Paul Peck's Bull Session: Bowling Green
10/2/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
Each week, Voice of Bulls Football Paul Peck will preview the upcoming game.
Buffalo (2-2) vs. Bowling Green (2-2)
Rivalries. They are the heart of college football. At the highest levels, it's Ohio State-Michigan and Alabama-Auburn. At our level, Bowling Green is emerging as the Bulls biggest rival. It used to be Ohio because of the early MAC matchups. Then, it was Temple because of the memorable games and conference newcomer similarities. But now, the game that most UB fans circle is the matchup with the Falcons. Sometimes it's the first MAC game. For a few years, it was the last MAC game. Bulls' fans fondly remember beating BG for the school's first ever MAC win, and the 2008 overtime victory that clinched the MAC East title. Bulls' fans are still frustrated by the 2013 loss at the Ralph that lost the MAC East title, and narrow losses in 2009 and 2014. Even though the Falcons have won four straight against Buffalo, it's the back and forth that makes a rivalry flourish. Plus, the Falcons have been the recent kings of the MAC East, and remain the team to beat for the Blue and White. So, if you needed anymore inspiration for Homecoming 2015 and the MAC Opener, you've got it with the Falcons coming to town.
Bullseye on: Buffalo Defense
Let's start with the defense, which has the difficult task of stopping the Falcon's #1 NCAA-ranked passing offense. More on how they slow down the Falcons in a moment, but a few thoughts about the narrow loss to Nevada. After giving up 91 and 55 yard runs in the first quarter, the Bulls defense adjusted and did not allow another play of 20 yards. In the second half, the Wolf Pack totaled just 99 yards. The Bulls completely neutralized the Nevada passing offense, allowing just 90 yards. They did that with more inspired play from cornerbacks Boise Ross, Marqus Baker and Cameron Lewis. Good signs as it relates to Saturday's game.
The Bulls linebackers continue to dominate. Okezie Alozie, Nick Gilbo and Brandon Berry are the team's top three tacklers, and have combined to make 36 percent of the teams total tackles, 70 percent of the tackles for loss and 65 percent of the sacks. All three had career high tackle totals against Nevada. Berry has 30 tackles in the last three games. Ross had four more passes defended, and now leads the nation. Pretty soon, teams will stop throwing his way.
Duke Hwang became the fifth true freshman to play on defense when he made his debut against Nevada. He appears to now be a solid member of the DT rotation that goes five deep and is getting increased production from backup Gusty Schwartzmeier.
The Falcons are averaging 38.5 points per game and 89 plays per game. They run their plays roughly every 18-20 seconds. They have 12 scoring drives that have lasted less than two minutes. The frantic pace will make it harder for the Bulls to substitute players on defense, something they have successfully done all year. Quarterback Matt Johnson has returned from missing nearly all of last year to lead the NCAA in passing yards. He's topped 400 yards in all four games. His 1,760 yards in the first four games are the fifth most in NCAA history. Against Maryland, Johnson had 491 yards passing and six touchdowns. Johnson will run a little, as Bulls fans remember from the game in 2013. His runs will come off the read option when he sees the defense key on the running back. That back is Travis Greene, who is averaging 4.7 yards per rush. His backup Fred Coppet is averaging 5.7. Greene has been hard for the Bulls to stop the last two years. Last year, he really hurt UB's defense on shovel passes. He's as good a pass receiver as he is a runner.
Four Bowling Green receivers have caught at least 19 passes. Roger Lewis leads the way. His 559 yards are second in the country. Against Memphis, Lewis had seven catches, 261 yards and three scoreS. Ronnie Moore is second in catches, and burned the Bulls last year with 178 yards. Falcons starting left guard Ryan Hunter is a graduate of Canisius High School in Buffalo.
Bullseye on: Buffalo Offense
The key to stopping the Bowling Green offense may be the Buffalo offense. More on that below. But the UB offense will have to pick up from a good performance against Nevada and score points (maybe a lot of them) to secure a victory. Joe Licata once again showed that when the game needs to be put in his hands, he can deliver. Licata had 338 yards passing, made clutch throws and utilized all of his weapons. He did a lot of taking what the defense gave him, as evidenced by his 10 connections to Matt Weiser. Licata should move up another notch on the all-time passing yards list. He's 169 yards from passing Cliff Scott for number two behind Drew Willy.
Weiser, the Bulls senior tight end, had the best game a tight end has ever had in school history. His 10 catches and 131 yards were career-highs, and earned Weiser the John Mackey Award's tight end of the week. There are so few really good tight ends in college football, and having one like Weiser creates a huge mismatch that Licata knows how to exploit. Weiser and Ron Willoughby both went over 100 yards receiving, the first time two Bulls have done that since Alex Neutz and Fred Lee against Toledo in 2013. Willoughby now has caught a pass in 15 straight games. Freshman Brandon Smiley had the first two catches of his career, as he replaced the injured Malcolm Robinson in the second half.
The 1-2 punch at running back last week focused on #2, Jordan Johnson. He had 79 yards, while Anthone Taylor had 68 yards. Johnson's 37 yard run was the longest by a Bulls back this season.
It's hard to get a read on the Bowling Green defense. The pace of its offense puts a lot of pressure on the unit. They've been on the field for an average of 79 plays per game. The unit is not the same as the Falcons defense that led the MAC two years ago. But it doesn't have to be thanks to the offense.
Last week against Purdue, the Falcons gave up only 77 yards rushing and 2.0 yards per carry. The BG defense ranks no better than 10th in the MAC in any main category, but again, that may not be a true indication based on the offense and the opponents. Middle linebacker Austin Valdez is the defensive leader. His 47 tackles lead the MAC. Starting linebacker Trent Green is the team's second leading tackler, and the brother of starting running back Travis Greene.
Bulls head coach Lance Leipold praised the BG defensive line, calling it the strength of their unit. Defensive tackle Zach Colvin is an NFL prospect, and he teams with 327-pound Mike Minns to man the middle of the defensive line. The Falcons will be without starting cornerback Darrell Hunter. He's missed the last two games. That has contributed to a defensive backfield that has struggled at times this season. The passing defense ranks 108 of 127 NCAA teams.
Bullseye on: Ignore the Statistics
Leipold said this week that he told his defensive coaches to ignore the passing stats in Saturday's game. Here's what he means. Bowling Green is going to pile up the stats. That's what it does. The key for the Bulls is to limit their possessions and limit their scores. It's OK to let them drive between the 30-yard lines, as long as the Bulls tighten up in the red zone. The Falcons average 14 possessions and 6 scores per game. To compare, the Bulls more conventional offense averages 12 possessions and 4 scores. If the Bulls offense can control the ball, then maybe BG has fewer chances to score. If the defense can keep them out of end zone a few times, even if it means field goals, then that can be the difference between winning and losing. The Bulls have been very good at not allowing big plays this season, just 15 in four games. Doing that Saturday means making the Falcons work harder and longer for their points. More plays equals more chances for mistakes and turnovers. The Falcons have 29 plays of 20 yards or more, including nine of 40+ yards. So those are the statistics you should be watching. Those are the statistics that will tell the story of this big MAC East showdown.
Please join me, color analyst Jim Kubiak, sideline reporter Scott Wilson, game host Brad Riter and postgame host Bob Gaughan for the broadcast on the Bulls Football Network. Our pregame show starts at 2:30pm. You can hear it in Buffalo on ESPN 1520 (www.espn1520.com), in Rochester on Sports 1280 WHTK (www.whtk.com) & in New York City on 570 WMCA (www.wmca.com).
