Tag: Connor Bazelak

3 Bowling Green players to watch ahead of Texas A&M’s Week 4 matchup

Here are three Bowling Green players to watch for ahead of Saturday’s game

Texas A&M (2-1. 1-0 SEC) will head back to Kyle Field to take on Bowling Green (1-1) on Saturday night, just a week after ending the ten-game SEC road losing streak against the Florida Gators, head coach Mike Elko also earned his first conference victory.

Take center stage this week, back quarterback Marcel Reed’s breakout performance in his first career starts has Aggie fan split on who should start on Saturday, while Elko and his staff are keeping things internal while Conner Weigman’s shoulder injury continues to heal.

Who ever starts under center, the Aggies run game and blocking up front looks like a predominate strength offensively through the last two weeks, while the defense and pass rush is steadily improving.

Focusing on the Falcons, here are three players to watch that could cause the Aggie defense problems on Saturday night.

RB Terion Stewart 

Bowling Green’s offense starts with the ground game, as junior running back Terion Stewart has looked the part during the Falcon’s first game against Fordham, averaging 11.5 yards per rush for 161 yards and a touchdown. Even after missing Bowling Green’s loss against Penn State, the team’s running back stable still ran for 121 yards and a touchdown, averaging 7.7 yards per carry so far.

QB Connor Bazelak 

Bowling Green will be competitive in nearly every game this season because of senior quarterback Connor Bazelak, who enters his final season with the Falcons after transferring from Missouri a couple of year ago. Only throwing for 12 touchdowns last season, Bazelak has steadily improved in the pocket, throwing for 422 yards and two touchdowns so far, including 254 yards against Penn State. However, this will be the toughest secondary he faces for the rest of the season.

TE Harold Fannin Jr. 

By far the most explosive offensive weapon on the Falcons roster, junior tight end Harold Fannin Jr. leads the team in receptions (17) and receiving yards (204) while reeling his his first touchdown against Penn State. Speed, strength, and impressive route running are just a few traits that make Fannin a nightmare matchup with linebackers who are forced to cover the seam.

On Saturday, I expect Aggie linebacker Scooby Williams to be on most of the coverage duties, while safety Marcus Ratcliffe possesses the length and athleticism to clean up any remaining coverage duties.

Texas A&M will host Bowling Green on Saturday, Sept. 21. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+ and SEC Network+.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Cameron on Twitter: @CameronOhnysty.

Texas A&M vs. Bowling Green game time and network has been announced

Texas A&M’s Week 4 home matchup vs. Bowling now has a game time and streaming network

Texas A&M’s Week 4 home matchup vs. Bowling Green has an official game time for the Sept. 21 meeting.

A team led by talented former Missouri quarterback Connor Bazelak, who nearly defeated Penn State on the road last weekend, will head to Kyle Field with a legitimate chance of shocking the Aggies, compared to the program’s preseason projections.

After two games, Texas A&M has some work to do to get back into the fanbase’s good graces. The Aggies’ 52-10 win over McNeese State barely moved the needle after the opening season loss to Notre Dame, which worsened after the Irish fell to Northern Illinois at home last Saturday.

However, it’s clear that for Texas A&M to win eight, nine, or, yes, even ten games this season, starting quarterback Conner Weigman must play at a consistently good to great level, starting this weekend vs. Florida in Gainsville.

If the Aggies can earn their first SEC road victory in over three seasons, heading back to College Station with a chance to earn a 3-1 mark before facing Arkansas on Sept. 28 should provide plenty of momentum.

Texas A&M will face Bowling Green on Saturday, Sept. 21, at 6:30 p.m. CT. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ or SEC Network+.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Cameron on Twitter: @CameronOhnysty.

BGSU QB Connor Bazelak to see familiar friend, and foe, with Michigan football

#Michigan already has some familiarity here. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — There’s a lot of corollaries between Michigan football and its next opponent, Bowling Green. Jim Harbaugh’s dad, Jack Harbaugh, played and coached there, the Falcons’ current head coach is former Michigan quarterback and coach Scot Loeffler, and Erik ‘Soup’ Campbell, another former Wolverines player and coach, is on staff at BGSU, as well.

But there are some different connections for this Michigan football team and the Falcons.

A transfer who’s on his third school, Connor Bazelak was teammates last year with AJ Barner, as both departed Indiana following the 2022 season. Barner is excited to see his former quarterback, noting a time when they had a football connection in a game a year ago.

“Connor’s a good dude, a good player also, and I’m excited to go up against him and it’ll be good to see him again. And I wish him the best of luck,” Barner said. “He threw me a touchdown against Idaho, which was cool. But yeah, he’s a really good player, and I can’t wait to see him this weekend. And I’m excited for it.”

But there’s also the fact that the Wolverines saw Bazelak on the other side of the ball. Against Michigan in Week 6 in 2022, Bazelak went 25-for-49 for 203 yards with a touchdown and one interception.

While it’s unclear at the moment whether or not the full complement of the secondary will finally take the field for the first time this season, nickel back Mike Sainristil will be out there. And he recalls having played against Bazelak, the once-Hoosiers and Missouri Tigers QB. Though his stat line isn’t exactly something to write home about, he has good skill and ability, and there are things that Sainristil will be on the lookout for come Saturday.

“I feel like the biggest thing for us is that just knowing that when he’s under pressure situations — last year, we got a ton of pressure on him and he did a great job of just dumping the ball out of bounds,” Sainristil said. “We’ve just got to make sure we keep the main thing the main thing, make sure that our coverage is tight. Help the D-line get a good rush. In the back end, back seven help to D-line get a good rush. The line’s gonna go out there and do what it is that they do. That’s what they’re known for. So I’m excited to go out there and play on Saturday.”

Michigan hosts Bowling Green on Saturday night with a 7:30 p.m. EDT kickoff under the lights. The game will be nationally broadcast on Big Ten network.

Know your foe, Indiana: Which Hoosier players Ohio State needs to focus on

Do any of these Hoosiers make the Buckeyes nervous? #GoBucks

[autotag]Ohio State football[/autotag] opens it’s season on the road with a conference matchup against Indiana.

The Hoosiers are most likely going to go through a transitional season. They lost a majority of their top performers either to graduation, (quarterback [autotag]Connor Bazelak[/autotag] and running back [autotag]Shaun Shivers[/autotag]), or transfer, (linebacker [autotag]Dasan McCullough[/autotag]).

Indiana doesn’t reload like the Buckeyes, but that doesn’t mean head coach [autotag]Tom Allen[/autotag]’s crew will completely roll over on Saturday afternoon. There will be more than a few players in the Hoosiers’ home opener that will want to establish themselves this year. Find out five Hoosiers that could potentially give Ohio State some problems this weekend.

Predicting each Big Ten starting quarterback for 2022

Predicting every Big Ten starting quarterback in 2022

Quarterback is the most premium position on the football field, there is no questioning that. Historically, the Big Ten has been known for having some of the best quarterbacks in the nation, the same can be said for the 2022 season.

In the new era of college football, roster turnover is paramount, and the transfer portal is being used to shuffle rosters all over the country. The same goes for the quarterback position, and there are going to be some new faces signal-calling in the Big Ten in 2022.

Check out my prediction for each Big Ten teams’ projected starting quarterback in 2022:

Report: Missouri starting QB ruled out for Georgia game

The Missouri Tigers will be without starting quarterback Connor Bazelak on Nov. 6 against Georgia.

The Missouri Tigers will be without starting quarterback Connor Bazelak on Nov. 6 against Georgia, Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports reports.

Bazelak has played in all eight of Missouri’s games to start the season. He’s thrown 13 touchdown passes and eight interceptions. The sophomore quarterback has compiled 2,138 passing yards this season.

Bazelak suffered an injury against Vanderbilt that is forcing him out for Missouri’s trip to Athens, Georgia.

The (4-4) Missouri Tigers already faced a tall task against (8-0) Georgia’s elite defense. Now they will have to play with an inexperienced quarterback.

Missouri Tigers quarterback Connor Bazelak (8) throws a pass against the Georgia Bulldogs during the second half at Sanford Stadium. Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Yahoo’s Pete Thamel broke the news of Bazelak’s status. Missouri will turn to Brady Cook and Tyler Macon in his absence.

Cook and Macon have combined to throw for only 98 passing yards this season on just nine attempts. Both players are former three-star recruits.

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SEC Quarterbacks: Passing leaders after three weeks

A look at the top five quarterbacks in the SEC from a statistical standpoint.

Wouldn’t you know it, a conference that was once known for defense is all about the pass now. With Mike Leach, Lane Kiffin, and even Steve Sarkisian (until this year) calling plays we have seen the SEC go to the spread offenses. Leach brought the Air Raid attack and passing numbers have soared.

The defensive conference has welcomed the offensive explosions. The LSU Tigers are no different, they used to be a smash-mouth team that played sound defense and ran the ball. They now throw it around as much as anyone not named Leach. We saw Joe Burrow in 2019 and then Mac Jones in 2020 with Alabama light up scoreboards.

This year it could be any one of a handful of talented quarterbacks playing in the SEC. A look at the top five passing leaders in the conference and what is next  for them as week four arrives.

2022 NFL draft: 3 QB prospects with breakout potential

Breaking down a trio of quarterback prospects who could improve their stock for the 2022 NFL draft with a strong showing in 2021

The 2021 NFL draft is only two months in the rearview mirror, but that doesn’t mean it’s too early to prepare for next year’s draft.

Five quarterbacks were taken in the first round, marking just the second time the feat has been accomplished in the 21st century. While the 2022 draft may not be as highly-touted at the position heading into the upcoming season, there is not shortage of quarterback talent.

The likes of Spencer Rattler and Sam Howell have been consistently ranked among the top returning quarterbacks in college football. Kedon Slovis, JT Daniels and Matt Corral have also seen plenty of hype as gifted, Power 5 signal-callers. Outside of the Power 5, Malik Willis, Carson Strong and Desmond Ridder have made their fair shares of appearances in the first rounds of early 2022 mock drafts.

However, there’s always a quarterback or two that breaks out with a stellar season and shoots up draft boards. While it’s difficult to predict said breakout candidates with incredible precision, there are a handful of quarterbacks with major sleeper potential.

Here are three quarterbacks who could shoot up boards in the 2022 NFL draft:

SEC football: QB rankings ahead of the 2021 season

Here’s a look at where each SEC quarterback stands ahead of the upcoming season.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year.

Every offseason, several analysts make way-too-early predictions and release position rankings months ahead of the season that could end up aligning pretty close to reality or that could end up being entirely off-base.

In all of this, preseason quarterback rankings are among the most interesting to look at.

Will JT Daniels be the signal-caller he showed he could be and take Georgia to new heights in 2021? Could Will Rogers be the quarterback Mississippi State needs to ignite the Air Raid offense in the SEC? Will Max Johnson be an important piece to helping LSU return to its 2019 glory?

These are all questions with answers that could go in two completely different directions and that could have a major impact on how teams finish out in the conference.

Here’s a look at where each SEC quarterback stands ahead of the 2021 season.

Postponement of Florida game gives LSU the chance to hit the reset button

The postponement of the LSU-Florida matchup gives the Tigers a chance to make some much-needed changes.

No one doubted there was work to be done as the LSU Tigers looked to record a strong season after coming off a national championship victory and losing a host of talent to the 2020 NFL Draft.

The departure of such key players like quarterback Joe Burrow, wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire and linebacker Patrick Queen left sizable voids to be filled.

But the 1-2 start to the season with upset losses to Mississippi State and the Missouri Tigers is something hardly anyone drew up.

Losing 45-41 to a winless opponent like Mizzou had to serve as a bit of a wake-up call to a team that seems to finally be finding itself on offense with some significant decisions still left to be made with a reeling defense.

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Freshman quarterback Connor Bazelak had a field day with Bo Pelini’s unit, completing 29-of-34 passes for 406 yards with four touchdowns and zero interceptions as Mizzou put up 585 yards of total offense on LSU.

It almost brings back memories to the season-opener, which wasn’t at all long ago, when the defense allowed Mississippi State quarterback K.J. Costello to pass for 623 yards

LSU hardly gives the impression of a team ready to take on the Florida Gators on Saturday — except now they don’t have to. With the game postponed tentatively to Dec. 12, LSU has been granted an open date it wouldn’t have otherwise had at a time that’s crucial to the Tigers righting their wrongs.

Orgeron has spoken to simplifying the defense, which is something the Tigers will now have more time to do as a team. LSU can look at making changes in personnel, analyzing film and modifying the scheme however necessary.

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The postponement also gives starting quarterback Myles Brennan a chance to heal from a banged up left shoulder, meaning that the Tigers should be able to face the Gators with the redshirt junior at the helm, as opposed to sending freshman quarterback TJ Finley or Max Johnson straight into the fire against one of the toughest opponents of the year.

LSU is set to face the South Carolina Gamecocks next on Oct. 24 in Tiger Stadium.

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