Post by elp525 on Sept 30, 2011 4:33:21 GMT -5
Friday September 30, 2011
by Mike Casazza
Charleston Daily Mail
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- College careers hardly ever go as planned and Jordon Roussos has three seasons of evidence to explain why.
He is the starting right tackle for the 3-1 Bowling Green team that comes to town for Saturday's 3:30 p.m. game against No. 22 West Virginia.
"They should definitely be 4-0 in my opinion," said Mountaineers quarterbacks coach Jake Spavital.
The Falcons would probably agree, but a missed extra point with 2.1 seconds to play against Wyoming led to a 28-27 loss.
"At first, the initial reaction was, 'I can't believe we missed that,' " Roussos said. "Then you take a step back and look at what really happened with the penalties and the turnovers and all the hits we had on the quarterback, with the accumulation of all those things we knew after the game what had happened."
The Falcons committed six turnovers for 21 Wyoming points. One fumble was returned for a touchdown and one set up a touchdown. Another fumble came on a kickoff after a Wyoming touchdown and yet another came on one of three sacks and set up a touchdown. Bowling Green also had four penalties and one turned a third-and-7 into a third-and-22 before a 44-yard field goal was blocked.
"Our coach always tells us a game is never decided by just one play," Roussos said. "It's always something that happened before it, no matter what. It stinks to lose a game like that, but there were other things we didn't deal with the right way throughout the game."
It was nothing new for the Falcons. In fact, it was the sixth time in 16 games they played and lost a game that was decided on the final play. It began with a wild conclusion to the 2009 Humanitarian Bowl, when the Falcons scored a touchdown with 32 seconds to go, but gave up a touchdown and then a two-point conversion with four seconds left.
Something similar happened four times during a 2-10 regular season in 2010.
"It's rough," Roussos said. "I've never seen anything like that. Even this year with the way we lost to Wyoming, just to have another one like that is insane with how many times it's happened. Losses like that are the worst. It's so close you can taste it. It's right there and then it's not and in an instant your heart drops."
Bowling Green recovered last week and beat Miami University, the defending Mid-American Conference champion. The Falcons lost to the RedHawks last season, 24-21. Miami kicked a 33-yard field goal as time expired after wasting a 21-7 lead.
"Last week was definitely a positive step," Roussos said. "Losing by as much as we did last year hurt, but it was even worse when we saw what they did for the whole season. We hung in there with good teams and that was motivation for us to get back to work throughout the offseason and spring ball. Miami is still a good team and to be able to beat them shows we're going in the right direction."
So, too, is Roussos for the offense that is No. 21 nationally in passing, scoring and total offense and features freshman Anthon Samuel, who averages 7.0 yards per carry and 107 yards rushing per game. Roussos was a defensive end when he came to Bowling Green from Pittsburgh's Carlyton High, where he was all over the athletic department.
Roussos lettered in baseball. He qualified for the state meet in the 100-meter dash. He made the 2008 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Fabulous 22 list for football. He won the 2009 state wrestling championship as a heavyweight.
"Pennsylvania wrestling, I'll say it: It's the best in the country," he said. "I'm very proud of that accomplishment. It's something I'll always look back on fondly."
The Falcons were thin at defensive tackle his freshman year and the coaches moved Roussos inside. The plan was to redshirt, but injuries added up quickly and the coaches decided to pull his redshirt after just one game. He debuted against Boise State and ended up playing in 10 games and finishing with nine tackles and a sack.
He tried to add weight in the offseason, but his body didn't adjust and his knee started to bother him, which slowed down his running and his conditioning. It wasn't the offseason he wanted. Others started to crowd the rotation at defensive tackle, where the Falcons had an emerging all-conference player, junior Chris Jones.
Roussos started the season opener at defensive tackle against Troy, but was moved to right tackle and ended up starting six times before the end of the season and making the most of his wrestling background.
"There is a lot of carryover," the 6-foot-4, 296-pound junior said. "My first year at Bowling Green, once November rolled around I started to have this weird feeling because of the fact I wasn't wrestling. My body was used to going into that mode and it was weird as it happened.
"But what I learned about the offensive line right away is that you're locked up with a guy all time. There's a lot of stuff that I loved about wrestling involved with the offensive line, like the hand control, and my body is starting to get used to it all now."
by Mike Casazza
Charleston Daily Mail
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- College careers hardly ever go as planned and Jordon Roussos has three seasons of evidence to explain why.
He is the starting right tackle for the 3-1 Bowling Green team that comes to town for Saturday's 3:30 p.m. game against No. 22 West Virginia.
"They should definitely be 4-0 in my opinion," said Mountaineers quarterbacks coach Jake Spavital.
The Falcons would probably agree, but a missed extra point with 2.1 seconds to play against Wyoming led to a 28-27 loss.
"At first, the initial reaction was, 'I can't believe we missed that,' " Roussos said. "Then you take a step back and look at what really happened with the penalties and the turnovers and all the hits we had on the quarterback, with the accumulation of all those things we knew after the game what had happened."
The Falcons committed six turnovers for 21 Wyoming points. One fumble was returned for a touchdown and one set up a touchdown. Another fumble came on a kickoff after a Wyoming touchdown and yet another came on one of three sacks and set up a touchdown. Bowling Green also had four penalties and one turned a third-and-7 into a third-and-22 before a 44-yard field goal was blocked.
"Our coach always tells us a game is never decided by just one play," Roussos said. "It's always something that happened before it, no matter what. It stinks to lose a game like that, but there were other things we didn't deal with the right way throughout the game."
It was nothing new for the Falcons. In fact, it was the sixth time in 16 games they played and lost a game that was decided on the final play. It began with a wild conclusion to the 2009 Humanitarian Bowl, when the Falcons scored a touchdown with 32 seconds to go, but gave up a touchdown and then a two-point conversion with four seconds left.
Something similar happened four times during a 2-10 regular season in 2010.
"It's rough," Roussos said. "I've never seen anything like that. Even this year with the way we lost to Wyoming, just to have another one like that is insane with how many times it's happened. Losses like that are the worst. It's so close you can taste it. It's right there and then it's not and in an instant your heart drops."
Bowling Green recovered last week and beat Miami University, the defending Mid-American Conference champion. The Falcons lost to the RedHawks last season, 24-21. Miami kicked a 33-yard field goal as time expired after wasting a 21-7 lead.
"Last week was definitely a positive step," Roussos said. "Losing by as much as we did last year hurt, but it was even worse when we saw what they did for the whole season. We hung in there with good teams and that was motivation for us to get back to work throughout the offseason and spring ball. Miami is still a good team and to be able to beat them shows we're going in the right direction."
So, too, is Roussos for the offense that is No. 21 nationally in passing, scoring and total offense and features freshman Anthon Samuel, who averages 7.0 yards per carry and 107 yards rushing per game. Roussos was a defensive end when he came to Bowling Green from Pittsburgh's Carlyton High, where he was all over the athletic department.
Roussos lettered in baseball. He qualified for the state meet in the 100-meter dash. He made the 2008 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Fabulous 22 list for football. He won the 2009 state wrestling championship as a heavyweight.
"Pennsylvania wrestling, I'll say it: It's the best in the country," he said. "I'm very proud of that accomplishment. It's something I'll always look back on fondly."
The Falcons were thin at defensive tackle his freshman year and the coaches moved Roussos inside. The plan was to redshirt, but injuries added up quickly and the coaches decided to pull his redshirt after just one game. He debuted against Boise State and ended up playing in 10 games and finishing with nine tackles and a sack.
He tried to add weight in the offseason, but his body didn't adjust and his knee started to bother him, which slowed down his running and his conditioning. It wasn't the offseason he wanted. Others started to crowd the rotation at defensive tackle, where the Falcons had an emerging all-conference player, junior Chris Jones.
Roussos started the season opener at defensive tackle against Troy, but was moved to right tackle and ended up starting six times before the end of the season and making the most of his wrestling background.
"There is a lot of carryover," the 6-foot-4, 296-pound junior said. "My first year at Bowling Green, once November rolled around I started to have this weird feeling because of the fact I wasn't wrestling. My body was used to going into that mode and it was weird as it happened.
"But what I learned about the offensive line right away is that you're locked up with a guy all time. There's a lot of stuff that I loved about wrestling involved with the offensive line, like the hand control, and my body is starting to get used to it all now."
