Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Visit Northwestern
November 12, 2001 | Football
Nov. 12, 2001
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BOWLING GREEN (6-3) at NORTHWESTERN (4-5)
11 a.m. (CST), Saturday, November 17
Ryan Field (47,130)
Series Record: First Meeting
Radio: WBVI-FM (96.7)/WFOB-AM (1430)
Internet: www.bgsufalcons.com
MEYER ERA OFF TO GOOD START: First-year Bowling Green State University football coach Urban Meyer is the 15th person to lead the Falcon football program. An Ohio native, he brings 15 years of experience as a Division I assistant and has coached in seven bowl games. He most recently was the receivers coach at Notre Dame after serving on staffs at Ohio State, Illinois State and Colorado State. Meyer was tabbed as the MAC's Midseason Coach of the Year by ESPN.com.
WINNING RECORD: The Falcons have clinched a winning record for the first time since 1994, ending a six-year stretch of consecutive losing seasons.
ROSE NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Senior defensive back Karl Rose was named MAC East Division Defensive Player of the Week after picking off two passes in the Falcons win at Ohio. Rose also had five tackles, including one for a loss and four pass deflections.
REPLACEMENT GAME: The BGSU/Northwestern game was added to the schedule in September after each team cancelled their regularly scheduled games on September 15. Northwestern was to host Navy, while BGSU was to visit South Carolina.
FIRST MEETING: This will be the first meeting between the two teams. BGSU last faced a Big Ten opponent in last year's season opener at Michigan (L, 42-7), while Northwestern defeated MAC member Northern Illinois in their 2000 opener (35-17).
FAMILIAR FACES: BGSU offensive coordinator Gregg Brandon was the receivers coach at Northwestern from 1992-1998 and was recruting coordinator from 1997-1998. Northwestern running backs coach and recruiting coordinator Jeff Genyk played quarterback for the Falcons from 1978-81. He also was a GA at BGSU in 1982.
WALKER AGAINST BGSU: Northwestern coach Randy Walker was 2-6-1 against the Falcons during his nine seasons as head coach at Miami.
THE MAC'S TOP DEFENSE: BGSU leads the MAC in total defense (290.9), scoring defense (16.9), rush defense (72.6), opponent first downs (135) and turnover margin (.89). BGSU is the third-ranked unit in the nation against the rush.
Last week, BGSU held the third best rushing team in the nation (Ohio, 266 yards per game) to just 105 yards on 33 carries on the ground. BGSU has held 16 of its last 23 opponents under 100 yards rushing and has allowed the fewest rushing TD's in the nation (2).
MORE IMPRESSIVE NUMBERS: BGSU is one of the most improved programs of the 2001 campaign not only in the MAC, but in the country. The Falcons have shown the league's biggest improvement in wins (+4), scoring offense (+11.1) and scoring defense (-9.7).
The Falcons also lead the MAC in takeaways with 25 and have the top kick returner (Joe Alls, 27.1) and punt returner (Robert Redd,11.3).
NCAA IA VICTORY IMPROVEMENT:
Colorado.............. +5 Washington State...... +5 BOWLING GREEN......... +4 Rice.................. +4 Maryland.............. +4 BYU................... +4
MORE URBAN MEYER IMPACT:
OHIO WRAPUP: The Falcons posted their second shutout of the season (Buffalo, 35-0). It is the first time since 1994 (3 times) that BGSU has shut out more than one opponent in a season.
The Falcon defense also held Ohio to a season-low 140 yards of total offense.
BGSU is the top-ranked defensive unit in the MAC allowing 290.9 yards per game and 16.9 points per game.
The Falcon offense (400 yards) topped the 400-yard mark for the third time this season.
BGSU had a season-high 244 yards rushing.
Josh Harris posted career-highs in total offense (304), rushing (148), and passing (156).
Harris set a BGSU quarterback record for rushing yards (148) and became the first Falcon signal-caller to eclipse the 100-yard rushing mark since Mike Wright had 131 against Toledo in 1978. Only two other Falcon QB's have rushed for more than 100 yards (Don Nehlen, 105 vs. Baldwin Wallace, 1956) and Jim Bryan at Kent State, 1954).
It was Harris' second 100-yard rushing effort. He gained 103 against Miami last season as a tailback.
Karl Rose picked off a career-high two passes and now has seven for his career.
Khary Campbell forced and recovered his MAC-best fifth fumble of the season.
Kurt Gerling caught four passes to extend his streak to 39 consecutive games with a reception. He had his team-leading 18th career TD and had a season-high 54 yards receiving.
The Falcons won in Athens for the first time since 1993.
The Falcons have won three games on the road for the first time since 1995.
FALCON TRADITION: The Falcons, who are in their 50th season as a Mid-American Conference member, rank second in MAC history in both conference wins (205) and championships (10). BGSU has finished either first or second in the conference standings in 21 of their previous 49 seasons in the league.
END OF AN ERA (A SHORT ONE): Saturday's game against Ohio marked the Falcons final divisional game as a member of the MAC's East Division. Next year, BGSU will move to the West, while Central Florida will join the East and become the 14th football-playing school in the conference. The Falcons have been in the East Division since the conference expanded in 1997.
EXACTING REVENGE: The Falcons have five wins against teams which defeated them in their most recent meeting prior to the 2001 season.
Missouri (L, 37-0, `98).... W, 20-13 Buffalo (L, 20-17, `00).... W, 35-0 Temple (L, 31-14, `00)..... W, 42-23 Akron (L, 27-21, `00)...... W, 16-11 Ohio (L, 23-21, `00)....... W, 17-0
GERLING TOPS 2000: With his 35-yard TD reception in the fourth quarter against Miami, senior Kurt Gerling became the seventh player in Falcon history to eclipse the 2000-yard mark in receiving. He has caught 141 passes for 2,063 yards as a Falcon.
NATIONALLY SPEAKING (Where the Falcons rank in IA football)
Rushing Defense...... 3rd, 72.6 Turnover Margin...... 15th, .89 Scoring Defense...... 12th, 16.9 Total Defense........ 11th, 290.9 Interceptions........ Janssen Patton, 24th, .44 Receptions........... Robert Redd, 29th, 6.0
RECENT TEAM TRENDS: The Falcons have outrushed each of their nine opponents and had a season-high 244 yards on the ground at Ohio.
The Falcons set a school-record with 100 plays on offense against Kent State. The Falcons posted back-to-back efforts of 400+ yards of total offense with 414 yards against Kent State and 419 against Western Michigan. The Falcons also posted 400 yards against Ohio.
The Falcons had the ball for 18:06 more than Ohio and are 3-0 when they control the ball for a margin of 13 minutes or more in a game. BGSU had the ball for 13:42 more against Buffalo and 27:08 more against Kent State.
The Ohio game was the fifth time in 15 games and second straight on the road (2000-Kent State, Eastern Michigan, 2001-Buffalo, Akron) that BGSU's defense did not allowed a touchdown. Campbell is not the only defender who has found the end zone this year. Long had a 30-yard fumble recovery for a TD against Temple and Hicks added a 31-yard interception return in that game. Sophomore cornerback Janssen Patton (4 INT's, 12 PBU's) returned an onside kick 42-yards for a TD. Including Robert Redd's punt return against Miami, BGSU has scored five non-offensive touchdowns this season.
UNHERALDED, BUT JUST AS GOOD: Senior defensive end Chris Glantzis (44 tackles, 11 for a loss), junior defensive tackle Alex Glantzis (25 tackles), and junior middle linebacker Chris Haneline (51 tackles, 7 TFL's) are first-year starters who have played a big role in the Falcons success.
Senior free safety Sergio Lund (34 tackles, 2 forced fumbles) and senior outside linebacker Garry Fisher (32 tackles) are two unheralded players who are both having outstanding years.
OFFENSE GAINING EXPERIENCE: The Falcons have eight underclassmen starting.
Junior Robert Redd is the team's top receiver with 54 catches for 589 yards and 5 TD's. Junior Joe Alls is the top rusher with 483 yards on 110 carries and 3 TD's, while senior John Gibson is averaging a team-best 4.9 yards per carry. He has 382 yards this season. Senior David Bautista has caught 37 passes for 445 yards, while senior Kurt Gerling has caught 25 passes for 308 yards and 5 TD's. Gerling has the fifth-longest active streak in the nation having caught at least one pass in 39 straight games.
Junior quarterback Andy Sahm has passed for 1,252 yards, while sophomore Josh Harris has rushed for 401 yards and 4 TD's. True freshman Cole Magner has averaged 5.6 yards per carry at quarterback. He rushed for 86 yards against Akron.
Junior left tackle Dennis Wendel, redshirt freshman left guard Scott Mruczkowski, and junior center Jon Mazur are first-time, full-time starters at their respective positions. Mazur started last season seven times at left guard. Senior right tackle Malcolm Robinson (20 consecutive starts) was the only returning starter and junior right guard Greg Kupke (12 career starts) is coming off major knee surgery.
SOMETHING SPECIAL: Junior punter Pat Fleming has nailed 18 punts inside the 20-yard line. He had his best day as a Falcon against Miami with five of his seven punts landing inside the 20-yard line. Redshirt freshman kicker Shaun Suisham has made 31 of 32 PAT's, including 30 in a row.
BGSU IS...
Overall Record................ 6-3 MAC East...................... 4-2 MAC........................... 4-3 After 6 p.m. ................. 4-1 Before 6 p.m. ................ 2-2 When scoring first............ 4-1 When opponent scores first.... 2-2 When leading at halftime...... 5-1 When trailing at halftime..... 1-2 On grass...................... 5-1 On turf....................... 1-2
INJURY REPORT: Redshirt freshman guard Andrew Hart (ACL) and freshman wide receiver James Hawkins (compartment syndrome) are out.
