Bowling Green State University Athletics
Battle of I-75, Falcons Face Rockets on Friday
November 24, 2008 | Football
Nov. 24, 2008
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -
Game #12
Bowling Green (5-6, 3-4 MAC) vs. Toledo (3-8, 2-5, MAC)
Nov. 28, 2008 • Toledo, Ohio (Glass Bowl) • 3:30 p.m.
TV:ESPN Classic • Todd Harris (Play-by-Play) and Shaun King (Analyst)
Radio: BGSU Radio Network (1230AM) • Todd Walker (Play-by-Play) and Cal Bowers (Analyst)
Internet: ESPN360.com
BGSU Football Game Notes Versus Toledo (39 pages) 
The Bowling Green State University football team (5-6, 3-4 MAC) will travel to Toledo, Ohio for a Friday afternoon showdown with the Toledo Rockets (3-8, 2-5 MAC). The opening kickoff will begin at 3:30 p.m., with the contest being carried live on ESPN Classic and ESPN360.com.
Scouting the Falcons
The Falcons, had a two game winning streak snapped last weekend as BGSU dropped a double overtime loss to the Buffalo Bulls, 40-34.
Offensively they are led by junior signal caller Tyler Sheehan, who has thrown for 2,369 yards and 17 touchdowns. The second year starting quarterback also leads the team with seven rushing scores and even has one receiving touchdown this season. In his career the Cincinnati, Ohio native has been responsible for 53 touchdowns (40 passing, 10 rushing, 3 receiving).
Alongside Sheehan is a quartet of tailbacks, led by fifth-year senior Anthony Turner, who has 379 yards on the ground to go along with five rushing touchdowns. Turner is joined by Chris Bullock (332 yds., 2 TD), Willie Geter (141 yds.) and Jason Rice (107 yds, 1 TD). Overall, the Falcons rank 10th in the MAC in rushing, averaging 119.5 yards per game.
Sheehan has more than enough options when deciding who to throw the ball to. Sheehan has completed passes to 13 different players this season, but leading the way is fifth-year senior Corey Partridge, who has 53 catches to go along with 518 yards and six scores. The Loveland, Ohio native has 177 career receptions, which ranks fifth in school history. Joining Partridge as other Falcon targets include Freddie Barnes (37 rec., 325 yds.), Tyrone Pronty (27 rec., 173 yds.), Chris Wright (20 rec., 224 yds, 1 TD) and tight end Jimmy Scheidler (17 rec. 137 yds., 7 TD).
Defensively the Falcons allow 24.4 points per game, after allowing 32.1 last season. That 7.7 points per game improvement is one of the best in the country. Up front the Falcons are led by MAC Defensive Player of the Year Candidate, Diyral Briggs who is tied for first in the league with eight sacks, and third in the conference with 11.5 tackles for loss.
The linebacker group is second, third and sixth on the team in tackles, but they also have five interceptions this season, just two less than the Falcon secondary. Fifth-year senior John Haneline leads the bunch with 81 tackles and two sacks.
The BGSU secondary is second in the league (conference games only), allowing just 186.0 yards a game through the air. The secondary, which has started 133 games combined, have all started together for the last 18 contests. Junior P.J. Mahone leads the team with 85 tackles, while cornerback Kenny Lewis is tops on the team with four interceptions.
Rivalry Game
For the 73rd time BGSU and Toledo will square off in the two school's "rivalry game". For several reasons the two teams consider this their biggest game of the year (see the Peace Pip eabove), but another major reason is the location of both schools. From campus to campus Toledo and Bowling Green are separated by just 27.5 miles, a straight shot down Interstate-75. In fact, the distance between the two schools is the eighth nearest among division I schools.
Rice University & University of Houston 6.1 miles
Duke University & NC State=8.3 miles
Washington State University & University of Idaho=8.7 miles
University of North Carolina & Duke University=10 miles
University of North Carolina & NC State=10.1 miles
University of Akron & Kent State University=11.6 miles
University of Southern California & UCLA=14.1 miles
Bowling Green State University & University of Toledo=27.5 miles
Brandon Versus the MAC/Rockets
Friday will be coach Brandon's 48th contest versus the Mid-American Conference. He currently holds a 30-17 (63.8%) MAC record, best in the conference since 2003. The Falcons have squared off with Toledo five times under Brandon with the Orange and Brown walking away with two victories.
First Half Dominance
In the past three contests the Falcons have roared out to 28-0, 14-0 and 14-0 halftime leads over Kent State, Ohio and Buffalo for a combined 56-0 advantage in the opening 30 minutes of the past three contests. Other first half stats the past three games include:
BGSU...........................Opponents 56..............Points.............0 720...........Total Yards........274 221..........Rushing Yards.......138 499..........Passing Yards.......221 40............First Downs.........11 54:59......Time of Possession..35:01 3..........Turnovers Forced........1 17 of 26......Third Downs....4 of 17It Just Keeps Getting Better
Speaking of that 56-0 halftime lead in the past three games, while the offense has received much of the credit, the BGSU defense has been just as impressive, and the improvements from a year ago rank among the nation's best.
2007 Stats.....Category.......2008 Stats 32.1.........points/game........24.4 207.8........rushing/game......165.6 424.4....total defense/game....356.8Stuff It
Prior to facing Ohio two games ago the Falcon defense was allowing 189.8 yards a game on the ground, and allowing a 4.6 yard per carry in the first nine games. In the past two contests BGSU has allowed just 114 total yards on the ground (57.0/game) and are allowing just a 2.2 yards per carry average versus Ohio and Buffalo.
Road Warriors
Four of Bowling Green's five wins this season are on the road with victories at Pittsburgh (27-17), at Wyoming (44-16), at Akron (37-33) and at Ohio (28-3). The Falcons' lone road loss this season came at Boise State (20-7).
Percentage Leader
Junior quarterback Tyler Sheehan currently owns the all-time highest completion percentage for a season (2008), completing 67.3% of his passes, breaking previous record holder Omar Jacobs, who completed 66.9% of his passes in 2004. Sheehan also is the career leader in the same category, completing 64.7% of his passes, edging out Jacobs (64.5%).
Saving Best for Last
Fifth-year seniors Diyral Briggs and Corey Partridge are having the best years of their Falcon career. Last week versus Buffalo Briggs recorded his eighth sack of the season, establishing a new career best (he had seven sacks in 2006). Partridge has 53 catches (he had 55 in 2006) and six touchdowns (had six touchdowns his first three years combined) this season.
