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After six weeks of Buffalo Bulls football, one thing is for sure. This team does not seem to have all the necessary parts working right now in order to succeed. Whether it's offensive play-calling, offensive execution, defensive strategy, or even just playing a complete game, a lot feels negative. But in the end, every game is played and it's never too late to start building towards the future. In a week that has been filled with basketball coverage, here's the pregame meal.
Meal: Anything you can find at a Golden Corral Buffet
Being honest here, I've only been to Golden Corral's in the south. That means I've had good experiences with them. There was one put in about 2 minutes from my house in Rochester and I've avoided it to no end. But I digress, why would I choose a buffet for this upcoming week against the Northern Illinois Huskies? Think about it this way, buffet's are filled with such a wide range of food that you can make any type of meal you desire. Maybe a bigger selection will lead to a bigger and better meal. The same way that we need this Buffalo team to pull out all the stops and just go for something big.
Enough with the same inside hand off for every rushing play. That's like going to a buffet and getting the same thing you've had for dinner the past 3 days. Try something new! Be adventurous. Stop settling for the same old meal all the time. I want to see something different out of this team. At this point, I don't really know what I want to see, which is why we just need to go to a buffet and explore our options.
Drink: That foreign brand of beer you keep telling yourself you want to buy but are scared to.
Let's keep this theme of being adventurous rolling. Sure, doing something different might seem scary, but at this point what do you have to lose? I don't think this football season can get any worse so why not go out and try different things. You may end up liking it. Why not try running more high completion plays? Why not run from under center? You have nothing to lose. Same with the new beer. The plus side with the drink, maybe you'll like it and drink enough to forget about the first 6 weeks. I'm just spit balling ideas here, but clearly the usual isn't working.
Buffalo vs. Dekalb, is this really a question?
Here's a quick list of why Buffalo is and always will be better than Dekalb.
1. Dekalb doesn't show up on a national map. Ever. Buffalo appears on most all national maps because we are actually a recognizable city.
2. Google can't even come up with fun facts for Dekalb. It's very hard to make fun of them when there is literally nothing to say.
3. The mascot for NIU is a huskie. UB's is a bull. You tell me who wins that fight.
4. On the NIU official website it specifies the school as 65 miles west of Chicago. They actually have to use the only major city in their state to seem like an appealing location.
5. They not only specify distance to Chicago but they also have an entire section telling you how far you are away from almost everything in the state. That's because there is literally nothing to do in Dekalb.
5 Things To Watch For
I'm going to copy and paste last weeks list in here and see what changes I'll have to make. Let's see:
Last Week
1. ENERGY. In case you missed it, I'll write is again. ENERGY. This is the biggest issue with this team. If they come out with energy and passion, they can win. If they come out flat, expect a long day and your horns to be down.
2. Can Tyree Jackson get a pass game going? Personally, I feel like Jackson could have a break out game. He's played average up to this point accumulating his numbers in garbage time. This could be the week that things finally start clicking. The wide outs made an appearance last game, let's keep it rolling.
3. The pass defense. For once we won't be facing a run heavy team. Ball State likes to pass. Maybe it'll be a comeback game for Boise Ross as he gets to do what he does best and defend the pass.
4. Play calling. I feel like a broken record sometimes. Can the play calling adapt to the flow of the game and not just the pregame plan? I sure hope so.
5. Can anybody other than Kyle Deween win game MVP? No offense to Deween, but I'm sick of the punter being our best player. I'd love to play well enough that Deween doesn't see the field. Someone needs to step up and start making plays so that all the glory isn't on our wonderful punter.
This Week:
1. Let's see, last week the number one thing was energy. I thought the first half minus Ball State's opening drive the team had it then lost it. So number 1 remains the same.
2. Jackson did throw for 300+ yards last week. However once again most seemed to fall in the garbage time category. I'd love to see a strong first half this week.
3. The pass defense did get a late INT which seemed like a huge play at the time. I wasn't too upset but I wasn't too impressed. This week I'd like to see more of the run defense step up because they just have't this year.
4. Yeah, we all know my thoughts on this. Number 4 is exactly the same.
5. Ah Kyle Deween. Your wonderful season continued. Now not going to brag, at halftime of the Ball State game I also nailed a 40 yard punt, but you're doing it in game. Maybe this will be the week someone dethrones the wonderful punter.
Final Thoughts
I'm not happy with this team. They seem to not want to be out their on Saturday's and that's just a shame. It doesn't look like it's a game anymore and I think that's an issue. These players have played this game their whole lives. At one point it had to have been the best feeling to get out on the field. It probably still is but they haven't shown it. If the team comes out firing on all cylinders, NIU can be beaten. They are not as strong as normal so why not give everything to take them down. I don't think it happens this week, but I'm optimistic that we see promise towards the future.