Drew Willy

[Lv-Bills]

the pressure got to him, that was probably one of the greatest moments in sports History for UB they beat a top 25 team and won the MAC Championship

The pressure of the MAC championship game did not get to him. I played for baseball for Ball State, and roomed with two football players, one of which is in the NFL now, and I can tell you that any Ball State player would rather beat a MAJOR conference school than worry about winning the MAC Championship in front of 7,000 fans. While a conference title is always your goal, when you actually win the MAC Championship game, you are usually locked into a crappier bowl game than the team that isn't in the title game. In this case though, BSU was undefeated, but assured to be locked out of the BCS which still would have had them playing friggin Tulsa in a bowl even if they beat Buffalo. So, many times, a MAC teams biggest games are the beginning of the year non-conference games against a major power.

 

Nate Davis has taken Ball State into hostile environments and put up 50 plus points at Nebraska, almost won at Michigan, and was winning games against Big Ten and Big East teams at home in Muncie. He also already had performed well the year before in the bowl game vs. Rutgers, which is one of the reasons BSU acquired so many ESPN Prime Time games even before Ball State was 8-0, 9-0, 10-0.

 

Believe me that any player would much rather beat one of those schools than win the Motor City bowl and go on to play another Mid Major in a meaningless bowl game. And Davis performed very well in a number of huge games that BSU played outside of the MAC conference.

 

This is what all made the MAC Championship, bowl game, and combine so puzzling. I don't know what the hell happened to the kid. You had a large number of games to judge him from all thrown out the window for those two games. Makes no sense.

[Lv-Bills]

And, you assume that is due to "jealousy"?

Is there another reason Davis has to constantly be brought up in all Willy posts?

[Lv-Bills]

My only exposure to Nate Davis was the MAC Championship and the GMAC Bowl. You can understand why I didn't think that highly of him.

 

PTR

At least this post makes sense. If this is the only time you saw Davis, I would imagine anyone would be thinking....."what in the hell is all the hype about over this kid".

[murra]

The pressure of the MAC championship game did not get to him. I played for baseball for Ball State, and roomed with two football players, one of which is in the NFL now, and I can tell you that any Ball State player would rather beat a MAJOR conference school than worry about winning the MAC Championship in front of 7,000 fans. While a conference title is always your goal, when you actually win the MAC Championship game, you are usually locked into a crappier bowl game than the team that isn't in the title game. In this case though, BSU was undefeated, but assured to be locked out of the BCS which still would have had them playing friggin Tulsa in a bowl even if they beat Buffalo. So, many times, a MAC teams biggest games are the beginning of the year non-conference games against a major power.

 

Nate Davis has taken Ball State into hostile environments and put up 50 plus points at Nebraska, almost won at Michigan, and was winning games against Big Ten and Big East teams at home in Muncie. He also already had performed well the year before in the bowl game vs. Rutgers, which is one of the reasons BSU acquired so many ESPN Prime Time games even before Ball State was 8-0, 9-0, 10-0.

 

Believe me that any player would much rather beat one of those schools than win the Motor City bowl and go on to play another Mid Major in a meaningless bowl game. And Davis performed very well in a number of huge games that BSU played outside of the MAC conference.

 

This is what all made the MAC Championship, bowl game, and combine so puzzling. I don't know what the hell happened to the kid. You had a large number of games to judge him from all thrown out the window for those two games. Makes no sense.

 

How is the Ball State degree working out for you?

[Lv-Bills]

Good luck to all the MAC players.. i'm ticked off with the NFL site for completely ignoring the MAC as a conference.. anyone know how many MAC players ended up getting drafted?

 

I don't want to get into the Nate Davis vs. Drew Willy argument, they both did what they had to, and when it mattered the most in the title game, one did what it took to win, while the other did what it took to throw an excellent season away.. as all of us Bills & Sabres fans know by now, the title at the end is what it's all about..

Go UB Bulls!!

When it counted? So great, UB won the MAC Championship game. Seriously, big deal. Does anyone even care? Will anyone outside of WNY even know in two months who won the MAC Championship game.

The only reason the MAC was even remotely significant last year was because Ball State ran the table up to the MAC Championship game. And they did it while losing one of the best players in college football in game #3 (Dante Love) and Davis' biggest weapon.

 

While Willy's team won that game (largely due to Davis' turnovers, and the RB that BSU couldn't stop, and a horrible call at the goal line), the MAC became irrelevant again the minute that game ended. The reason, because UB, a very mediocre team, upset Ball State (the same BSU team that beat UConn the year before), and it killed to MAC's chances to be revelant. If UB would have come in also undefeated, that would have been different.

 

But because Davis lost that game, doesn't make Willy better. After all, what happened in the games Willy lost? Or the year before when Davis hung 55 on UB?

 

Winning a title game on a night in front of 7,000 fans doesn't mean Davis lost the biggest game of his life. LOL. The MAC Championship game is not the same as the Big 12 championship or whatever other title game is out there. He was just bad at the end of the year for some reason. No one knows why. He disappeared from the media, school, and his hometown for awhile. The kid really flaked out.

 

It's a shame. But hell, he got his chance, and now it's up to him. If he can't hang, that's on him.

[billsfanmiami(oh)]

Could've fooled me, because everytime there is a post about Willy and UB, someone ripping Nate Davis has to come up somewhere.

 

It's kind of the inferiority Bills, no respect, factor, that has crept in (I.E. jealousy) to the UB side. Nate Davis had one hell of a career at Ball State. He also dominated the MAC and some very good MAJOR (non-MAC) teams in his career at BSU. No other recent QB in the MAC can even come close to saying the same.

I hope Nate recovers, or it's truly a travesty what happened to him. I also hope all of the other MAC players do well in the NFL. The MAC seemed to have a pretty good year this year in getting players drafted.

 

 

 

I'll bite. Big Ben, Leftwich, Pennington, etc. ring a bell? Not trying to turn this into a my alma mater vs. yours kinda thing but Roethlisberger's final year at Miami was just as dominant if not more so than Davis'. There have been many MAC QB's in recent years that have had VERY productive college carreers.

[Lv-Bills]

How is the Ball State degree working out for you?

Umm, very well thanks. Is there a recession?

[NyQuil]

When it counted? So great, UB won the MAC Championship game. Seriously, big deal. Does anyone even care? Will anyone outside of WNY even know in two months who won the MAC Championship game.

 

For a team which four years ago was ranked as the worst team in D-IA, yes its a big deal.

 

The only reason the MAC was even remotely significant last year was because Ball State ran the table up to the MAC Championship game. And they did it while losing one of the best players in college football in game #3 (Dante Love) and Davis' biggest weapon.

 

Yes losing Love hurt but the still managed to win the next nine without him. Was Buffalo head an shoulders above all of those teams? I think not.

 

While Willy's team won that game (largely due to Davis' turnovers, and the RB that BSU couldn't stop, and a horrible call at the goal line), the MAC became irrelevant again the minute that game ended. The reason, because UB, a very mediocre team, upset Ball State (the same BSU team that beat UConn the year before), and it killed to MAC's chances to be revelant. If UB would have come in also undefeated, that would have been different.

 

You seem to put down UB at every chance you get. The school is a part of Buffalo and when you constantly put it down, people are going to fire back about Ball State. Oh and that RB that BSU couldn't stop will be a first day pick next year.

 

But because Davis lost that game, doesn't make Willy better. After all, what happened in the games Willy lost? Or the year before when Davis hung 55 on UB?

 

It doesn't make Willy better but it raises question about Davis, like how he deals with the pressure of a championship game.

 

Winning a title game on a night in front of 7,000 fans doesn't mean Davis lost the biggest game of his life. LOL. The MAC Championship game is not the same as the Big 12 championship or whatever other title game is out there. He was just bad at the end of the year for some reason. No one knows why. He disappeared from the media, school, and his hometown for awhile. The kid really flaked out.

 

I cited judgement issues in my earlier post.

 

Edit: I am not giving this a chance. You are a Ball State alum and I am a Buffalo alum. I am not going to get into a pissing contest about which school is better.

[Lv-Bills]

I'll bite. Big Ben, Leftwich, Pennington, etc. ring a bell? Not trying to turn this into a my alma mater vs. yours kinda thing but Roethlisberger's final year at Miami was just as dominant if not more so than Davis'. There have been many MAC QB's in recent years that have had VERY productive college carreers.

First of all, recently means in the last few years. As compared to when Big Ben was at Miami, or Pennington with Marshall, or even Culpepper with Central Florida (who, yes, was in the MAC then), the MAC has been down in talent as compared to that era.

 

However, don't even try to throw Big Ben in there, because Miami had one chance to beat an Iowa team the year they had one loss, and Big Ben was horrible. I think he had 4 or 5 picks and Miami's offense was completely shut down. In Davis' games recently against big name schools, he has produced huge numbers.

 

But hey, I don't want to turn this into Big Ben vs. Davis, because I actually LOVED watching Miami when Ben was there. I thought Ben was a stud then, but he also was bad in about his only true big game he ever played in. Plus Ben has the size, mind and "poise" that Davis doesn't have.

 

Also, I saw Pennington's Marshall teams at Ball State. I was at the game when Randy Moss scored five TD's in Muncie and that was a very good team, although, college football at that time didn't have even the BCS so they weren't even recognized. Marshall should have stayed in the MAC. Do you even hear of Marshall anymore? There was also Josh Cribbs, and Bruce Gradkowski's teams that were pretty good too.

 

I like Ben alot, however, since they lost their first game that year to Iowa, Miami was irrelevant for the rest of the college football season......other than the occasional.....Hey, they are pretty good. They not only lost that game, they weren't even competitive.

 

But yeah, I wasn't comparing Davis to those guys.

[Lv-Bills]

For a team which four years ago was ranked as the worst team in D-IA, yes its a big deal.

 

 

 

Yes losing Love hurt but the still managed to win the next nine without him. Was Buffalo head an shoulders above all of those teams? I think not.

 

 

 

You seem to put down UB at every chance you get. The school is a part of Buffalo and when you constantly put it down, people are going to fire back about Ball State. Oh and that RB that BSU couldn't stop will be a first day pick next year.

 

 

 

It doesn't make Willy better but it raises question about Davis, like how he deals with the pressure of a championship game.

 

 

 

I cited judgement issues in my earlier post.

 

Edit: I am not giving this a chance. You are a Ball State alum and I am a Buffalo alum. I am not going to get into a pissing contest about which school is better.

Give me a break. I like MAC football and root for all MAC teams except when they are playing BSU. I only see people putting Davis down while trying to make a better case for Willy. Why does that need to happen?

 

And please spare me the crap about UB being a bad Division 1-AA team. You do know that BSU is coming off of the nations longest losing streak in the nation when Brady Hoke took over right? They were the laughing stock of college football. They had actually lost games to teams in 1-AA. You know that right?

 

So, spare me this UB did something that is so special by winning the MAC Championship game BS. IT'S THE MAC! You weren't the darlings of college football. Turner Gill and staff still lost a few games. And you weren't the first team to be a horrible program and bounce back to win the MAC. It all happens all the time to this conference.

 

You won the MAC, congrats, it's been done every year now for about 50 years or more. And usually, the MAC doesn't have powerhouse programs.....so, come the next few seasons, chances are, some other schitty program (just like Ball State and Buffalo) is going to rise up, win the MAC, lose their coaching staff, and then fall mightily again.

 

It's the vicious MAC cycle. But everyone here has to act like UB and their players did something that deserves a friggin documentary because it was so special.

 

And yeah, I like UB, and I actually think they'd be a great fit for the Big East. So, yeah, don't play that card please.

[WordByrd]

I went to UB, and Drew Willy is a cocky !@#$. I'm glad he didn't get drafted! He's a decent QB though :/

[PromoTheRobot]

I went to UB, and Drew Willy is a cocky !@#$. I'm glad he didn't get drafted! He's a decent QB though :/

I don't think you can be a good QB at any level without being cocky. He will either make it in the NFL or leave humbled.

 

PTR

[billsfanmiami(oh)]

First of all, recently means in the last few years. As compared to when Big Ben was at Miami, or Pennington with Marshall, or even Culpepper with Central Florida (who, yes, was in the MAC then), the MAC has been down in talent as compared to that era.

 

However, don't even try to throw Big Ben in there, because Miami had one chance to beat an Iowa team the year they had one loss, and Big Ben was horrible. I think he had 4 or 5 picks and Miami's offense was completely shut down. In Davis' games recently against big name schools, he has produced huge numbers.

 

But hey, I don't want to turn this into Big Ben vs. Davis, because I actually LOVED watching Miami when Ben was there. I thought Ben was a stud then, but he also was bad in about his only true big game he ever played in. Plus Ben has the size, mind and "poise" that Davis doesn't have.

 

Also, I saw Pennington's Marshall teams at Ball State. I was at the game when Randy Moss scored five TD's in Muncie and that was a very good team, although, college football at that time didn't have even the BCS so they weren't even recognized. Marshall should have stayed in the MAC. Do you even hear of Marshall anymore? There was also Josh Cribbs, and Bruce Gradkowski's teams that were pretty good too.

 

I like Ben alot, however, since they lost their first game that year to Iowa, Miami was irrelevant for the rest of the college football season......other than the occasional.....Hey, they are pretty good. They not only lost that game, they weren't even competitive.

 

But yeah, I wasn't comparing Davis to those guys.

 

I gotcha.I just still consider them recent I guess (just graduated in 06) I would have liked to see Ball St. beat UB last year and run the table as it would have been "better" for the MAC as far as respect compared to the Major conferences. I gotta go on a quick tangent though and defend our '03 team a little in regards to their Iowa loss that year.

 

Miami was in the Red Zone about to score as the first half wound down. I think we were down 7-3. IIRC, Ben throws a pick in the endzone and they returned almost all the way and scored before half. Huge point swing, nothing from Miami in the 2nd half and they lost 21-3. But I wouldn't say they weren't at all competitive, as the 1st half was close. I wouldn't say Miami was irrelevant the rest of the year either. They ran the table beating some "bigger" schools along the way (Northwestern and Colorado St.), smoked Marshall and Bowling Green 2x (ranked at the time I think). Then went on to waste Louisville in the GMAC bowl and finish the year #10 in the AP poll.

[billsfanmiami(oh)]

I don't think you can be a good QB at any level without being cocky. He will either make it in the NFL or leave humbled.

 

PTR

 

 

Gotta agree there. Met Roethlisberger at Miami and he was nice enough but you could sense his cockiness a bit. I dunno if you could really blame him though. He was king of a beautiful campus swarming with good looking girls and was a few months away from being a multi millionaire at about 22 yrs old. From that perspective, a little cockiness is almost expected I guess. He was pretty low key though at Miami as far as going out, partying, etc. Must have had some good people around him to help keep his head on striaght.

[PromoTheRobot]

• 
  

Gotta agree there. Met Roethlisberger at Miami and he was nice enough but you could sense his cockiness a bit. I dunno if you could really blame him though. He was king of a beautiful campus swarming with good looking girls and was a few months away from being a multi millionaire at about 22 yrs old. From that perspective, a little cockiness is almost expected I guess. He was pretty low key though at Miami as far as going out, partying, etc. Must have had some good people around him to help keep his head on striaght.

There are some photos on the internet that suggest otherwise.

 

PTR

[BuffaloPride]

Give me a break. I like MAC football and root for all MAC teams except when they are playing BSU. I only see people putting Davis down while trying to make a better case for Willy. Why does that need to happen?

 

And please spare me the crap about UB being a bad Division 1-AA team. You do know that BSU is coming off of the nations longest losing streak in the nation when Brady Hoke took over right? They were the laughing stock of college football. They had actually lost games to teams in 1-AA. You know that right?

 

So, spare me this UB did something that is so special by winning the MAC Championship game BS. IT'S THE MAC! You weren't the darlings of college football. Turner Gill and staff still lost a few games. And you weren't the first team to be a horrible program and bounce back to win the MAC. It all happens all the time to this conference.

 

You won the MAC, congrats, it's been done every year now for about 50 years or more. And usually, the MAC doesn't have powerhouse programs.....so, come the next few seasons, chances are, some other schitty program (just like Ball State and Buffalo) is going to rise up, win the MAC, lose their coaching staff, and then fall mightily again.

 

It's the vicious MAC cycle. But everyone here has to act like UB and their players did something that deserves a friggin documentary because it was so special.

 

And yeah, I like UB, and I actually think they'd be a great fit for the Big East. So, yeah, don't play that card please.

Relax Mr.Letterman. Maybe you could use your show to point out the top 10 reasons why UB whooped BSU in the Mac Championship.

[billsfanmiami(oh)]

• 
  

There are some photos on the internet that suggest otherwise.

 

PTR

 

I'm pretty sure those were taken after he was established in the NFL. Im not saying the guy never partied, he was drinking when I met him. I just meant he didn't go out and get into fights, get arrested, and really wasn't a part of the bar scene at Miami (which would be hard to do! )

[Gordio]

First of all, recently means in the last few years. As compared to when Big Ben was at Miami, or Pennington with Marshall, or even Culpepper with Central Florida (who, yes, was in the MAC then), the MAC has been down in talent as compared to that era.

 

However, don't even try to throw Big Ben in there, because Miami had one chance to beat an Iowa team the year they had one loss, and Big Ben was horrible. I think he had 4 or 5 picks and Miami's offense was completely shut down. In Davis' games recently against big name schools, he has produced huge numbers.

 

But hey, I don't want to turn this into Big Ben vs. Davis, because I actually LOVED watching Miami when Ben was there. I thought Ben was a stud then, but he also was bad in about his only true big game he ever played in. Plus Ben has the size, mind and "poise" that Davis doesn't have.

 

Also, I saw Pennington's Marshall teams at Ball State. I was at the game when Randy Moss scored five TD's in Muncie and that was a very good team, although, college football at that time didn't have even the BCS so they weren't even recognized. Marshall should have stayed in the MAC. Do you even hear of Marshall anymore? There was also Josh Cribbs, and Bruce Gradkowski's teams that were pretty good too.

 

I like Ben alot, however, since they lost their first game that year to Iowa, Miami was irrelevant for the rest of the college football season......other than the occasional.....Hey, they are pretty good. They not only lost that game, they weren't even competitive.

 

But yeah, I wasn't comparing Davis to those guys.

 

 

You make alot of good points. I follow college football very closing(mainly because I bet a ton). i follow the MAC quite a bit. The one thing I lost alot of respect for Ball ST last, & correct me if I am wrong, when they were 11-0/12-0 they openly refused to go out to San Diego & play Boise ST/Utah/TCU I believe(whoever was going to be left out of the BCS in I believe the Poinsietta Bowl. I thought that was a cowardly move by the AD & the coaching staff & right then & there I knew they were not as good as their record & UB had a chance against them. I put $500 on UB in the MAC championship, I think I got them at +10.

[djcalvin79]

You make alot of good points. I follow college football very closing(mainly because I bet a ton). i follow the MAC quite a bit. The one thing I lost a lot of respect for Ball ST last, & correct me if I am wrong, when they were 11-0/12-0 they openly refused to go out to San Diego & play Boise ST/Utah/TCU I believe(whoever was going to be left out of the BCS in I believe the Poinsietta Bowl. I thought that was a cowardly move by the AD & the coaching staff & right then & there I knew they were not as good as their record & UB had a chance against them. I put $500 on UB in the MAC championship, I think I got them at +10.

 

bringing the discussion back to Drew Willy, since this thread was originally about him before some disgruntled people brought up Nate Davis and Big Ben..

 

after the 'Fins released John Beck, he got signed up by the Baltimore Ravens - is Drew Willy still with them? that would add another player int he competition for the backup position..

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/foot...s.ap/index.html

[Preston Ridlehuber]

bringing the discussion back to Drew Willy, since this thread was originally about him before some disgruntled people brought up Nate Davis and Big Ben..

 

after the 'Fins released John Beck, he got signed up by the Baltimore Ravens - is Drew Willy still with them? that would add another player int he competition for the backup position..

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/foot...s.ap/index.html

 

When Baltimore signed Beck, they cut Todd Bouman who has since signed with Jacksonville. Still puts Willy behind 3 veterans, Flacco, Troy Smith and now Beck.