When I did the team preview last month, I noticed that they had a new punter named Brian Schmiedebusch, and I figured that's going to be one heck of a spelling to memorize. Two years ago he was a freshman punter for nearby Division II Findlay, and I'm not sure how many D-II punters average 42 yards per kick, but he certainly had a powerful leg. And punting numbers are pretty much translatable across any division, given that the ball doesn't change size or integrity.
In three games, Schmiedebusch is leading the country in yards per punt (52.5) as well as longest punt (81). Looping in the FCS, those are both tops in NCAA, including everyone down to DIII and excluding those who've punted once.
His individual punts:
At Idaho, indoors:
52 yards (downed)
81 yards (touchback)
58 yards (return of 18)
45 yards (to the 2-yard line, downed)
53 yards (downed)
46 yards (touchback)
vs. Morgan State and Wyoming, both at home and outdoors:
22 yards (out of bounds)
44 yards (out of bounds)
53 yards (to the 7-yard line, downed)
61 (out of bounds)
55 (to the 2-yard line, returned for some freaking reason, return of 0)
60 (downed)
I've been accustomed to watching BGSU punt in recent years but this time I'm going to pay extra attention to see how many more 50-yarders (also known as "thunderpunts") he can accrue over the weeks. Given that BG turned the ball over six times, the most aggravating part of the BG-Wyoming game, save for the actual loss, was that we were deprived of Schmiedebusch padding his numbers.