One year ago, the football team was winless and most students didn't care what was happening or attend the games. They only heard about the football team due to its prominence in ESPN's "Bottom 10" rankings.
Yet here we are a year later, with a record of 1-3 and having lost two games to Mid-American Conference opponents, being exposed to a media blitz of Bulls coverage and constantly hearing how much better the Bulls have become.
Nevertheless, I think that we have a lot to improve on, and the program has to make changes within two weeks in order to win at homecoming against Ball State. I believe that the local press and students need to focus not on the schedule and the new coach but on what the team is doing on the field.
Don't take what I am saying wrong. I believe in the heart of this year's team, its ability to believe in themselves and the view of the football team as "one unit." I believe in the new head football coach Turner Gill and his philosophy.
I think that he has the determination to make this team better. Though I have to be constructive and look at the facts of the game. Gill has been quoted in many press conferences as wanting his team to take its mistakes and to learn from them. Yet this is not apparent.
Last weekend in Auburn, the Bulls defense gave up 236 yards on the ground to a tandem of backup running backs in Brad Lester and Jon Tate. Against Northern Illinois, the defense gave up 344 yards on the ground including 263 to the best back in college football Garrett Wolfe and another 93 yards to his backup, Montel Clanton.
I understand Wolfe is the best back in football, but 236 yards to one player is still too much to give up. Northern Illinois rushing attack accumulated 349 yards that day, which was just five yards shy of gaining just as many yards as the entire Bulls offense.
The week before that, Bowling Green ran over the Bulls defense like a dump truck and recorded 356 yards rushing in a game that went into triple overtime. Most of the running that day came from the quarterback position for the Falcons.
Obviously we have a problem with stopping other teams' run attacks. The Bulls need help on the defensive line and need to show some credibility and leadership if they want to contain their opponents' running games and ultimately win more then one game this season.
I understand that this is a rebuilding year and that it takes time for the players to get acquainted with the coaching staff and playbook. Personally, I'm not even asking for wins. I just want to see accountability within the ranks of the media and the team.
I don't want to read another article about how the Bulls gave a team a run for their money, but gave up 300 yards rushing. The fact that we beat the spread and received 600,000 dollars for our program for playing Auburn is great. However, the fact is that the Auburn team that we faced this past weekend will not be the same team that takes the field against South Carolina this weekend. You will see the starters for Auburn play the whole game and may only see Tate run the ball once.
The offense for the Bulls has looked good and I think that we do need to give credit where it is due. Sophomore quarterback Drew Willy has been a bright spot for the Bulls. He was simply marvelous in the third quarter of the Auburn game when he made a five-yard pass on fourth down to get the Bulls on the board.
So come on Bulls fans, take off your blinders and realize we are still 1-3. I will start believing when the numbers add up. Stop listening to all of the hype and cheering for the Bulls when they cover the spread. Let's motivate this team to win one more game for us students.
