The good news is that the season is finally over, and BCU improved. The bad news? We improved by one game. But progress is progress, right?
This season has been interesting, to say the least. Lots of disappointment, but it wasn’t all bad. Most of us were hoping for a different outcome on Saturday against that school from up north, but quiet as kept, we played how we’ve played all year. From what we’ve seen with this team, nothing that happened on Saturday was out of character. We’ve been good enough to keep games close enough to keep them interesting, but that’s about it. It’s a sobering reality of where this program currently is.
Uphill Battle for BCU This Season
Listen, people, this part of the rebuild sucks. But as I reminded everyone earlier this year, that school from up north went 1-10 in 2015. Several years later, they’re on top of the MEAC. I’m sure their fans were just as frustrated as we are, but they didn’t skip any steps, and neither can we. When you flip an entire roster, bring in a new coaching staff, and install new offensive and defensive systems, it’s hard to turn it around in year one. Not to mention, we pieced together a roster in the 11th hour after the Ed Reed debacle. It was always going to be an uphill battle. But believe me when I say help is on the way.
Coach Woodie has been hailed as one of the best college football recruiters. His recruiting has been recognized nationally during his stops at USF, Oregon, Florida State, and FAU. I don’t see why that will change here. These won’t be 4- and 5-star players he’ll be courting after all, but Woodie will be able to get the players we can get at this level.
BCU Gets Defensive
Known more as a defensive Coach, Raymond Woodie’s team has lived up to his specialization all year. The Bethune Cookman defense has nothing to hang their heads about. From Week One, they met fire with fire and were much of the reason we have a chance in most games. In 2022, BCU ranked 106th nationally in Defense. This year, they improved to 75th. That’s Coach Woodie, the defensive-minded head coach, and his staff. We were much smaller than most teams we played on the field, but you couldn’t tell because this unit stood on business all year. The future is bright here.
However, the offense is where the source of our struggles began. Returning to our Week One recap article, we noted how concerned we were with the offense and the lack of production. Although we were going up against a FBS opponent, the production was concerning enough to be called out. Sure enough, what we feared ended up being our undoing all year.
That Was Offensive
We’ve got the skill players needed to compete in this league. With players like Tink Boyd, Jimmy Robinson, and Decari Allen-Johnson making big plays all year when we could get them the ball, that was the issue, getting them the ball. This directly results from the lack of consistent play at the QB position. To be fair, we were dealt a tough hand this year with our signal callers. For example, Cam Ransom, the dynamic transfer from Georgia State, didn’t even play a snap this season. During the spring, all reports pointed to him being the starter. However, the NCAA did not clear his eligibility waiver, so while he won the job, he never played a single snap for us this season.
Enter Walter Simmons III.
We’ve been good enough to keep games close enough to keep them interesting, but that’s about it. It’s a sobering reality of where this program currently is.
QB Carousel
Once, BCU Coaching staff decided to give the 6’5 JUCO transfer “Uncle Luke” Sprague a look, and before he could even get going, he took a nasty hit during the Miami game, and we wouldn’t see him for the next several weeks. During that period, several guys got time: Sprague, Simmons, Tylik Bethea, and even a few quick drives from Dominque Ponder. We tried them all and still couldn’t find any natural rhythm with any of them. Tylik Bethea put together a good game against Mississippi Valley State, but like Luke Sprague, he was injured before we could even build any natural chemistry with him. So Walter Simmons it is. Only this time, Simmons found his best game of the season and led us to our 3rd win. He had given us the performance many of us had been waiting for. Simmons’s performance gave the Wildcat faithful some optimism ahead of the Classic. However, we defaulted back to our regularly scheduled programming.
Remember we said that offensive production was concerning in week one? Well, Simmons only accounted for 36 total yards against Memphis. For comparison, Jalon Jones, against a much better Miami squad in 2022, was able to amass 260 total yards. Simmon’s stat line against Memphis was 10/18 for 18 yards passing and 18 yards rushing. A red flag if there ever was one.
Last night, we saw what we’ve been seeing from this team all year. Strong defense and porous offense. A lot of the lousy offense can be attributed to our signal caller’s inconsistent and spotty play and questionable play calling from our first year Offensive Coordinator. In nearly every game this year, we have given up at least one turnover that led to a score. There’s no way that can be in the recipe for winning games.
The Path Forward
So, where does BCU go from here? It’s simple. We try to hold this defensive unit together and improve upon it while going back to the drawing board with the offense. In 2022, BCU ranked 77th in offense nationally. This year, we dropped to 106th nationally. Sometimes, a team’s problems aren’t so obvious. Lucky for us, our issues are staring us right in the face. QB play and offensive efficiency. That’s where we’ve got to get better. Even a modest improvement here could yield an extra win or two next year.
All that said, go easy on Coach Woodie this season. It was always a challenge for us to compete with the better programs because of how we entered this season. But the good news is that’s all behind us now. Coach Woodie can now properly evaluate everything he saw and will have an entire offseason to adjust, retool, and address those issues during the offseason.
Me personally? I still think we’re another season away from competing like we used to. I would not be surprised if we improve by only a few games next year. That would not surprise me at all. A 4-7 season is possible next year just as much as us competing for the SWAC East is. But we’re doing good as long as we’re going in that direction and not the other. We’ve just got to deal with what’s in front of us.
Losing sucks. I get it. And losing to your rival sucks even more when they’re good, and everything appears to be going right for them. But remember, that same school from up north was 1-10 in 2015. They followed that up with four and three-win seasons, respectively. It took time with them, and we’re no different. This season? Ball it up, throw it away, and forget about it. Today, we look forward.
Also, when was the last time you donated to the athletic program? Today is as good of a day as any. You can do so here.
All Hail to Thee
