Post Game Reactions
Evan: That was…. a game. Tech’s “bend but don’t break” defense was phenomenal. For most of the game, the offense didn’t do much to help the defense out. Bowling Green’s inept offense pretty much lived on Tech’s side of the 50, but Amik & Co. completely shut down five straight scoring chances, allowing 0 points when the Falcons entered Tech’s 40 yard line. That included three straight trips to inside the 10! I know Bowling Green is bad, but I never would have expected such a strong performance from the defense. The offense finally got going there towards the end, but there’s a lot that needs to be cleaned up there.
Nathan: After every game we’ve played this year, I feel like I’ve had the same thought: I don’t know if Team A is that good, or if Team B is just really bad. For both Texas and Grambling, Tech was Team B. It was nice to be Team A for a change, but it still feels like we don’t know how good Tech really is yet. But it’s hard to criticize a team when they win by 28.
Josh: That game was both really frustrating to watch at times and the best game Tech has played all year, but I’ll take the win regardless. As Evan said above, the “bend but don’t break” defense was really dang good and contributed heavily to the win (as did Scot Loeffler’s red zone decision making). Amik getting his first INT and turning it into a pick 6 was also great to see, as he hasn’t had a chance for a flashy play like that yet this season. The offense was good for the most part, but there are a few issues still persisting that I’d like to see worked out as we enter conference play. The most frustrating thing was the drive killing penalties we seemed to rack up in the 2nd quarter and that is something that needs to be addressed immediately. All in all, it was a good win.
Did Tech Die?
Evan: Any chance we hear “We Want Westin!” chants this season died with his lone pass attempt of the game, but that’s about it. Tech went and did not die.
Nathan: No, but with how bad Bowling Green looked, a roster made of actual dead players might have been able to win too.
Josh: Tech went and they did not die. Bowling Green, however, may need to be resuscitated.
Player of the Game
Evan: Tech’s entire defense. Not just because of the aforementioned red zone stops. They played a team that loves to run the ball with tempo, and they won. They didn’t sack Darius Wade, but they did have 8 TFLs, and that’s pretty damn impressive.
Nathan: Amik. A pick six is like the third best play possible in football. (Also, picking an entire half of the roster for “Player of the Game” is cheating, Evan).
Josh: Michael Sam. It seemed like he was targeted a lot, especially in the red zone, and he was able to keep the ball out of the hands of Bowling Green’s receivers. He ended the day with 2 passes defended on his stat sheet.
Record Predictor
Contest Recap
This week we had 49 players that scored an average of 9.42 points, which is up from last week’s 9.2, but still a long way from the 11 points we put up in the Texas game.
The main problem with scoring this week was that almost no one picked Tech to win by a large enough margin to score points on Question 2. So, that’s pretty much the exact opposite of last week.
This week’s winner was our MAC Correspondent extraordinaire Jake Altman, who put up 16 points!
Here’s the top ten after three weeks:
- #1 Brian Basinger (48 points)
- #2 Taylor Young (43)
- #3 Carson Basinger (42)
- #4 Chase P (41)
- #5 Jake Altman (40)
- #6 Dawgbytes (39)
- #7 Caleb Basinger (38)
- #8 Caleb Ashley, Scott Young (37)
- #10 Daniel Spencer (36)
As always, head to the Standings Page to see how you did and where you stand overall!
Questions 1&2: Who wins, how much?
Answer: Tech won, by 28 points.
Results: 43 people picked Tech to win, by an average of 13.8 points. Only 10 of those 43 were close enough to being correct to score any points. Special shout out to #8 Colby Ashley, who got it right on the nose with 28 points!
Question 3: How will the fourth 3rd down of the game play out?
Answer: BGSU had a 3rd and 3 on their third drive. Davon Jones ran for 1 yard, so the correct answer was “The Offense does not get a first down.”
Results: 24 people got this one right and picked up 2 points.
Question 4: How many punts will occur in the game?
Answer: Oh man. A lot of damn punts, that’s how many! But really, there were 15! I mean, look at this glorious drive chart:
Results: The average number predicted was 10.4, which would’ve been good enough to score 2 points. As it is, 21 players scored points here, with only one getting close enough for a full score: MAC Correspondent and #5 Jake Altman, who somehow knew there’d be a lot of punts and predicted 14. I smell insider info…
Question 5: Predict the total number of passing yards J’Mar will have in the first half.
Answer: J’Mar had 140 yards in the first half.
Results: On the podcast, we said 125 yards would be a pretty good guess, and hey, we were right! 42 people scored points! 7 people were within the 10 yard range (135 to 145) to score 5 points: #32 Kade Davis, #17 Beau, #2 Taylor Young, #19 Dom, #45 Jonny Coe, #21 Jonathan Ruppel, and #35 Steven W. One player got it exactly right: Kade Davis!
Question 6: True or False
- Dancy will have 25 rushing AND receiving yards FALSE
- BGSU will score first in the second half FALSE
- Tech will convert at least one 4th down FALSE
- BGSU will have more penalty yardage than Tech FALSE
Results: All of the questions were false again! Dancy ended the game with 24 receiving yards, so that was a close one. BGSU tried REAL hard to score first in the second half, but they didn’t score at all. Tech was 0/1 on fourth down, and Tech was penalized a whole lot and ended up with more yards than BG. Yet again, no one got all four right!
Bonus: Will Freddie the Falcon be able to fly all the way to Bowling Green, KY if BG’s yards=miles he can fly?
Answer: To get from Bowling Green, Ohio to Bowling Green, KY, Freddie would have to fly 339 miles. Bowling Green’s offense only put up 290 yards, so Freddie’s message would not have made it to BGKY. 33 people got this one right.
Check back on Wednesday for the FIU edition of the gtpdd Contest