Bowling Green
Falcons
Preview 2007
By
Pete Fiutak
-
2007 BGSU Offense Preview |
2007 BGSU Defense Preview
-
2007 BGSU Depth Chart
|
2006 CFN Bowling
Green
Preview
Talk about changing up the face of the program in just a year,
Bowling Green went from having one of the most exciting,
high-flying passing attacks in the nation, and then after Omar
Jacobs left early to try out for the NFL, the offense went the
other way and became a scary running team with no production
from the passing game.
While the switch in styles, dictated by the personnel, might
have been a necessity, it also signaled a screeching halt in the
positive momentum started by five straight winning seasons. No
matter how your season is going, things aren’t well if you lose
to Temple (the Owls stunned the Falcons 28-14 for their only win
of the year).
Head coach: Gregg Brandon
7th year: 30-19
Returning Lettermen:
Off. 25, Def. 28, ST 0
Lettermen Lost: 17 |
Ten
Best Falcon Players
1. C Kory Lichtensteiger, Sr.
2. LB Erique Dozier, Jr.
3. DE Diyral Briggs, Jr.
4. CB Kenny Lewis, Jr.
5. WR Freddie Barnes, Soph.
6. WR Corey Partridge, Jr.
7. DE Jacob Hardwick, Soph.
8. QB Tyler Sheehan, Soph.
9. QB Anthony Turner, Jr.
10. CB Antonio Smith, Jr. |
|
2007 Schedule
CFN
Prediction:
4-8 |
|
Sept. 1 |
at Minnesota |
|
Sept. 8 |
at Michigan State |
|
Sept. 22 |
Temple |
|
Sept. 29 |
Western Kentucky |
|
Oct. 6 |
at Boston College |
|
Oct. 13 |
at Miami Univ. |
|
Oct. 20 |
at Kent State |
|
Oct. 27 |
Ohio |
|
Nov. 2 |
Akron |
|
Nov. 9 |
at Eastern Mich |
|
Nov. 17 |
at Buffalo |
|
Nov. 23 |
Toledo |
|
|
2006
Schedule
CFN
Prediction:
7-5
2006 Record:
4-8
Preview
2006 predicted wins |
|
9/2 |
Wisconsin L 35-14 |
| 9/9 |
Buffalo
W 48-40 3OT |
| 9/16 |
at FIU
W 33-28 |
| 9/23 |
Kent State
L 38-3 |
|
9/30 |
at Ohio
W 21-9 |
| 10/7 |
at Ohio State L 35-7 |
| 10/14 |
Eastern Mich
W 24-21 |
| 10/19 |
at Central Mich L 31-14 |
| 10/28 |
at Temple
L 28-14 |
| 11/4 |
at Akron L 35-28 |
| 11/15 |
Miami Univ.
L 9-7 |
| 11/21 |
at Toledo L 31-21 |
|
Most
concerning was the total collapse over the second half of the season.
After a decent 3-2 start with a better-than-the-score-looks battle in a
35-14 loss to Wisconsin along with a dominant win over eventual East
champion Ohio, the Falcons fell off the map losing six of their final
seven games with only a nail-biter win over Eastern Michigan to stop the
slide. For a program that’s expected to be among the league’s elite,
last season needs to be nothing more than an aberration.
The coaching staff is certainly talented, there’s plenty of experience
on both sides of the ball with the not-ready-yet underclassmen of last
year almost certain to be better. Most importantly, the quarterback
situation should be more consistent after Anthony Turner spent a year
taking his lumps.
Last year was about reloading; this year is about producing. The East,
the easier of the two divisions, is certainly winnable by anyone with
some offensive pop, and defensive consistency, and while Bowling Green
might still be a year away from being a title contender, it should be
far better.
What to watch for on offense:
More confidence in Turner and the passing
attack. The Falcons always have a decent line, and it should be able to
give the mobile Turner time (if he wins the job over Tyler Sheehan), so
now the coaching staff will open up the playbook a little more and try
to get the receivers involved. The strength is in the ground game with
Eric Ransom, Chris Bullock, or Dan Macon all good enough to carry the
offense, but the season will likely succeed or fail with Turner.
What to watch for on defense: One of the MAC’s best secondaries.
While the defense got worse as the year went on, and it rarely came up
with a great sixty-minute game, the young secondary was solid and not
giving up the big play. It got dinked and dunked on, but with six
freshmen and two sophomores in charge of the pass defense, it struggled
to find itself. Now it should be one of the team’s strengths.
The team will be far better if … the special teams are
night-and-day better. Alonso Rojas was a big-time recruit rated as one
of the nation’s best high school punters, but now it’s up to junior Nick
Iovinelli. The Falcons finished last in the MAC and second-to-last in
the nation netting a miserable 27.7 yards per kick. The return game was
almost as bad averaging 17.57 yards per kickoff return and 7.33 yards
per punt return, while then-true-freshman Sean Ellis hit just four of
nine field goals. 234-pound junior Sinisa Vrvilo will try to improve the
production.
The Schedule: The Falcons have to be prepared to weather the
early season storm with five road games in the first seven including
non-conference dates with Minnesota, Michigan State and Boston College
along with key MAC East games against Miami University and Kent State.
On the plus side, the road games over the second half of the year are
nice and easy going to Eastern Michigan and Buffalo. Playing Toledo from
the West to close things out isn’t a positive.
Best
Offensive Player:
Senior C
Kory Lichtensteiger. The former all-star guard moved to the middle and
became an all-star center. As the leader of the offense, he’s a major
blocker in all phases while proving to be a tremendous quarterback on
the line calls. He’ll be playing on Sundays.
Best Defensive Player:
Junior LB
Erigue Dozier. A fantastic all-around defender, he uses his defensive
back speed to make plays all over the place in the middle. While he’s
not big, he’s extremely tough and phenomenal at getting into the
backfield. As good as he is, junior end Diyral Briggs might end up being
the team’s top defensive player.
Key player to a
successful season:
Sophomore QB Tyler
Sheehan. While Anthony Turner is still in the mix for the starting job,
Sheehan appears to be the future providing a steadier passing arm. While
he doesn’t have Turner’s mobility, he should spread the ball around
better and keep the chains moving.
The season will be a
success if
... the Falcons win six games. The young team has the potential to
improve by at least two games after the 4-8 season as long as it doesn’t
get too down after an almost-certain rough start. As long as they win
the games they’re supposed to, and are able to come up with at least one
good home win over a top MAC team like Ohio or Toledo, six wins is a
more than attainable goal.
Key game:
Oct. 13 at Miami
University. Barring a total shock, BGSU should be 2-3 to start the
season, but 1-0 in MAC play. With a trip to Kent State, and a date with
defending East champion to follow, the Falcons can make plenty of noise
if they can beat the RedHawks in the midst of a tough road slate.
2006 Fun Stats:
- Field goals: Opponents 7 of 12 – Bowling Green 4 of 9
- Net punt average: Opponents 37.9 – Bowling Green 29.4
- Bowling Green score by quarters: 1st 45, 2nd 82,
3rd 41, 4th 45