end an even game. The 42-10 blowout will really open some eyes moving forward. Fortunately for the Falcons, the loss won’t count against their MAC East title hopes, but it did shut the national eyes that were watching BG.
After the Tulsa win, BG had nine AP votes for the top 25. After the Kent State thrashing, BG had seven AP votes and three Coaches Poll votes. After Saturday, not surprisingly, BG received none.
BG did however make the ESPN top play of the night thanks to junior Paul Senn’s punt block/steal and return for the only Falcon touchdown.
Senn broke through the defensive line and got to the punter so easily and quickly that the punter kicked the ball directly into Senn’s chest, essentially stealing it off the punter’s foot. The ball never left Senn’s torso and he just ran the rest of the way for 56 yards.
The brief spark of momentum was quickly evaporated as the Falcon defense allowed Indiana to score 35 unanswered points.
BG kicker Tyler Tate, who had come into the game having gone 4-4 on field goals, missed two against Indiana. Tate struggled this past year but the offense and defense bailed him and Stephen Stein out on missed attempts. That didn’t happen Saturday, but he was able to make a 45-yard kick to top out BG’s scoring with 10 points.
Moving forward will be the task at hand this week, and knowing coach Clawson, that shouldn’t be an issue. Even when the team wins, they have a 24-hour policy to forget it and prepare for the next game.
The next game is against FCS team Murray State. Murray State did look dangerous at times against Missouri in its opening game, losing in a rather unimpressive manner, 58-14. Missouri beat a strong Toledo side, 38-23.
BG doesn’t necessarily care about Missouri, but they do play Indiana this upcoming week, which should shed some light on an awkward triangle of results against teams that BG will/have faced.
If you followed that logic, stay with me.
Murray State also tromped Campbellsville University, 83-14. The game was called six minutes into the fourth quarter and set a Murray State school record. Campbellsville is a NAIA member and not a NCAA member in any division.
This is important to note because the MAC has lost some games to FCS schools, and if BG doesn’t prepare well and fix its errors, they could join them.
I’m not worried necessarily about that, but I expect this past week to serve as a wake-up call for the Falcons, as MAC play starts shortly and they will face Mississippi State as well.
BG will need to start rolling along instead of being rolled over.
