Falcons Host Wyoming This Saturday at Noon

Bowling Green Falcons (2-0, 0-0 MAC)
vs. Wyoming (2-0, 0-0 MWC)
Game 3: Sat., Sept. 17 • Noon
Doyt L. Perry Stadium (24,000)
Bowling Green, Ohio
Series vs. Wyoming: BGSU Leads 1-0
Series Streak: BGSU - 1
Last Meeting: BGSU, 45-16 (Sept. 27, 2008)
Television: BCSN • Greg Franke (Play-by-Play) and Tom Cole (Analyst)
Carried Live on ESPN3
Radio: Falcon Sports Radio Network • Todd Walker (play-by-play) and John Gibson (analyst)
WBGU: Brad Woznicki and Kohl Friery
Live Stats: www.bgsufalcons.com
Watch Live
Listen Live
Follow BGSU Football SID Dave Meyer: @DaveMeyerBG
Follow Official BGSU Athletic Department: @BGAthletics

Game Notes vs. Wyoming (24 pages)

Bowling Green Quick Hits
• The Bowling Green State University football team is in the middle of its 93rd season of football with an all-time record of 494-339-51 (.590).
• Saturday's contest with Wyoming will be the second-ever meeting between the two teams. These two squads last faced-off in 2008 in Laramie, Wyo., in which the Falcons walked away with a 45-16 victory.
• The head coach of that 2008 team was Gregg Brandon, who currently serves as the offensive coordinator for Wyoming.
• The Falcons are 2-0 on the season after defeating Morgan State 58-13 last weekend.
• BGSU will be in search of its first 3-0 start since 2003.
• Head coach Dave Clawson returns for his third season at the helm of the football team and returns all but one of his assistant coaches from 2010. Clawson has an all-time record of 69-65 and is 11-16 at BGSU.
• BGSU boasts one of the youngest teams in football with 54 players that are freshmen or redshirt freshmen and another 27 players that are sophomores or redshirt sophomores.
• Sticking with the youth, on the two-deep alone, the Falcons feature 10 seniors, eight juniors, 15 sophomores and 13 freshmen.
• BGSU has 23 non-conference wins since 2001, the most in the Mid-American Conference.
• The Falcons have four players on preseason watch teams: Kamar Jorden (Biletnikoff), Ben Bojicic (Rimington), Booboo Gates (Paul Hornung) and Dwayne Woods (Butkus).
• The Falcons do not have season captains in 2011. They will elect game captains each week.

Scouting the Falcons
The BGSU football team enters Saturday's contest with a 2-0 record after downing Morgan State 58-13 last Saturday inside “The Doyt”. BGSU will once again be led by head coach Dave Clawson, who is 69-65 all-time in his career and 11-16 as the head coach of the Falcons.

A Look at the Falcon Offense
The Falcon offense has a different feel in 2011, averaging 45.0 points and 525.0 yards per game, after posting just 21.2 points and 294.4 yards per game in 2011.

Two big factors that have led to those numbers are the play of the quarterback and the new found rushing attack.

Matt Schilz has been efficient with the ball in the first two games, averaging 274.5 yards per game, on just 27.0 attempts (10.2 yards per attempt), while also ranking ninth in the country in passing efficiency (189.29). Through two games the sophomore has completed 35-of-54 passes for 549 yards and seven touchdowns. His five touchdown passes versus Morgan State were one shy of the school record, held by Ryan Henry (1994).

The rushing attack is averaging 227.5 yards per game in 2011,after finishing last in the country last season, averaging just 62.8 yards per game on the ground. The two-headed monster of Jordan Hopgood and Anthon Samuel combined for 212 yards and two touchdowns in the win over the Bears. On the season Samuel is averaging 131.5 yards per game, while Hopgood is averaging 67.5 yards on the ground.

A Look at the Falcon Defense
Defensively the Falcons have been just as strong as the offense. Through two games the Falcons are allowing just 14.0 points and 236.5 yards per game. This is the same defense that allowed 33.6 points and 432.0 yards per game in 2010.

Chris Jones leads the way up front with six tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks. As a team the Falcons have 13 tackles for loss on the season.

A Look at Special Teams
The Falcons' special teams have converted on 2-of-2 field goals and 10-of-12 extra points with Kyle Burkhardt leading the way with 10-of-11 extra points and has made his lone field goal attempt of the season. Punter Brian Schmiedebush is averaging 50.4 yards per punt, tops in the MAC, which includes an 81-yard bomb in week one versus Idaho.

Morgan State Recap
The Falcons posted 572 yards of total offense, with 353 of those yards coming in the first half.

Matt Schilz was 16-of-23 for 258 yards and five touchdowns in the game, but played just one series in the second half. Eugene Cooper posted career-bests in catches (6), yards (134) and touchdowns (4).

The defense wasn't too shabby either, holding Morgan State to 193 total yards, with just 37 of those yards coming through the air.

Offensive Explosion
The Falcons' 58 points and 572 yards versus Morgan State were the most points BGSU has scored since Oct. 1, 2005 in a 70-7 win versus Temple and the most yards since Oct. 8, 2005 when the Falcon offense posted 573 yards in a 38-15 win versus Ohio.

First Half Stats
The Falcon offense put on a show in the first half versus Morgan State, posting 353 yards of offense and five touchdowns. Matt Schilz was 15-of-22 passing for 252 yards and five touchdowns, including four of those touchdowns to Eugene Cooper, who had six catches for 134 yards at the half.

Series with Wyoming
Saturday's match-up will be the second-ever meeting between the two schools, and the first meeting in Bowling Green, Ohio.

The last time these two teams met was on Sept. 27, 2008 in which the Falcons rolled to a 45-16 victory over the Cowboys.

Cowboy Connection
The BGSU head coach of that 45-16 win at Wyoming was current Cowboy offensive coordinator, Gregg Brandon. Brandon (2003-08) was 44-30 in six seasons as the head coach of BGSU. Brandon took the Falcons to three bowl appearances in a five year span, winning the 2003 Motor City Bowl and the 2004 GMAC Bowl.

Newbie Does it Again
In his first career game Anthon Samuel rushed for 141 yards on 22 carries in the win versus Idaho. He was the first Falcon freshman to rush for over 100 yards in his first career game since Freddie Barnes, who ran for 158 yards on 29 carries versus Wisconsin on Sept. 2, 2006. This past week the freshman went over 100 yards again (122 yards on 11 carries), becoming the first Falcon to post back-to-back 100-yard games since P.J. Pope did it back in 2004.

Running on Full
The new-found Falcon rushing attack has been led by a pair of tailbacks in freshman Anthon Samuel and sophomore Jordan Hopgood. Samuel is third in the Mid-American Conference, averaging 131.5 yards per game on the ground. Hopgood is just outside the top-10 in the MAC, averaging 67.5 yards per game.

As a team the Falcons are averaging 227.5 yards per game on the ground, which is fourth-best in the MAC. Not bad considering a year ago the Falcons were last in the nation, averaging just 62.4 yards per game rushing.

(Note: Hopgood, who is second on the team in rushing (67.5), is averaging more than the entire Falcon team did in 2010.)

Offensive Line Shuffle
What has made those rushing numbers even more impressive is how good the offensive line has been, despite some changes. Starting left tackle Kyle Bryant broke his hand a few weeks prior to the start of the season, which forced some changes. Ben Bojicic moved to left tackle, Chip Robinson moved to center and Dominique Wharton has made a pair of starts at guard. Only Dominic Flewellyn and Jordon Roussos have not moved positions.

Bojicic, a Rimington Award watch list member (nation's top center) had started 30 games in his career, all at center, prior to the contest with Idaho. He has now started back-to-back games at left tackle.

This same offensive line has allowed just three sacks (1.5/game) after allowing 34 sacks (2.8/game) in 2010.

Cooper Named MAC East Offensive Player of the Week
Eugene Cooper, a member of the Bowling Green State University football team, was named the Mid-American Conference East Division Offensive Player of the Week following his efforts versus Morgan State. The announcement was made by the league office on Monday afternoon.

“Binky” recorded six catches for 134 yards and four touchdowns in the Falcons' 58-13 win over Morgan State on Sept. 10. All three were career-bests for the senior.

Cooper opened the game with a 37-yard touchdown from quarterback Matt Schilz. He added two more scores late in the first quarter from six and 23 yards.

Cooper's final touchdown came with 11 seconds remaining in the first half, an 18-yard score, his fourth score of the first half.

The four receiving touchdowns in a single game match the school record, set by Jeff Groth versus Grand Valley State in 1978.

Cooper Tire
Eugene “Binky” Cooper came into the 2011 season with 17 catches and 130 yards and no touchdowns in his Falcon career. Through two games in 2011 the senior has 10 catches for 244 yards (24.4 avg) and six touchdowns.

In fact, Cooper is just one of four players in the country with six touchdowns through two games. Montee Ball (Wisconsin), Ray Graham (Pittsburgh) and Bernard Pierce (Temple) along with Cooper each have six scores in 2011. Cooper is the only player in the country with six receiving touchdowns.

Don't Forget the Defense
While everyone is talking about this new Falcon offense, the defense has been just as impressive in 2011. Through two games the Falcon defense is allowing 14.0 points per game, fourth-best in the MAC. They also rank second in the league, allowing 236.5 yards per game, fourth in rushing defense (104.0) and fourth in pass defense (132.5).

Drive Stopper
The biggest factor to those great defensive numbers is the fact that BGSU's third down defense has been one of the best in the nation ... well actually, second-best in the nation. Through two games the Falcons have allowed just 4-of-28 (14.3 percent) third down conversions. Only Florida has been better, 2-of-23 (13.0 percent).

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