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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Face Rematch With RedHawks
November 30, 2003 | Football
Nov. 30, 2003
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2003 MAC Football Championship #14/15 Miami (11-1, 8-0) at #20/23 Bowling Green (10-2, 7-1) Thursday, December 4 - 7:00 p.m. Doyt Perry Stadium (28,599) - Series Record: Miami leads 37-18-5 Last Meeting: at Miami 33, BGSU 10 (11/4/03) Television: ESPN2 (Mike Tirico, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Dr. Jerry Punch) Tickets: $16, $13, $11 (Miami and BGSU students admitted free with ID)
New Faces In Title Game
The seventh edition of the MAC Championship Game will feature a pair of teams who are making their first appearances in the contest. Bowling Green and Miami won their respective divisions for the first time. Marshall (6), Toledo (4) and Western Michigan (2) are the only schools who have played in the game. Miami (13) and BGSU (10) have won more league football titles than any other MAC school. Miami is looking for its first crown since 1986, while the Falcons last won the league in 1992.
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. This also marks just the fourth 10-win season for BGSU in school history. BGSU was 11-1 in 1985.
Josh Harris-Playmaker
Senior quarterback Josh Harris (3,167 passing yards) needs 98 passing yards to break the BGSU single-season record of 3,264 yards by Brian McClure in 1983. His 22 touchdown passes ranks second on the single-season Falcon list behind Ryan Henry who had 25 in 1994. He also needs 154 yards of total offense to become just the second player in MAC history (Byron Leftwich, 4,268 in 2002 and 4,132 in 2001) to accumulate more than 4,000 yards of total offense in a season. With 571 plays this season, Harris broke the MAC record of 539 he set last year and shared with Marshall's Byron Leftwich (2001). In the last four games, Harris has completed 80 of 123 passes (65%) for 882 yards and 9 TDs with no interceptions. He also has averaged 72 yards rushing in those games.
Brandon Is 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 10-2 record is the best among all NCAA I-A first-time head coaches.
National Rankings
The Falcons are rated 20th in the Associated Press poll, 20th by the BCS, 21st by CBSSportsline.com and 23rd in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. The Falcons' seven-week stay in the AP poll is its longest consecutive showing in a national poll.
Lets Go Bowling (Green)
BGSU boasts a resume that should merit the MAC's second bowl berth (Motor City Bowl), regardless of any outcome in the MAC Championship game. The Falcons have been ranked for seven weeks in the AP top 25 poll, played the toughest cumulative schedule nationally among MAC teams (11th in the nation), have two wins over nationally-ranked opponents and are the only team to win at Purdue. In addition to head-to-head victories over NIU and Toledo, the Falcons played two MAC cross-over games against opposition (Miami and Kent State) that posted a 12-4 league record, while the Huskies' MAC East foes (Ohio and Buffalo) were 2-14.
Why A Bowl Is So Important
Over the last three years, the Falcons' 27 wins are the most by any I-A school that has not played in a bowl game. A win against Miami would guarantee the Falcons a slot in the Motor City Bowl and give BGSU its first postseason experience since 1992.
Wins Since 2001 (Bowl-eligible MAC Teams)
Marshall, 29 Bowling Green, 27 Toledo, 27 Miami, 25 Northern Illinois, 24
Falcons Schedule Is Toughest In the MAC
According to the NCAA, the Falcons have played the 11th toughest schedule among NCAA I-A schools (with at least nine I-A games) based on cumulative opposition.
MAC Rankings Rank Team Opponent Winning Pct. 11 Bowling Green .5742 24. Ball State .5454 49. Buffalo .5178 72. Western Michigan .4954 76. Central Michigan .4895 80. Marshall .4818 81. Eastern Michigan .4736 92. Toledo .4587 93. Miami .4583 96. Kent State .4504 107. Ohio .4144 112. UCF .3944 113. Akron .3900 117. Northern Illinois .3486
It Happens In Threes
This will be the third nationally televised game from Doyt Perry Stadium this year (NIU and Toledo) and just the third game in history that will boast two ranked MAC teams. BGSU and NIU faced off earlier this year, while Miami and Kent State squared off in 1973.
