Falcons Open 2010 Season With Trip to Troy

Game Notes (23 Pages)
Live Video Stream ($5.95)

Game #1
Bowling Green (0-0, 0-0 MAC) vs. Troy (0-0, 0-0 Sun Belt)
Movie Gallery Stadium • Troy, Ala. • 7 p.m. EST
ISP Television Network (ESPN3.com) • Sam Smith (Play-by-Play), Roger Shultz (Analyst) and Paige Greenberg (Sideline)
BGSU Radio Network • Todd Walker (Play-by-Play) and John Gibson (Analyst)
Local: 99.1 FM and 106.5 FM

A Look Back at 2009
The Bowling Green State University football team finished 2009 with a 7-6 overall and 6-2 MAC record, advancing to the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho, their fourth bowl appearance since 2003.

The season included a pair of fourth quarter comebacks versus Kent State and Buffalo, a near upset over No. 25 Missouri and No. 4 Boise State visiting Doyt Perry Stadium, but what most people will remember is Freddie Barnes.

Barnes smashed the NCAA record for catches in a season with 155, surpassing the previous mark of 142, a mark that had stood since 1989. For his efforts Barnes was named a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation's top wide receiver.

City of Troy
The 2009 season started off with a bang for BGSU as they downed this week's opponent 31-14, 364 days ago. The Trojans opened the game with a pair of touchdowns to take a 14-0 lead midway through the second quarter, but a late Barnes touchdown closed the gap to one score entering halftime, which is where the Falcon defense stepped up.

After allowing 210 yards of offense in the first half the Falcon defense surrendered just 94 total yards in the game's final 30 minutes.

Cornerback Adrien Spencer put the final touches on 31 unanswered points as he returned an interception 64 yards with just over two minutes remaining in the game.

22 Gun Salute
The Falcons graduated 22 seniors last season including 16 starters. On offense, quarterback Tyler Sheehan, offensive linemen Shane Steffy, Brady Minturn and Scott Albert along with wide receiver Chris Wright and tight end Jimmy Scheidler have moved on.

On the other side of the ball defensive end Brandon Jackson, along with a trio of linebackers (Jerett Sanderson, Cody Basler and James Schneider) and three members of the Falcons' secondary (Jahmal Brown, P.J. Mahone and Roger Williams) all completed their Falcon career in 2009.

Best Combo In School History?
While 22 seniors did graduate, including 16 starters, the two most will point out is quarterback Tyler Sheehan and wide receiver Freddie Barnes. Sheehan finished his career tops in school history in completions (966), attempts (1,494) and completion percentage (.647), while finishing second in passing yards (10,117) and touchdown passes (70). Sheehan started the final 38 games of his career, helping the Falcons to a pair of bowl appearances (2007 and 2009).

Freddie Barnes ended his Falcon career with 297 receptions, a school record and was second in receiving yards (3,290) and touchdowns (30). Barnes also finished his career with 4,025 all-purpose yards and 41 career touchdowns, ranking fourth and second in BGSU history.

What Returns?
BGSU returns three starters on offense (Willie Geter, Ben Bojicic and Tyler Donahue) and four on defense (Angelo Magnone, Kevin Alvarado, Chris Jones and Adrien Spencer).

When put into numbers the Falcons return 1.2 percent of their passing yards (52 of 4,110), 31.3 percent of their receiving yards (1,290 of 4,110) and 65.2 of their rushing yards (733 of 1,125).

Much Too Young
The Falcons enter 2010 with 44 of their 85 scholarship players being either true or redshirt freshmen. Combine that with five players that played as true freshmen last year, the Falcons have a total of 49 players (57.6 percent) that have one year or less in playing experience.

Meet Matt Schilz
From 2000-03 Josh Harris threw for 7,503 yards and was followed by Omar Jacobs and his 6,938 yards from 2004-05 and Tyler Sheehan was next, throwing for 10,117 yards from 2006-09. What is in store for the newest Falcon quarterback, Matt Schilz?

The redshirt freshman is a 2009 graduate of Maranatha High School out of Arcadia, Calif., As a high school senior he threw for 3,200 yards and 31 touchdowns earning first-team all-league honors. According to www.rivals.com, Schilz was ranked as the fifth highest quarterback to sign a national letter of intent to a non-BCS school.

Little Giant
While Willie Geter may be one of the smallest guys on the team (5-7, 176), Geter continues his march up the record books. Geter enters 2010 playing some of his best football, rushing for 116 yards (on 16 carries) and three touchdowns versus Toledo and added 92 yards (on 14 carries) and two touchdowns versus Idaho in the Humanitarian Bowl. For his career the Miami, Fla., native has averaged 4.9 yards a carry, ninth-best in school history.

Top 20 BGSU Rushers
1.    Dave Preston (73-76) - 3,423
2.    Paul Miles (71-73) - 3,239
3.    P.J. Pope (02-05) - 3,238
4.    Fred Durig (50-52) - 2,564
5.    Josh Harris (00-03) - 2,473
6.    Bryant Jones (80-82) - 2,357
7.    LeRoy Smith (89-92) - 2,313
8.    Joe Alls (99-02) - 2,137
9.     Zeb Jackson (90-93) - 2,044
10.   Courtney Davis (93-96) - 2,011
11.    Bernard White (84-85) - 1,985
12.    Dan Saleet (74-77) - 1,965
13.    Keylan Cates (94-96) - 1,827
14.    Chris Bullock (2006-09) - 1,756
15.    Jack Woodland (47-49) - 1,752
16.    Anthony Turner (05-07) - 1,569
17.    Stew Williams (64-66) - 1,550
18.    Vic DeOrio (55-57) - 1,545
19.    Willie Geter (2007-PR) - 1,438
20.    Phil Polak (71-73) - 1,435

401-K
Wide Receiver Calvin Wiley has been around for a while. The Detroit, Mich., native begins his sixth year with the Orange and Brown. After redshirting in 2005, Wiley recorded 23 tackles in 2006, but suffered injuries in each of 2007, 2008 and 2009, earning a sixth-year of eligibility. Wiley is currently slated to start at one of the wide receiver positions. If/when Wiley catches a pass, despite being at BGSU since 2005, it would be the first of his career.

Old School
While Calvin Wiley is clearly the “old guy” on campus, many of his wide receiver teammates have been around for a while as well. When the Falcons line up for their first offensive play versus Troy it is expected to see sixth-year Wiley, joined by fifth-year wideout Tyrone Pronty and redshirt junior Kamar Jorden. The fourth Falcon wide receiver is expected to be redshirt junior Adrian Hodges and you can't forget about fifth-year tight end Nick Rieke.

New Side of the Trench
Senior Nick Torresso spent 2007-09 as a defensive tackle for the Orange and Brown, but in 2010 the Chicago, Ill., native will be starting on the other side of the ball. Torresso is currently slated to start at left guard for the Falcon offense.

In three years on the defensive side of the ball, Torresso recorded 38 tackles, making three starts.

Rimington Watch List
Bowling Green State University's Ben Bojicic was named to the Rimington Award Watch List, announced on Aug. 26. The award is given to the nation's top center.

In all, there are 37 players on the Watch List, including three from the Mid-American Conference. Bojicic, along with Kent State's Chris Anzevino and Central Michigan's Colin Miller are the lone representatives from the MAC.

The junior from Farmington Hills, Mich., is one of four captains on this year's Falcon squad.

The winner will be honored at Rimington Trophy Presentation banquet at the Rococo Theater in Lincoln, Nebraska on January 15, 2011.

Follow the Leader
Ben Bojicic, Eugene Fells, Willie Geter and Calvin Wiley will serve as captains for 2010.

Voice of “Champ”ions
The Bowling Green athletic department released its 2010 television commercial on Aug. 1, 2010. The 30 second spot features Falcons working out as they get ready for the season, but the special part of the commercial is that BGSU's Eugene “Champ” Fells does the voice-over for the commercial.

Wright Place, Wright Time
BGSU's kicker/punter Brian Wright is expected to handle most, if not all, of the kicking duties for the Orange and Brown this season. What wasn't expected was how he got here.

Wright spent the past three seasons as the kickoff specialist for the Michigan Wolverines. Wright graduated early and wanted to enroll into a graduate school, but Michigan did not offer the the correct major.

Bowling Green did have this major (hospitality management), which allowed Wright to enroll in graduate school at BGSU and at the same time gave him the opportunity to play for the Falcons without sitting out a year.

30+ League
Since 2002 the Falcons are 51-6 when scoring at least 30 points and just 9-33 when scoring 29 or fewer. BGSU was 7-2 under Clawson last season when scoring 30-plus points.

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Falcons Open 2010 Season With Trip to Troy

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