Bowling Green State University Athletics
Tuesday, November 3
Buffalo, N.Y.
7:00 PM ET
Bowling Green State University
at
Buffalo
Falcons To Play at Buffalo on Tuesday, Live on ESPN2
October 28, 2009 | Football
Bowling Green (3-5, 2-2 MAC) at Buffalo (3-5, 1-3 MAC)
Buffalo, N.Y. • UB Stadium (29,013)
Nov. 3, 2009 • 7 p.m.
TV
ESPN2 • Bob Wischusen (Play-by-Play) and Brian Griese (Analyst)
Radio
Falcon Radio Network (99.1 FM) • Todd Walker (Play-by-Play) and John Gibson (Analyst)
WBGU (88.1 FM) • Not Available
Listen on Online
Series
Series: BGSU Leads 4-2
Last Meeting: Buffalo 40, Bowling Green 34 (2OT) - 2008
Last Meeting at UB: Bowling Green 31, Buffalo 17 - 2007
Notes: The Falcons have outscored the Bulls 75-44 in three games at UB Stadium
Game Notes Versus Buffalo (36 Pages)
The Bowling Green State University football team will travel to Buffalo, New York, for a Tuesday tilt with the University at Buffalo Bulls. Opening kick is set for 7 p.m. and will be carried live on ESPN2.
Scouting the Falcons
The Falcons are led by first year head coach Dave Clawson, who comes to BGSU after a successful career at Fordham and Richmond. Clawson, who is 3-5 in his brief Falcon career, is 61-54 overall in 10 seasons as a head coach.
The Falcon offense is led by third-year signal caller, Tyler Sheehan, who will be making his 34th consecutive start on Tuesday. Through his first 33 games as a Falcon he has thrown for 8,743 yards (second-best in school history) and 58 touchdowns. Sheehan and the Falcons are first in the MAC and fourth nationally, averaging 341.4 yards per game through the air and are coming off a month of Oct., in which they averaged 403.0 passing yards a game.
Sheehan's main offensive weapon is fellow classmate Freddie Barnes, who after eight games this season, has already amassed 99 receptions (12.4 per game) and 1,054 yards (131.8 per game), and nine touchdowns, all tops in the nation. Last weekend Barnes caught 14 passes for 172 yards and one score which is minor compared to what he did versus Kent State back on Oct. 10. The Chicago Heights, Ill., native recorded 22 grabs for 278 yards and three touchdowns. His 22 receptions were one shy of the NCAA record. Through his last three games he has averaged 15.3 receptions for 203.3 yards and 2.3 touchdowns.
Defensively the Falcons are led by linebacker Jerett Sanderson, who is third on the team in tackles (53), first in tackles for loss (5.5) and has chipped in with a sack, quarterback hurry and a forced fumble. He is joined by strong safety Keith Morgan, who has a team-high 57 tackles and four pass breakups. Overall, the Falcons have five players with at least 50 tackles.
Scouting Buffalo
Buffalo will enter Tuesday night's contest with a 3-5 overall and 1-3 MAC record. The Bulls lone conference win was a 21-17 victory over Akron. The Bulls also have out of conference wins over UTEP (23-17) and Gardner-Webb (40-3).
Offensively, Zach Maynard averages 249.8 yards a game through the air, helping the Bulls average 23.1 points and 410.9 yards of offense. Maynard's top offensive target is wide receiver Naaman Roosevelt, who is second in the conference in receptions (60), third in yards (768) and second in touchdowns (9).
Defensively, UB allows 25.6 points and 352.8 yards per game. Justin Winters leads the unit with 66 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss. Steven Means leads the team with 4.0 sacks and a quartet of defenders each have one interception on the season for the Bulls.
Falcons Fall 24-10 to West Division Leader CMU
Visiting Central Michigan University remained undefeated in conference play with a workmanlike 24-10 victory over the Bowling Green State University football team.
Central had a narrow margin in total offense, with 406 yards to the Falcons' 363. BG had 343 yards passing to the Chippewas' 147 on the day. But, the visitors had 259 rushing yards, while holding the Falcons to just 20 yards on the ground.
The Falcon defense held the nation's 15th-ranked offense (in terms of points per game) to 10 points under its average. But, the Chippewas were a perfect 3-for-3 in red-zone offense, while the Falcons scored on only one of five trips inside the red zone.
BGSU's Tyler Sheehan threw for 341 yards on the day, completing 35 passes in 55 attempts. Barnes, as usual, had a double-digit receiving total, with 14 catches for 172 yards on the day. Jimmy Scheidler and Adrian Hodges had five catches apiece.
CMU quarterback Dan LeFevour threw for 147 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while rushing for 128 yards on the day. LeFevour led all players in carries (22) and yards on the ground.
Record Doesn't Tell The Entire Story
While the Falcons are just 3-5 overall and 2-2 in conference play, you can't say the Falcons are challenging their team when it comes to the schedule. Overall, the Falcons have played six of their eight games against teams with winning records, and in fact the combined winning percentage of those six teams is not even close to .500. Boise State (7-0), Central Michigan (7-1), Troy (5-2), Marshall (5-3), Ohio (5-3) and Missouri (4-3) have a combined 33-12 record (.733). Add in Ball State (1-7) and Kent State (4-4), and the combined opponent record is still 38-23 (.623).
MAC Road Warriors
The Falcons are 10-2 since 2007 in MAC road contests. They have wins over Kent State (31-20), Eastern Michigan (39-32) and Buffalo (31-17) in 2007, wins over Akron (37-33), Ohio (28-3) and Toledo (38-10) in 2008 and are 2-0 in MAC road games in 2009, downing Kent State (36-35) and Ball State (31-17). The Falcons lone road MAC road loses in that time are versus Miami in 2007 (47-14) and Northern Illinois in 2008 (16-13).
Last Year Versus Buffalo
With the Falcons leading 27-7 following an Anthony Turner touchdown run with 13:16 left in the fourth quarter, the Bulls scored 20 unanswered points to send the game into overtime at Doyt Perry Stadium. Both teams added touchdowns in the first overtime, but a James Starks 25-yard touchdown run in the second extra frame gave UB a 40-34 win.
Tyler Sheehan was 24-of-32 for 240 yards and a touchdown and added 70 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Freddie Barnes added 10 catches for 107 yards in the loss.
Barnes Named Semifinalist for Biletnikoff Award
The Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, the creator and sponsor of the Biletnikoff Award, presented annually to the nation's outstanding college football receiver, has announced its semifinalist list, with Bowling Green State University's Freddie Barnes a part of that honor.
Barnes is one of 10 semifinalists for the Biletnikoff Award. He is joined by Dezmone Briscoe (Kansas), Vincent Brown (San Diego State), Eric Decker (Minnesota), Marshwan Gilyard (Cincinnati), A.J. Green (Georgia), Jordan Shipley (Texas), Demaryius Thomas (Georgia Tech), Golden Ttate (Notre Dame), Mike Williams (Syracuse)
Barnes is the nation's leading receiver in catches (99), yards (1,054), touchdowns (9), yards per game (131.8) and receptions per game (12.4). His reception total is 37 more than his nearest competitor, while his lead in yards receiving is 173 more than the next closest receiver and he has one more touchdown than any receiver in the country.
The next vote for the top-3 finalists will take place on Nov. 16 and close on Nov. 19.
Aerial Attack; Four Week Bombardment
Since the beginning of MAC play the Falcons' passing attack has been one of the nation's best. In the last four weeks Tyler Sheehan has thrown for 1,612 (403.0/game), the most ever by a BGSU quarterback in a four-game stretch. Overall, he has completed 135-of-211 passes (64.1 percent) and nine touchdowns.
In the same span Freddie Barnes has 53 catches for 694 yards and seven touchdowns, while sophomore Adrian Hodges has 25 grabs for 217 yards and one score.
Overall, the Falcon offense is averaging 460 yards and 28.5 points per game in MAC play.
Ice That Arm
Bowling Green is first in the Mid-American Conference and fourth nationally, averaging 341.4 yards per game through the air. Helping that number is the fact that the Falcons have thrown it 409 times through eight games (Texas Tech has 408 pass attempts), most in the country. In fact, the Orange and Brown are currently averaging 51.1 attempts and 32.6 completions which would average out to 613 attempts and 391 completions, both which would be new school records. The current record of 345 completions was set in 2003 and the 522 attempts was just set in 2007.
Barnes and Sheehan Do Something Never Done Before
Tyler Sheehan 1,612 yards passing the last four games are the most-ever by a BGSU quarterback in four straight games. After throwing for 390 yards versus Ohio, 505 versus Kent State, 376 versus Ball State and 341 versus Central Michigan the senior signal-caller is averaging 403.0 yards per game over that span.
In that same span, Barnes' 53 catches are more than any other BGSU wide receiver in a four game span. The only receiver close to that mark, is Barnes himself, who posted 46 receptions in the opening four games of 2009.
Take Me to Your Leader
The Falcon air attack has always had its pilot in Tyler Sheehan, but there is no question who the co-pilot is in 2009. Wide receiver Freddie Barnes, who has 99 catches through eight games in 2009, currently has a stranglehold atop the nation's leaderboard in catches, and in fact it's not even close right now.
Player (School) Catches Yards
Freddie Barnes (BGSU) 99 1,054
Kerry Meier (Kansas) 62 634
Naaman Roosevelt (Buffalo) 60 768
Emmanuel Sanders (SMU) 59 628
Jordan Shipley (Texas) 58 713
Helps When You Set A New School Record, Three Times
Obviously, when a player has 85 catches in six games he is posting some serious numbers. Well, when it comes to Freddie Barnes, he is doing just that. After posting just 40 receptions in 2008 due to injuries, most expected Barnes to return to his 82 reception performance from 2007, but no one could have predicted this.
In 2002 Robert Redd had 14 catches versus Northern Illinois, a mark that most felt would be tough to beat (Corey Partridge matched the 14 catches in 2006 versus Toledo). To open 2009 Barnes caught a school record 15 catches in a win over Troy, a record most believed would once again be tough to beat. That record stood for two weeks before Barnes posted 17 catches at Marshall, establishing a new BGSU record. Just when you thought that was a untouchable number, Barnes had an incredible performance, hauling in 22 catches at Kent State.
NCAA Record Breaker?
Freddie Barnes, who is currently averaging 12.4 catches a game, is currently on pace to finish 2009 with 148 catches (in 12 games), which would break the current NCAA record, held since 1989 by Manny Hazard (Houston) with 142.
Moving On Up
When marching up a record book like Freddie Barnes is doing, 99 catches in eight games will help out in a hurry. The senior, who began 2009 with 142 career receptions, has climbed from 11th all-time all the way to the top of the BGSU in the record books.
1. Freddie Barnes (2005-PR) 241
2. Charles Sharon (2002-05) 232
3. Cole Magner (2001-04) 215
4. Robert Redd (1998-02) 211
5. Mark Szlachcic (1989-92) 182
6. Corey Partridge (2005-08) 182
7. Stan Hunter (1982-85) 176
8. Reggie Thornton (1986-89) 158
9. Steve Sanders (2002-05) 156
10. Kurt Gerling (1998-01) 152
There Are Other Wide Receivers Too
While Freddie Barnes has been getting most of the attentio, other Falcon pass catchers are putting up some solid numbers in 2009. Sophomore Adrian Hodges is second on the team with 43 catches, 383 yards and two touchdowns. Hodges has 25 catches the last four weeks after recording just five grabs in all of 2008.
Chris Wright is third on the team with 29 grabs for 416 yards and two scores after recording just 22 grabs for 249 yards last season.
Sophomore Justus Jones has come out of nowhere to play a major role for the Falcon passing game. While he has just 13 catches on the year, he was thrown into the lineup at Kent State and came away with a career-high six catches for 70 yards in the win.
Believe it or Not
Conventional wisdom says that a strong running game is the way to control the clock, but believe it or not BGSU ranks tops in the MAC and fifth nationally in time of possession. The Falcons, who throw it more than any other team in the league, are controlling the ball for 33:20 a game.
Top Time of Possession Teams
1. Georgia Tech 34:50
2. Kansas State 34:38
3. Navy 34:10
4. Fresno State 33:22
5. Bowling Green 33:20
Get Off The Field
Helping with that strong time of possession is the defense's ability to get stops on third down. BGSU ranks first in the MAC and 16th in the country in opponent third down conversions (32.1%). In fact, when you look at the numbers even closer the Falcon defense has been extremely effective on third downs longer than three yards. Overall, when the opponent has to get three or fewer yards for a first down they have been successful 59.3 percent of the time. On all other third downs the Falcons have allowed just 16 first downs on 77 attempts (20.8%) when the yardage to get is at least four yards.
Very Few Are Better
Tyler Sheehan, who will be making his 34th consecutive start, has put up some huge numbers in his career, and in fact, very few quarterbacks have done it better. Below are just a few of how Sheehan ranks among active NCAA leaders.
• Ranks sixth in pass attempts (1,311)
• Fourth in completions (848)
• Eighth in yards (8,743)
• 13th in passing touchdowns (58)
• 12th in completions percentage (64.7)
• 13th in touchdowns responsible for (74)
• 12th in total yards (9,017)
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