Quarterback: Don't count out BGSU in MAC East

Tyler Sheehan, a La Salle graduate, believes Falcons have personnel to win division.

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By Pete Conrad, Staff Writer 5:57 PM Saturday, August 1, 2009

DETROIT — The ache of coming so close last fall obviously remains for the Bowling Green Falcons, who finished second to Buffalo in the Mid-American Conference East Division title race.

And although the Falcons have been picked by the MAC media to finish fifth in the division this year, senior quarterback Tyler Sheehan said his team should not be counted out of championship consideration.

“I think we have the personnel and the coaching to (win the division),” said Sheehan, a graduate of La Salle High School in Cincinnati. “We just have to execute.”

Sheehan, who has been projected as a possible fifth-round NFL draft choice, completed 267 passes for 2,610 yards and 20 touchdowns last year for a Bowling Green squad which finished one game behind Buffalo with a 4-4 MAC record, 6-6 overall.

“If we look at our team last year, we were four minutes away from going to the MAC Championship Game,” he said, referring to the Falcons’ 40-34 loss to Buffalo in the next-to-last game of the regular season.

“If we could have finished and do the things we should have done, we would have gone to the championship game,” Sheehan added. “If we execute and play the way we practice, the sky is the limit.”

Bowling Green, guided by first-year head coach Dave Clawson, returns eight starters on offense but only three on defense.

Bullish in Buffalo

The Buffalo Bulls, who have been picked to repeat as MAC East champions, no longer will be able to surprise people.

“We realize people don’t overlook us any more,” said senior defensive back Mike Newton, a second-team All-MAC selection in 2008.

The Bulls won only eight MAC games in their first eight years in the conference. Over the last two seasons they have won 10.

Buffalo upset 12th-ranked Ball State 42-24 in the MAC Championship Game last year.

“It was a great experience,” Newton said. “It took about a week for it to sink in.”

No big heads, please

Among the requirements Miami University football coach Mike Haywood will have for his players when they check in for late-summer practice on Thursday, Aug. 6: “You have to leave your ego at the door.”

That is part of the “culture” he is trying to establish within the program.

“We’re trying to get everyone on the team to understand their roles,” senior quarterback Daniel Raudabaugh said.

Those roles, he explained, might be more limited, but very clear.

“When you get everyone playing in harmony with each other, you jell on offense,” Raudabaugh said.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2197 or pconrad@coxohio.com.

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