Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Look to Tame Huskies on Saturday
October 21, 2008 | Football
Oct. 21, 2008
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -
Game #8
Bowling Green (3-4, 1-2 MAC) vs. Northern Illinois (4-3, 3-1, MAC)
Oct. 25, 2008 • DeKalb, Ill. (Huskie Stadium) • 4 p.m. EST
TV:CSN Chicago • Dave Kaplan (Play-by-Play) and Bob Chmiel (Analyst)
Radio: BGSU Radio Network (1230AM) • Todd Walker (Play-by-Play) and Cal Bowers (Analyst)
The Bowling Green State University football team hits the road for the fourth time this season as they travel to DeKalb, Ill., to square off with the Huskies of Northern Illinois. Opening kickoff is set for 4 p.m. as the Falcons and Huskies will face each other for the first time since 2004.
Scouting the Falcons
The Falcons, losers of two of the last three contests, are in search of their fourth road win of 2008 this weekend versus the Huskies. BGSU is 0-3 at home this season.
Offensively the Falcons are led by quarterback Tyler Sheehan. The junior from Cincinnati, Ohio, is completing 65% of his passes while throwing for 1,671 yards and 11 touchdowns. He also leads the team with four rushing scores on the year. Sheehan has numerous targets to throw to, including Corey Partridge (37 rec., 385 yds.), Freddie Barnes (27 rec., 218 yds.), Tyrone Pronty (23 rec., 161 yds.) and Anthony Turner (18 rec., 157 yds.). Turner also leads the team is rushing with 279 yards on 56 carries (5.0 avg.).
Defensively the Falcons are led by senior Diyral Briggs, who is second in the MAC in sacks with six. BGSU ranks sixth in total defense (367.1) and pass defense (193.4) with the help of a secondary that has started 112 combined games (P.J. Mahone, Jahmal Brown, Antonio Smith and Kenny Lewis).
Scouting The Huskies
The Northern Illinois Huskies (4-3, 3-1 MAC) feature the top defense in the Mid-American Conference, allowing just 281.4 yards a game, 45 yards better than second-ranked Miami (326.6).
The Huskie run defense allows just 109.9 yards a game, tops in the league, while the pass defense is just as good, giving up just 171.6 yards a game through the air. The Huskies are also the top scoring defense in the league, allowing 13.7 points a game (96 points in seven games).
On the offensive side of the ball they are no slouch either, averaging 28.9 points a game, third-best in the conference. Their offense runs through the ground game, averaging 177.3 yards a game, third-bets in the MAC. While no one specific tailback carries the work load, they have six ball carriers that are averaging over 20 yards a game on the ground.
Bowling Green vs. Northern Illinois Preview
Since 2003 Bowling Green and Northern Illinois (along with Miami) have each won 28 conference games, tops in the league in that time frame. Both schools have a 28-15 conference record since the start of the 2003 season (Miami is 28-14).
The Falcons, who are ranked among the league leaders in several offensive categories with square off with the best defense in the league. The Falcons are averaging 350.3 yards a game, while scoring just under 25 points a game (24.9), while the Huskie defense is allowing just 281.4 yards and 13.7 points a game.
The contest will feature two of the leagues top sack leaders is Diyral Briggs (BGSU) and Larry English (NIU). Briggs is currently second in the MAC with six sacks, while English is fourth with 4.5 sacks.
RedHawks Get Best of Falcons, 27-20
The BGSU football team dropped their third straight home game of the 2008 season with a 27-20 loss to the Miami RedHawks last Saturday. The RedHawks, who entered the game averaging just 90 yards a game on the ground, exploded for 218 yards on 43 carries in the Miami win. Tyler Sheehan threw for 224 yards and two scores, while Corey Partridge had six catches for 73 yards and a score in the loss.
That Wacky East Division
Considering the Falcons are just 1-2 in the MAC standings, BGSU is in reasonable shape in the MAC East race. The Falcons trail only Akron, who is 2-2 in MAC play, followed by the Falcons, Buffalo (1-2), Miami (1-2), Ohio (1-2), Temple (1-3) and Kent State (0-3)
On the other hand, Central Michigan (4-0), Ball State (3-0), Western Michigan (4-1) and Northern Illinois (3-1) are battling it out in the MAC West.
Falcons Need a Return of 2007
If the Falcons are going to get back atop the MAC East standings they will need to string a few wins in a row, the same situation they faced in 2007. Entering MAC play with four games remaining last season the Falcons sat in third-place with a 2-2 (4-4 overall) record in the MAC East, trailing Buffalo (3-0) and Miami (2-1). The Falcons eventually went on to win their final four games over Akron (44-20), Eastern Michigan (39-32), Buffalo (31-17) and Toledo (37-10) and advance to their third bowl game in five years.
Brandon Versus the MAC/NIU
Saturday will be coach Brandon's 44th contest versus the Mid-American Conference. He currently holds a 28-15 (65.1%) MAC record, tied for best in the conference since 2003. Brandon and the Falcons have squared off with the Huskies just twice with the teams splitting a pair of games. Bowling Green won 34-18 in 2003 with the Huskies capturing a 34-17 win the following year.
What The Falcons Have Done Since 2003 (Brandon Era)
• 41-28 overall record, best in the MAC
• 13-12 versus non MAC opponents, best in the MAC
• 28 conference wins, best in the MAC
• Three bowl appearances, best in the MAC
• Two bowl wins, best in the MAC
• One MAC West crown (2003)
• Two MAC East crowns (2005, 2007)
• National rankings in 2003 and 2004
Falcons Name 2008 Captains
BGSU head coach Gregg Brandon has announced that Brandon Curtis, Jeff Fink, John Haneline, Corey Partridge and Antonio Smith will serve as captains for the 2008 Falcons. Combined, the five seniors have started 117 career games.
Now That's a Tough Non-Conference Schedule
Following contests with Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Boise State and Wyoming the Falcons have had their share of tough non-conference contests in 2008. Combined, the four opponents have a record of 19-7, with two of those losses coming from BGSU wins. Overall #17 Pittsburgh is 5-1 (only loss came versus BGSU), #25 Minnesota (6-1), #13 Boise State (6-0) and Wyoming (2-5).
On This Day Five Years Ago
When the Falcons and Huskies do battle on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2008 it will be the five-year anniversary of the BGSU/NIU game on the campus of Bowling Green State University in which College Gameday called home for the weekend. Chris Fowler, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit hosted their weekly show just outside of Doyt Perry Stadium on Oct. 25, 2003. In that contest the #23 Falcons downed the #12 Huskies 34-18.
Lucky #13
Tyler Sheehan, seems to have found the magic touch the past four games, completing 68% of his passes for 1,047 yards and nine scores, while throwing just two interceptions. Four weeks ago he threw for 287 yards and two touchdowns in a win at Wyoming and threw for 297 yards and two scores in the loss to EMU. Versus Akron he completed 26 of 41 passes for 239 yards and three touchdowns and threw for 224 yards and two scores this past weekend versus Miami.
First Three Games......................Last Three
74-118..................Passing..........96-144
62.7...................Completion %......67%
208.0..................yards/game........261.8
2......................Touchdowns........9
3....................Interceptions.......2
Sheehan By The Down - Completion % - 2008
On First Down - 71 of 102 (69%)
On Second Down - 59 of 93 (63%)
On Third Down - 35 of 62 (56%)
On Fourth Down - 5 of 5 (100%)
Sheehan by the Quarter - 2008
In First Quarter - 48 of 74 (65%) 419 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
In Second Quarter - 48 of 76 (63%) 400 yards, 5 TD, 0 INT
In Third Quarter - 43 of 65 (66%) 349 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT
In Fourth Quarter - 31 of 47 (66%) 187 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT
Sheehan Career Tidbits
• Has completed 63.5% of his passes in his career (496 of 781), while throwing 34 touchdowns and rushing for seven more. His completion percentage is second all-time in school history.
• He has two career receiving touchdowns.
• Has been named MAC East Offensive Player of the Week five times.
• Since the start of 2007 he has been responsible for 43 touchdowns (34 pass, 7 rush, 2 rec.) in 20 games (2.15/game).
• His 781 career passes are 70 passes shy of cracking the top-5 all-time in BGSU history.
• His 496 career completions rank sixth all-time.
• Averages a touchdown pass (1:23) and an interception (1:39)
All He Does Is Catch Touchdowns
Junior TE/FB Jimmy Scheidler entered 2008 with one career reception for minus-4 yards. In the game versus Pittsburgh, Scheidler emerged as a top receiving threat, recording three catches for 30 yards and two touchdowns. His touchdown receptions were from three and five yards, while he also recorded a 22 yard catch that helped set up the Falcons winning score over the No. 25 team in the country. He also had a four-yard touchdown reception against Boise State, a six-yard score versus Eastern Michigan, a five-yard score versus Akron and a four-yard score versus Miami. He currently leads the team with six touchdown receptions on only 11 catches.
Mr. Everything
In 2006 he was the Falcons' starting quarterback. In 2007 he began the year as the #2 quarterback, only to become the starting running back by mid-season. Now in 2008 senior Anthony Turner began the season as a starting wide receiver, but will also see time at running back. In his career he has thrown for 2,153 yards and 16 touchdowns. He has run the ball 356 times for 1,448 yards and 19 scores, and he has 40 career receptions for 342 yards and one touchdown. Combined he has 3,943 total yards of offense while playing three different positions in his Falcon career.
