Bowling Green State University Athletics
Winner Take All!!!!
November 24, 2003 | Football
Nov. 24, 2003
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Toledo (8-3, 6-1) at #22/25 BGSU (9-2, 6-1) Saturday, November 29, Noon Doyt Perry Stadium (28,599) Series Record: BGSU leads 35-28-4 Last Meeting: at Toledo 42, BGSU 24 (11/30/02) Television: ESPN Mark Jones, Bob Davie and Holly Rowe
Top Rookie Coach
First-year head coach Gregg Brandon, the 16th head coach in the history of the BGSU football program, joined Don Nehlen and Urban Meyer as the only BGSU football coaches to begin their career with a 3-0 record. With the Falcons' 27-26 win at #16 Purdue, and 34-18 win against then-#12 NIU, Brandon is the only BGSU coach to ever defeat two nationally-ranked opponents. His 9-2 record is the best among all NCAA I-A first-time head coaches.
Sold Out
For the second time this season and for just the fifth time in the 38-year history of the facility a BGSU home football game is sold out. It also marks the third time in the series that a full house will see the teams play in BGSU (1971 and 1983).
Just Once before
The Falcons have posted back-to-back nine-win seasons for just the second time in school history. BGSU won 11 games in 1991 and 10 in 1992.
Biggest Game In The Series
The winner of this game will be the West representative and host the MAC championship game on December 4. It marks the first time in the battle for the Peace Pipe that the winner of the game is guaranteed an outright conference or division championship.
Record Watch
Junior wide receiver Cole Magner now has 78 receptions (2nd all-time at BGSU) and 957 yards (3rd all-time) for the season. Robert Redd set the single -season record for catches last year with 83, while Stan Hunter is the only Falcon to eclipse the 1,000-yard receiving barrier (1,107 in 1983). Senior quarterback Josh Harris (2,911 yards) needs 89 yards to become just the second Falcon QB to eclipse the 3,000-yard mark in a season, and is 353 yards shy of that BGSU single-season record (3,264 yards by Brian McClure in 1983). Harris (527 plays) needs to participate in 13 more plays to break the MAC record of 539 he had last year and is shared by Marshall's Byron Leftwich (2001).
Bowl Worthy
With all due respect to the folks in DeKalb, Ill., and Huntington, W. Va., the winner of this game will boast a resume that will be hard to overlook for either of the MAC's two bowl berths, regardless of any outcome in the MAC Championship game. The Falcons have two wins over nationally ranked opponents, are the only team to win at Purdue, and have played the toughest schedule (19th in the nation) among the league's bowl eligible squads. In addition to a head-to-head victory over NIU, the Falcons' played two MAC cross-over games against opposition (Miami and Kent State) that have posted an 11-4 league record, while the Huskies' MAC East foes (Ohio and Buffalo) are 2-13. Likewise, Toledo owns wins over both NIU and Marshall and also beat Pittsburgh.
