Destined for Perfection

The year was 1996, a truly great year to be an American. The Summer Olympics were back on U.S. soil in Atlanta, Bill Clinton defeated someone named Bob Dole for reelection, and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony introduced us all to “Tha Crossroads.” What does this have to do with the Bison, you ask?
Well, in 1996, a different Thundering Herd won the national title, Marshall University. And it just so happens that they were the last division 1-AA team to go undefeated and win the national championship.

Now before reading anymore, I want to give you all a moment and knock on some wood. (Waiting…) Okay, so now that we just cured any jinx I’m about to put on the Bison (knock on wood, again), there is not a single reason this team shouldn’t clean up the rest of the way and go undefeated (knocking on wood again just for good measure).

With six games to play in the regular season, the Bison have already managed to triumph through the meat of their schedule. The remaining teams left for the Bison have a combined record of 17-17, which includes road games against a newcomer in the conference, South Dakota and a winless team in Missouri State.

Outscoring opponents by a margin of 179 points, this may be the strongest Bison team since the 1990 squad that crushed Indiana Pa. by 40 in the division two national championship. That, by the way, ended a magical decade for the Bison that witnessed them winning five out of eight championships before most of us were born.

The key to the 2012 Bison team is simply speed. This team is filled with downright burners. It all starts on the defense with ball-hawk Marcus Williams.

Even Coach Bohl agrees, “He continues to surprise me, I don’t know if there is a more dynamic player in FCS football.”

If you go look back at the tape, Williams’ pick six starts with an outstanding pass rush by the defensive line, which forced YSU’s Kurt Hess to step up in the pocket and make a mistake. Unfortunately for the Penguins, that mistake ended up in the hands of Williams, who turned up field and by time he hit the 35, there were no offensive players in sight.

Speed on defense leads opposing offenses to rush their plays making them more prone to mistakes. The Bison defense added to their season total of 13 turnovers causing three against YSU alone. Throw in 14 sacks for a pass rush that has been a pleasant surprise this season, and the Bison defense has been more frightening than imagining Snooki taking care of a young child.

Speed has also been a major x-factor for a Bison offense that has been lighting it up all season. Where do I begin?
The backfield has been nothing short of extraordinary with the one-two punch of Sam Ojuri and John Crockett. After Crockett’s jaw-dropping display of agility and willingness to never go down, he has emerged as a versatile weapon in the Bison offense.

But let’s not take anything away from Mr. Ojuri, who will be back in the lineup Saturday, ready to prove he can still pirouette through defenses with the best of them.

In this game, speed kills. And I know we have gone through quite a few Presidential elections since we have last seen perfection, but something about this Bison team makes me think they are going to blow past the crossroad. Maybe even straight into the history books.