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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Football Hosts Western Michigan On Family Weekend
October 17, 2005 | Football
Oct. 17, 2005
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WESTERN MICHIGAN (3-3, 1-2) AT BOWLING GREEN (4-2, 3-0) Saturday, October 22 • 4 p.m. Doyt L. Perry Stadium (23,724) RADIO: BGSU Radio Network (Todd Walker, John Gibson and Jason Aldrich) TV: BCSN (Dave Horger, Jon Mazur, Greg Franke) SERIES: BGSU leads 31-14-3 LAST MEETING: at BGSU 52, Western Michigan 0 (November 6, 2004)
The Falcons will host Western Michigan for the Family Weekend contest for the second straight year. This will be the third home game of the season as BGSU is in a stretch which will see them play four of five at Perry Stadium. Next week, the Falcons will host Akron to close the month of October.
After struggling on defense early in the season, BGSU has allowed just 9.3 points and 271.0 yards per game in the last three weeks. The Falcons also are the second best unit in the MAC against the pass averaging 169.5 yards per game, while giving up a league low six TD passes.
For the third week in a row, the Falcons have had a defensive player earn MAC East Player of the Week honors. Senior free safety Terrill Mayberry had two interceptions and a forced fumble to compliment his team-high eight tackles in BGSU's 27-7 win at Buffalo. Junior defensive end Devon Parks (vs. Ohio) and senior cornerback Jelani Jordan (vs. Temple) also have won the award.
Jordan picked off two passes each against Ohio and Temple and is ranked fourth in the country with four INTs. Mayberry is now 16th nationally with three INTs. Freshman cornerback Antonio Smith is tied for the national lead in interception returns for a TD with two.
The Falcons also are 17-0 in the month of October since the end of the 2001 season and are 23-1 in the regular season at home in the last five years. Since the 1999 season, BGSU is 13-0 against MAC West opposition in Perry Stadium, with the closest game in that time coming in a 48-45 overtime win over Western Michigan in 2002. The most lopsided win in that streak also involved the Broncos with BGSU taking a 52-0 win last season.
BGSU has been ranked in both the Associated Press and USA Today/Coaches polls in each of the last three seasons. The Falcons received votes in both polls in the preseason and were ranked 21st by The Sporting News and 23rd by Sports Illustrated in their preseason publications.
BGSU's 41-14 record since 2001 is the best among all MAC schools over that time span. BGSU also is the only MAC team with a winning record (10-5) vs. Division I-A non-conference opponents.
Junior All-American quarterback Omar Jacobs is second in the nation with 20 TD passes. He now is the all-time BGSU leader with 65 career TD passes, a total which ranks sixth all-time in MAC history. Jacobs also is the active NCAA career leader in total offense (309.0), passing yards per game (288.5) and passing efficiency (165.6).
The Falcons boast two big-play senior wide receivers in Charles Sharon (3,065 yards and 33 TDs) and Steve Sanders (2,069 and 20 TDs). Their 207.2 yards per game average (Sharon, 107.2, 11th nationally and Sanders, 100.0, 15th nationally) this season combined is the highest of any teammates which average more than 100 yards receiving per game. Sanders is eighth in the nation in scoring at 11 points per game and leads the nation with 10 TD catches. Sharon has the second most TD passes among active NCAA players with 33, behind WMU's Greg Jennings who has 34.
In statistics that aren't solely related to Omar Jacobs, you might be surprised to learn the BGSU leads the MAC in fewest penalties (4.6 per game) and punt return yards (14.5) and that senior running back B.J. Lane is tied for the MAC lead with seven rushing scores.
