Bowling Green State University Athletics
Sept. 6 - Falcons To Host Tennessee Tech
December 19, 1999 | Football
Sept. 6, 1999
(First meeting between the two programs.)
THE SERIES: Bowling Green and Tennesse Tech will be meeting for the first time when the square-off on Saturday. BG teams have played three games against teams in the Ohio Valley Conference, all three against Eastern Kentucky. EKU won all three meetings which took place in 1940, 1949, and 1950.
LAST WEEK: The Falcons opened the season with a strong performance which was not reflected in the final 30-10 score against Pittsburgh. The Falcons dominated the statistics in the first half building a 12-4 edge in first downs, a 220-61 advantage in total offense, and an 18:18-11:42 edge in time of possession, but they trailed 10-7 on the scoreboard. BG drove deep into Pittsburgh territory on both its opening possessions only to have the drive stall on downs. BG took their only lead on a 22-yard Ricky Schneider to Robert Redd pass midway through the second quarter. Pittsburgh took the lead for good hitting paydirt just before halftime driving 32 yards in six plays for a 10-7 advantage, the first of 27 unanswered points by the Panthers. They then put the game away scoring with their first possession of the second half and on two short drives 2:30 apart late in the quarter capitalizing on a pair of Falcons fumbles. Pittsburgh accumulated 147 yards of its total offense in the third quarter. The Falcons closed the scoring with a 19-yard Jason Strasser field goal with less than one minute left in the game. After getting into Pitt territory on its first two drives, BG was not in enemy territory except for the two scoring drives. BG still had a healthy edge in the statistics - 21-11 in first downs, 335-220 in total offense, and 36:13-23:47 in time of possession. Sophomore Godfrey Lewis led the Falcons with 10 carries for 62 yards in the first 20 minutes of the game before an ankle injury ended his day. Schneider was 17-of-33 for 174 yards.
HOME OPENERS: The Falcons will be looking to improve upon a 6-2 record in home openers during the tenure of head coach Gary Blackney. The only two losses have come at the hands of Louisiana Tech (28-21 in 1995) and Central Florida (38-31 last season). The Falcons are 10-5-1 in their last 16 home openers. BG is opening its home schedule with a non-league game for only the eighth time since 1980 having compiled a 4-3 mark in those contests.
OPTIMISM IS HIGH: With the return of 28 letterwinners, including 15 starters, the Falcon coaching staff and players are enthusiastically looking forward to the 1999 season. After four consecutive seasons under the .500 mark, many think the program will make a serious run at the MAC East Division title. The Falcons offensive unit returns eight starters and players with significant playing time during their careers at the other three spots. On defense, BG returns seven starters.
HOME SWEET HOME: The Falcons have enjoyed a great deal of success at home under head coach Gary Blackney posting a 29-9-1 mark, a 24-7-1 mark in MAC games. Despite an 11-9 mark in their last 20 games at home, BG has averaged 30.0 points (1170 pts.) at home over the last 39 contests while allowing just 18.2 points (711 pts.). In MAC play at home, BG has averaged 30.1 points (964 pts.) and allowed an average of just 17.2 points (551 pts.). Over the last 16 seasons, BG has compiled a 61-17-4 (.768) record and in the 33 seasons Perry Stadium has been the home of Falcon football, BG has a 105-51-6 (.667) mark. BG was 4-1 at home last season with a loss to Central Florida the only blemish.
Winningest Active Coaches
(Div. I-A, By Winning Percentage) 1. Phillip Fulmer (Tennessee) .861 (68-11) 2. Joe Paterno (Penn State) .792 (309-80-3) 3. Steve Spurrier (Florida) .782 (114-31-2) 4. Bobby Bowden (Florida St.) .772 (293-85-4) 5. R.C. Slocum (Texas A&M) .768 (95-28-2) 6. John Robinson (UNLV) .743 (105-35-4) 7. Dennis Erickson (Oregon St.) .739 (114-40-1) 8. Lavell Edwards (BYU) .726 (243-91-3) 9. Paul Pasqualoni (Syracuse) .704 (103-43-1) 10. John Cooper (Ohio State) .699 (178-75-6) 11. Lou Holtz (South Carolina) .688 (216-96-7) 12. Bill Snyder (Kansas State) .662 (77-39-1) 13. Dennis Franchione (TCU) .661 (120-61-2) 14. Fisher DeBerry (Air Force) .653 (121-64-1) 15. Jackie Sherrill (Miss. St.) .638 (155-87-4) 16. Gary Pinkel (Toledo) .636 (57-32-3) 17. Sonny Lubick (Colorado St.) .628 (71-42) 18. Don Nehlen (West Virginia) .617 (191-117-8) 19. Randy Walker (Northw'n) .615 (59-36-5) 20. Joe Tiller (Purdue) .609 (58-37-1) 21. Ken Hatfield (Rice) .603 (139-91-4) 22. Gary Blackney (BGSU) .593 (53-36-2) (minimum five years as I-A head coach)
DON'T BEAT YOURSELF: One of the areas head coach Gary Blackney has stressed since coming to the program in 1991 is don't beat yourself with turnovers. In 1996, the Falcons set an NCAA record losing just one fumble all season. Bowling Green has lost just 23 fumbles in the last 33 games, and just 25 fumbles in the last 37 games dating back to the end of the 1995 season. Since the start of the 1993 season, BG has lost the ball by fumble in just 28 of the 67 games. Over that period, BG has run 4,813 plays and returned 364 kicks while losing the ball just 36 times. BG was 12th in the nation in turnover margin (+1.00) in 1996.
OFFENSIVE ABOUT THE RUN: The Falcons won four of their five home games last season and in the process were very successful running the ball. BG accumulated 2,252 yards (450.4 average per game) of total offense in those five games, 63% of its season total, with 1,416 (283.2 average per game) of that coming on the ground, 70% of its season total. BG scored 200 points (a 40.0 average per game) at home, 78% of its season total. After collecting just 295 yards of total offense in the first two games of the season, the BG offense did not have less than 300 in any of the last eight contests averaging 408.0 yards per game. In the final four home games (all wins), BG averaged 487 yards of total offense with an average of 314 of that coming on the ground. The Falcons won their four home games last season by an average of just under 27 points per contest with their lone setback a 38-31 decision to Central Florida, a game in which the Falcons led 24-14 at halftime.
BIG DAY RUNNING THE BALL: The Falcons had 424 of its 502 yards in the win over the Kent (Oct. 24, 1998) on the ground. It was the best day on the ground by a Falcon team in just under 20 years as the 1978 team piled up 416 yards against Toledo (Nov. 7, 1978). The Falcons also scored all six of its touchdowns in the Kent game on the ground matching the total of the BG team against Southern Illinois on Nov. 15, 1975. The school record for rushing yards in a game is 496 with 10 rushing scores the school mark in that category. BG also equalled the school record for rushing first downs with 23 in the contest. BG set that mark in 1971 against Kent. The Falcons put big numbers on the board again in the win over Akron (Nov. 7, 1998) matching the 23 first downs by rush on their way to 371 yards on the ground and seven touchdowns, the most since the program had seven against Ball State on Sept. 21, 1968. Below is a breakdown of BG's key offensive statistics in its five home games last season.
Offensive At Home Opp TO Rush FD(R) Pts(RTD) TOP C. Florida 304 162 20(10) 31(1) 31:02 Ohio 474 278 24(14) 35(3) 35:41 Kent 502 424 27(23) 42(6) 34:41 Marshall 414 181 26(14) 34(2) 38:23 Akron 558 371 30(23) 58(7) 35:53 TO - total offense, Rush - rushing yards, FD(R) - first downs (rushing first downs), Pts(RTD) - points (rushing touchdowns), TOP - time of possession.
TEAM FAST FACTS: BG is a perfect 8-0 in MAC openers under head coach Gary Blackney...the Falcons are 18-12-1 on the road under head coach Gary Blackney in MAC play...overall on the road during Blackney's tenure the Falcons are 22-27-2 and they have a 4-13 mark in non-league road contests with the wins coming against Temple (1995), Cincinnati (1994), Navy (1994), and Missouri (1995)...after compiling a 14-1-1 mark on the road in conference play between 1991 and 1994, BG has struggled to a 3-12 mark in their last 15 MAC road games...BG put an end to a six-game MAC road losing streak and a nine-game overall road losing skid with its win in the 1998 season finale against Northern Illinois...BG has posted a 5-3 mark against non-league schools at home during the tenure of head coach Gary Blackney...the Falcons have posted a 17-28 overall record the last four-plus seasons after BG teams posted a record of 36-8-2 the previous four years...BG has held 19 of 32 MAC foes to two touchdowns or less at home since 1991, while in all MAC games, BG defensive units have held 36 of 64 league foes to two touchdowns or less...seven of BG's last 14 home games have been decided by seven points or less...BG has a 548-318 edge in points off of turnovers over the last eight-plus seasons...BG has had fewer turnovers than its opponent in 46 of the 91 games played since 1991, and in only 29 of those contests have they committed more turnovers than their opponent...BG is 33-13 in the 46 games in which they have had fewer turnovers than the opposition since 1991...over the last eight-plus seasons, BG has not had a turnover in 19 games and has committed just one in 27 others...BG has lost more than one fumble only seven times in the last 76 games (a total of 39 lost fumbles in those 76 games)...BG has held 23 of its last 34 opponents to fewer rushing yards than what they came into the game averaging...the Falcons have blocked 32 kicks (13 punts, nine field goals, 10 extra points) since 1991...BG has scored 11 touchdowns and recorded two safeties as a direct result of the kick block or on its ensuing possession, including touchdowns on two of their blocked punts in 1996...BG had seven kick blocks in 1991, six in 1992 and 1993, four in 1994, one in 1995, six in 1996, and one in 1997...the Falcons had two blocked kicks last season - a PAT vs. Penn State and a punt vs. Akron...last season, the Falcons had 46 red-zone chances, 45 of those in the last nine games, scoring 38 times, 31 of those touchdowns...the opposition has had 37 red-zone opportunities, scored 31 times with 27 of those touchdowns...the Falcons converted 47% (78-of-167) of its third-down plays last season while in MAC play, BG converted 55% (72-of-132) of its third-down plays...BG converted 43 of its last 67 (64%) third-down plays over the last 14 quarters of the season...BG had 107 plays of 10 or more yards the last eight weeks last season (an average of over 13 per game), 57 of those in the last four home contests...the Falcons scored 134 points (44.7 avg.) in its last three home games to tie the modern-day school record set first by the 1994 team for points in any three consecutive games in the same season...BG ran 81, 81, 83, 71, and 99 plays in the its last five contests last season, an average of 83 per game...the Falcons topped the 2,000-yard barrier in rushing in 1998 becoming only the third team since 1980 to do that.
OFFENSIVE LINE IS THE CORNERSTONE: One of the most experienced offensive lines in Div. I-A this season will be the cornerstone of the team. Senior center Doug Dorley (Normal, Ill./Normal H.S./Southern Illinois), senior right tackle Chad McCarthy (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic), senior left guard Mark Kautzman (Bainbridge, Ohio/Kenston), junior right guard Eric Curl (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson), and junior left tackle Rob Fehrman (Byesville, Ohio/Meadowbrook) comprise the fivesome which should be one of the best in the country. The group started all 11 games last season as a unit with McCarthy the most experienced with 32 career starts. They started a total of 104 games among the five before this season, the third-highest total in the country behind only Buffalo (113 starts among its returning starting linemen) and Wisconsin (108). The right side of the line, Kautzman and Fehrman, have started the last 23 games side-by-side. Dorley is joined by sophomore flanker Kurt Gerling as the only returning All-MAC players. Dorley was an honorable mention selection last season. Obviously, the line played a large role in the Falcons enjoying their best season in more than 20 years running the ball last season. Senior Kevin Steinke (Wausau, Wis./Everest) moves into the starting role at tight end having played in all 33 games in his career while starting eight times.
LEWIS ONE OF 38 ON WALKER LIST: Sophomore tailback Godfrey Lewis (Toronto, Ontario/Michael Power) is one of 38 Div. I-A running backs being considered for the Doak Walker Award. Lewis is one of four backs from the Mid-American Conference on the list and one of only three sophomores. The award is presented annually to the nation's premeir running back for his accomplisments on the field, achievement in the classroom, and citizenship in the community. Eight semifinalists will be named by the 182 people on the selection committee in late November with the winner announced Dec. 9 on the Home Depot College Football Awards Show on ESPN2. Lewis led the team last season with 753 yards on 163 carries, both freshman records at BGSU.
TRAVEL ROSTER FACTS: Of the 62 players on the travel roster for the Pittsburgh game, 26 had not played in a game at the collegiate level with six of those "true" freshmen. The roster was composed of 16 red-shirt freshmen, 20 sophomores, and 10 juniors and seniors, in addition to the six "true" freshmen.
FIRST TIME STARTERS: All four players who made their first career starts in the Pittsburgh game were on the defensive side of the ball. End Ryan Wingrove (Parkersburg, W.Va./South), tackle Malcolm Robinson (Fostoria, Ohio), boundary cornerback Will Sullivan (Wichita, Kansas/Southeast H.S./Hutchinson C.C.), and field cornerback Chris Hubbard (Detroit, Mich./Chadsey) made their first career starts in the game Saturday afternoon. Punter Pat Fleming (Ottawa, Ontario/Earl of March) also played in his first game.
INDIVIDUAL FAST FACTS: Sophomore tailback Godfrey Lewis (Toronto, Ontario/Michael Power) seemed on his way to his third career 100-yard game on Saturday against Pittsburgh carrying 10 times for 62 yards in the first 20 minutes of the game before an ankle injury sidelined him for the rest of the contest...he is questionable for the game this week...senior Jason Strasser (Toledo, Ohio/St. Francis) converted his only field goal attempt of 19 yards in the last minute of the Pittsburgh game to extend his streak to seven consecutive made field goals dating back to the middle of last season...Strasser hit all but one of his 12 field goal tries last season...sophomore Kurt Gerling (Sterling Heights, Mich./Henry Ford) picked up in the Pittsburgh game where he left off last season when he led the team in receiving on his way to earning MAC Freshman of the Year honors...Gerling caught a career high seven passes in the contest for 88 yards...he was guilty of two lost fumbles after a pair of his receptions...sophomore Robert Redd (Dayton, Ohio/Wayne) is likely to be one of the busiest Falcons this season returning kickoffs and punts in addition to starting at split end...his day at Pittsburgh may become commonplace this season as he totaled 111 all-purpose yards catching four passes for 39 yards, including the only scoring play of the game, returning three punts for eight yards, and returning three kickoffs for 64 yards...a pair of "true" freshmen made their debuts in the Pittsburgh game...defensive backs Emmanuel Hendrix (Pahokee, Fla.) and Andre Davis (Farmington Hills, Mich./Harrison) saw action on the special teams...Davis also saw limited playing time on defense...sophomore John Gibson (Columbus, Ohio/Beechcroft) saw a bulk of the action at tailback after Lewis went down with the injury and responded with 17 carries for 61 yards...Gibson carried a total of 26 times last season in his first action with 14 of those carries coming in the Marshall game...both figures in the Pittsburgh game were career highs...sophomore Chad Long (Clyde, Ohio) led the Falcon defensive unit with nine tackles in the Pittsburgh loss...linebackers Khary Campbell (Toledo, Ohio/Sylvania Southview) and Joe O'Neill (Twinsburg, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) were credited with seven stops each...cornerbacks Will Sullivan (Wichita, Kansas/Southeast H.S./Hutchinson C.C.) and Chris Hubbard (Detroit, Mich./Chadsey) started their first career games against Pittsburgh and played very well...the duo combined to allow Latef Grim only one reception for nine yards, the lowest total of his career...thought to be one of the top players in the country at his position, Grim had at least three receptions in each of the 10 games he played last season.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Offense - John Gibson (Columbus, Ohio/Beechcroft), Defense - Brandon Hicks (Fairborn, Ohio) and Will Sullivan (Wichita, Kansas/Southeast H.S./Hutchinson C.C.), Scout Offense - Darnell Bond-Awls (Toledo, Ohio/Rogers), Scout Defense - Jared Butts (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior).
BG PLAYERS AMONG MAC LEADERS: Rushing - 6. Godfrey Lewis (62.0/game), Passing - 5. Ricky Schneider (174.0/game), Total Offense - 6. Ricky Schneider (187.0/game), Passing Efficiency - 7. Ricky Schneider (99.7), Receptions - t-2. Kurt Gerling (7.00/game), Receiving Yards - 8. Kurt Gerling (88.0/game), Punt Returns - 8. Robert Redd (2.7 avg.), Kickoff Returns - 7. Robert Redd (21.3 avg.), Punting - 1. Pat Fleming (52.0 avg.), Scoring - t-6. Robert Redd (6.0/game), Scoring (Kickers) - 4. Jason Strasser (4.0/game), Field Goals - t-2. Jason Strasser (1.00/game).
NEXT WEEK: The Falcons play the first of two consecutive games on the road opening MAC play against defending league champion Marshall Sept. 18 in Huntington, W. Va. The game begins at 7 p.m.
TENNESSE TECH NOTES: Fourth-year head coach Mike Hennigan returns 16 players from his 4-7 team a year ago, including nine on the offensive side of the ball...the Golden Eagles were strong on defense last season allowing an average of just 264.5 yards per game and they return two of the top players from that unit...senior end Branon Vaughn was the Defensive Player of the Year in the Ohio Valley Conference last season recording 19 tackles for a loss while senior rover Joshua Symonette was third in the conference in tackles with 108 earning him first-team All-OVC honors...on offense, Tech returns is entire contingent of skilled position players...junior quarterback Michael Peeples (132-of-245, 1,527 yards) will be throwing to the same targets as last season, seniors Walter Hill and Tony Fragale...Hill led the team with 43 receptions (12.9 avg.) last season while Fragale snagged 22 passes (13.4 avg.)...the top two runners from a year also return in sophomore Nick Solomon and junior Jerome Tillman...Solomon led the team with 610 yards (4.7 avg.) in 1998 while Tillman added 515 (3.5 avg.)...the duo accounted for eight of the 11 rushing touchdowns last season...Tech tied for sixth in the OVC last season with a 2-5 mark...Tech has four starters returning on the offensive line.
Compare The Teams
() - MAC Rank BGSU Total Offense: 335.0 (6) Rushing Offense: 161.0 (3) Passing Offense: 174.0 (6) Scoring Offense: 10.0 (8) Total Defense: 220.0 (1) Rushing Defense: 107.0 (3) Passing Defense: 113.0 (1) Scoring Defense: 30.0 (8) Turnover Margin: -4.00 (11) 3rd Down (Off.) - 6/17 (6) 3rd Down (Def.) - 3/13 (4) 4th Down (Off.) - 2/4 Avg. Time of Poss. - 36:13 (1) Kickoff Return - 18.8 (9) Punt Return - 2.7 (7) Net Punting - 19.0 (11)TENNESSEE TECH (1998 averages) Total Offense: 256.3 Rushing Offense: 95.5 Passing Offense: 160.7 Scoring Offense: 19.9 Total Defense: 264.5 Rushing Defense: 131.0 Passing Defense: 133.5 Scoring Defense: 22.3 Turnover Margin: +0.09 3rd Down (Off.) - 56/156 3rd Down (Def.) - 51/157 Avg. Time of Poss. - 29:22 Kickoff Return - 17.2 Punt Return - 3.6 Net Punting - 35.4
Bowling Green Two-Deep
Offense (Pro I) LT 79 Rob Fehrman (6-7, 300, r-Jr.) 78 Dennis Wendel (6-7, 275, r-Fr.) LG 73 Mark Kautzman (6-5, 305, Sr.) 68 Mike Bodnar (6-3, 290, r-So.) C 60 Doug Dorley (6-4, 290, r-Sr.) 72 Jon Mazur (6-2, 280, r-Fr.) RG 63 Eric Curl (6-2, 280, r-Jr.) 66 Greg Kupke (6-3, 255, r-Fr.) RT 62 Chad McCarthy (6-4, 280, r-Sr.) 71 Matt Tyla (6-2, 275, r-Jr.) TE 87 Kevin Steinke (6-4, 250, Sr.) 86 Ross Durham (6-6, 245, r-Fr.) FL 4 Kurt Gerling (6-2, 195, r-So.) 18 Matt Bunsey (5-9. 180, Jr.) SE 5 Robert Redd (5-10, 195, So.) 12 Aaron Alexander (6-0, 195, r-So.) QB 1 Ricky Schneider (6-3, 210, r-Jr.) 15 Andy Sahm (6-6, 200, r-Fr.) FB 43 Brent Martin (6-1, 240, r-Sr.) 46 Eric Jones (5-11, 230, r-Sr.) 40 Eric Clark (5-10, 240, So.) TB 25 Godfrey Lewis (5-9, 190, So.) 27 John Gibson (5-10, 215, r-So.) 22 Joe Alls (5-10, 185, r-Fr.)Defense (4-3) OLB 10 Garry Fisher (5-10, 210, r-So.) 33 Geno Burden (6-1, 205, r-Fr.) E 90 Ryan Wingrove (6-3, 235, r-So.) 57 Casey Williams (6-1, 240, r-So.) NG 92 Brandon Hicks (6-2, 250, Jr.) 88 D.J. Owchar (6-3, 265, r-Fr.) T 97 Malcolm Robinson (6-4, 290, r-So.) 58 Rodney Dawson (6-3, 260, r-Jr.) E 44 D.J. Durkin (6-2, 240, r-Jr.) 51 Larry Witherspoon (6-3, 230, r-Fr.) OLB 32 Joe O'Neill (6-2, 225, r-Sr.) 50 Chris Haneline (6-1, 215, r-Fr.) MLB 2 Khary Campbell (6-1, 210, r-So.) 49 Chris Della Vella (6-1, 225, r-So.) BC 8 Will Sullivan (5-10, 175, Sr.) 38 Justin Turk (5-10, 190, r-Fr.) SS 26 Chad Long (6-0, 195, r-So.) 9 Sergio Lund (6-0, 185, So.) FS 3 Karl Rose (6-0, 185, So.) 34 Andre Davis (6-2, 185, Fr.) FC 19 Chris Hubbard (5-7, 175, r-So.) 24 Ken Dobbs (5-10, 170, Jr.)
Specialists PUNT 48 Patrick Fleming (6-2, 190, r-Fr.) 1 Ricky Schneider (6-3, 210, r-Jr.) PK 11 Jason Strasser (6-3, 170, Sr.) 89 Mike Knapp (5-9, 150, r-Fr.) HOLD 15 Andy Sahm (6-6, 200, r-Fr.) 18 Matt Bunsey (5-9. 180, Jr.) LS 99 Ryan Diepenbrock (6-2, 215, r-Jr.) 87 Kevin Steinke (6-4, 250, Sr.) KOR 22 Joe Alls (5-10, 185, r-Fr.) 5 Robert Redd (5-10, 195, So.) PR 5 Robert Redd (5-10, 195, So.) 26 Chad Long (6-0, 195, r-So.)
