First of all, congrats to Ball State. They survived the first half and took over the game in the second half, kudos to them. You could really see them assert their will on the game. They were more emotional and finished plays better too.

-Now to our team. That's three tire fires in a row, a disturbing trend to say the least. I gave them a pass for Nebraska due to possible mental and physical fatigue from back to back trips to Utah and Nebraska. Vandy was disappointing in that they had two weeks to prepare and still looked so sloppy. Yesterday was a slow motion car wreck from halftime on. Actually from the middle of the second quarter when Bowers tripped on second and goal from the one. The team looks to be in disarray. I agree with others who have said the team hasn't looked this bad since maybe 2007.

-There's lots to fix but if I could fix one thing about this team it would be their pass blocking. The offensive line has gotten to be at least competent at run blocking but do they ever struggle in pass protect. Bowers is moving in the pocket on every passing play, sometimes sliding up or back and sometimes running for his life. It looks like it's gotten into his head, where he's looking for pass rushers rather than running his progressions, and who can blame him. They're crashing in on him virtually every time. The two guys on the right side of the O-line are OK but the other three are really struggling. The coaches may have to go max protect at all times. It restricts the passing game but so does Bowers running in circles back there. I don't think we have a fair sense at all of what Bowers can do because of this problem.

-Here's another thought about Bowers. The protection problems are not his fault but if the line can't block and he won't run, like ever, maybe he's not the guy to be playing at this particular time. Again not his fault, but maybe he's not the best fit right now. The coaches always talk about fitting the scheme to the players but they're doing the opposite. It's not like Bowers outplayed Childers by a ton in camp either. Hammock just wanted him to be the guy.

-We got a definitive answer to the question of what it would take for the coaches to put Childers in a game, and the answer is they would rather lose the game than play him. Sad but true. You're telling me that Childers couldn't have helped during the times when it was pouring rain and virtually impossible to pass? That a guy who's a rugged runner and gives you an extra body because he can block for himself couldn't have at least flipped the field when they were pinned at the end zone the whole third quarter? Apparently the coaches subscribe to the theory that playing multiple QBs can create controversy on the team. I've got news for them, so does losing a winnable game by looking like incompetent fools who can't adjust.

-Speaking of not adjusting, apparently there was no other play that could be run in the third quarter except handing off to Harbison between the guards. They couldn't have tried Nettles then? Something? Anything? I thought this offensive coordinator was supposed to be accomplished.

-Some timeouts sure would have come in handy at the end of the game, just saying. Timeout usage has been unique to say the least.

-I thought the defense played good enough to win. They're not a great defense any more but they did their part without any help.

-You would hope the team would flip the switch one of these times and start playing better, but three games in a row with the same types of mistakes does not bode well. Looking at the schedule I do not see them getting another win any time soon. The only game where they'll be favored the rest of the way is Akron. If the team gets spanked in upcoming games I hope the coaches use the last four to play freshmen and get a jump on next year.

-One last thought about the coaches. We all know Hammock is new but the other guys are quite experienced. It's really disappointing to see how poorly the team is playing with that veteran crew leading them.

81 like your posts.
We lost to a bad team, handed it away. Ball St will not win another division game. Surprised by the stupid #### I see at times. OLine? Not sure they know what their doing, seems like assignment errors. Coaches are developing Cox, seem to really believe in him. We lose 3 srs on OLine. Not sure we have back ups ready for 2020.

Agree d played well enough to win,, minus the 2 personal fouls.Bowers probably on orders NOT to run.

Do remember that Rods conservative offense was to avoid negative plays like a sack. When fans complained about those boring quick outs they're not thinking about things like sack avoidance or QB pressures. We all wanted them to use the middle of the field. Well, that takes more time to develope. More time means more problems for the O-line. Point is, The O-line hasn't had to pass block for a pocket passer their entire time here. They do need to get better. But Pressures aside, they gave up only 1 sack.