Falcons Host Morgan State this Saturday at 7 p.m.

Bowling Green Falcons (1-0, 0-0 MAC)
vs. Morgan State (0-1, 0-0 MEAC)
Game 2: Sat., Sept. 10 • 7 p.m. EST
Doyt L. Perry Stadium (24,000)
Bowling Green, Ohio
Series vs. Morgan State: First Meeting
Series Streak: None
Last Meeting: None
Television: BCSN • Greg Franke (Play-by-Play) and Tom Cole (Analyst)
Radio: Falcon Sports Radio Network • Todd Walker (play-by-play) and John Gibson (analyst)
Live Stats: www.bgsufalcons.com
Listen Live
Watch Live
Follow BGSU Football SID Dave Meyer: @DaveMeyerBG
Follow Official BGSU Athletic Department: @BGAthletics

Game Notes vs. Morgan State (23 pages)

Falcon Quick Facts
• The Bowling Green State University football team is in the middle of its 93rd season of football with an all-time record of 493-339-51 (.588).
• Saturday's contest with Morgan State will be the first time the two schools have ever met.
• The Falcons are 1-0 on the season after defeating Idaho 32-15 on Sept. 1.
• BGSU will be in search of its first 2-0 start since 2003.
• The Falcons are 2-0 in home openers with Dave Clawson as its head coach. BGSU beat Troy 31-14 in 2009 and Marshall 44-28 in 2010.
• 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 68-65 and is 10-16 with 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.
• Seven Falcons made their first career start last Thursday and a total of 17 players saw action in their first game as a Falcon.
• BGSU has 22 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 1-0 record after downing Idaho 32-15 in Moscow, Idaho in the 2011 season opener.

BGSU will once again be led by head coach Dave Clawson, who is 68-65 all-time in his career and 10-16 as the head coach of the Falcons.

A Look at the Falcon Offense
The Falcons had one of their best offensive outputs in over a year in the win over Idaho. In 2010 the Falcons' top offensive performance was 414 yards in a 49-25 loss at Ohio. Needless to say, the Falcons' 478 yards in a win versus Idaho was much better.

Matt Schilz was excellent, throwing for a career-best 291 yards on 19-of-31 passing. He hooked up with Eugene Cooper on a pair of touchdowns (76 and 24 yards) in the first half as the Falcons held a dominating 30-7 lead at halftime.
The top story of the game though was the Falcons' rushing attack that posted 187 yards rushing on 48 carries and two touchdowns. Freshman Anthon Samuel led the way with 141 yards and one score.

A Look at the Falcon Defense
Defensively the Falcons were just as strong as the offense. After allowing an opening drive of 78 yards for a touchdown, the defense allowed just 202 yards of offense in the final 57 minutes of the game.

The Falcons, who allowed 207.8 yards per game on the ground in 2010, held Idaho to just 52 yards rushing on 21 carries.

BGSU forced three turnovers (2 fumbles, 1 INT), had four sacks and six tackles for loss.

A Look at Special Teams
The special teams were solid in the win over the Vandals as well. Kicker Kyle Burkhardt nailed a 39-yard field goal and connected on 3-of-4 extra points.

Brian Schmiedebusch, who was punting in his first game as a Falcon, averaged 55.8 yards per punt, which included an 81-yard bomb, tied for the second longest punt in school history.

His best punt of the day came early in the fourth quarter, a 45-yard boot that was downed on the 2-yardline. The following play Chris Jones sacked the quarterback for a safety to once again put the Falcons up by three scores (32-15).

Series with Morgan State
Saturday's matchup will be the first contest between the two schools.

First
Seven Falcons made their first career start last Thursday versus Idaho. On defense Ted Ouellet, Paul Swan, D.J. Lynch, DeVon McKoy and Ryland Ward all started and were joined by Dominique Wharton and Kendall Montgomery on offense.

Hello Newbie
How many of you had ever heard of Anthon Samuel before last Thursday night? How many of you will remember his name now? The true freshman running back from Opa Locka, Fla. (went to the same high school as 2010 BGSU starting running back, Willie Geter) ran for 141 yards on 22 carries (6.4 avg.) and one touchdown in the win versus Idaho. The last freshman to run for over 100 yards in his first career start ... Freddie Barnes. Barnes, who started at quarterback in the season opener versus Wisconsin on Sept. 2, 2006, (in Cleveland Browns Stadium), ran for 158 yards on 29 carries.

Running on Full
While Anthon Samuel's day was impressive, the entire running game was strong throughout the contest. Samuel, along with Jordan Hopgood (45 yards) and wide receiver Eugene Cooper (9 yards), helped the team run for 187 yards, which is an outstanding number after the Falcons ranked dead last in the country in rushing yards per game (62.8) in 2010.

The last time BGSU ran for more than 187 yards in a single game was Nov. 1, 2008 versus Kent State (261 yards rushing).

Offensive Line Shuffle
What made those rushing numbers even more impressive was how good the offensive line was, despite some changes. Starting left tackle Kyle Bryant broke his hand a few weeks prior, which forced some changes. Ben Bojicic moved to left tackle, Chip Robinson moved to center and Dominique Wharton made his first career start at left guard.

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.

Cooper Tire
Eugene “Binky” Cooper came into the 2011 season with just 17 catches and 130 yards with no touchdowns. If the game versus Idaho is a sign of things to come, those numbers will get blown away. Cooper finished the game with four catches for 110 yards and two scores. His first touchdown came on a perfectly thrown ball from Schilz for a 76 yard touchdown. On the very next drive Cooper caught a 24-yard pass and went into the end zone untouched.

Just How Good was the Defense?
• The defense allowed just 280 yards of total offense ... only once in 2010 did BGSU allow less than that in a single game (231 yards versus CMU).
• Bowling Green allowed only 52 yards rushing in the game. The last time BGSU's run defense allowed less was Nov. 12, 2009 versus Miami (36 yards).
• BGSU held a 2:1 ratio in time of possession, holding on to the ball for 40:19.
• Idaho ran only 65 offensive plays and 10 of those plays resulted in a tackle for loss, and interception or pass breakup).
• The Falcons had four sacks, six tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, one interception, three pass breakups and two quarterback hurries.
• Idaho's shortest third down attempt was a third-and-5 and eight of their 12 third down attempts were third-and-10's (or longer).

Under 100 = WIN
The Falcons are 4-0 all-time under Dave Clawson when they allow under 100 yards rushing in the game.

Team                 Rush Yds.    Score
vs. Troy (2009)       41             W, 31-14
at Miami (2009)      36             W, 35-14
at CMU (2010)      99             W, 17-14
at Idaho (2011)       52             W, 32-15

Jones'n For Sacks
Defensive tackle Chris Jones led the team with 6.0 sacks in 2010, and has continued to lead the way with 2.0 sacks in the win versus Idaho, including a sack that led to a safety in the fourth quarter versus the Vandals.

Jones Named MAC East Defensive POW
Chris Jones, a member of the Bowling Green State University football team, was named Mid-American Conference East Division Defensive Player of the Week after his efforts versus Idaho last Thursday. The announcement was made by the league office on Sept. 5.

While Jones had just three tackles in the 32-15 win at Idaho, he made the most of all three opportunities. The junior had three tackles for loss, two sacks and a forced fumble as the Falcons held Idaho to just 280 yards of total offense and 2-of-12 on third downs.

Following a Brian Schmiedebusch punt, that was downed at the 2-yardline, Jones recorded a safety to put the Falcons up by three scores early in the fourth quarter (32-15).

Woods Named to Butkus Watch List
Bowling Green State University's Dwayne Woods was named to the Butkus Award Watch List on July 15. The award is given to the nation's top linebacker.

Woods, a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, started all 12 games in 2010, recording a MAC-leading 134 tackles, which were the sixth-most in the nation at the conclusion of the regular season. The second-team All-MAC honoree chipped in with six tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, two interceptions and seven pass breakups.

Jorden Named to Biletnikoff Watch List
Stop us if you have heard this before ... a Bowling Green State University wide receiver was mentioned in the same sentence as the Biletnikoff Award. The Falcons' Kamar Jorden was announced as one of 75 members to the preseason Biletnikoff Award watch list, given to the nation's top wide receiver.

In 2009 former Falcon, Freddie Barnes, was one of three finalist for the same award, but lost out to Golden Tate, of Notre Dame. Barnes led the country that season with 155 receptions, setting a new NCAA mark for catches in a season.

The most notable of all of this was that Jorden accomplished something Barnes did not. Barnes was never even named to the Biletnikoff preseason watch list.

Jorden finished 2010, his first year with the Orange and Brown, with 96 catches for 1,109 yards and four touchdowns, earning first-team All-MAC honors. His 96 catches and 1,109 receiving yards are both third-most in BGSU history.

Bojicic Named to Rimington List ... Again
Ben Bojicic, a member of the Bowling Green State University football team was named to the Rimington Award Watch List on May 19, 2011. This is the third consecutive year Bojicic was named to the watch list, an award given annually to the nation's top center.

The Farmington Hills, Mich., native is one of 42 players on the list and is one of just 14 players that were nominations a year ago.

Gates Opens Door to Hornung Watch List
Jerry “Booboo” Gates was named to the Paul Hornung Preseason Watch List, given to the nation's most versatile player. Gates spent time at rover and kick returner in 2010. Gates was one of 50 members named to the list.

Gates, a native of Middletown, Ohio, recorded 35 tackles, one forced fumble, one interception and a fumble recovery on defense and added 14 returns for 341 yards (24.4 avg.) as a kick returner.

Gates had a 75-yard touchdown return versus Kent State and his lone interception of the season was returned for 29 yards, also a touchdown.

Clawson Enters Third Year
BGSU head coach Dave Clawson begins his third year at the helm of the Falcon football program. In his first year Clawson lead the Falcons to a 7-6 record and an appearance in the Humanitarian Bowl. In 2010 the Falcons slipped, going 2-10. Now in his third year Clawson is 68-65 overall and 10-16 with BGSU.

Clawson Rebuilding Project
Take 2009 out of the argument, 2010 was the first year of the Clawson rebuild. The 2009 team had 18 seniors, with 12 of them starting in the Humanitarian Bowl. 2010 was a very young team, a concept that Clawson is not unfamiliar with, but it is something Clawson has shown he can turn around.

at Fordham (1999-2003)
First Year          0-11
Second Year    3-8
Third Year         7-4
Fourth Year    10-3
Fifth Year          9-3

at Richmond (2004-2007)
First Year          3-8
Second Year    9-4
Third Year         6-5
Fourth Year    11-3

at Bowling Green (2009-PR)
First Year           7-6
Second Year    2-10
Third Year         1-0

Youth is Served
As mentioned before, 54 players on this season's team are either redshirt freshmen or true freshmen with another 27 players either being sophomores or redshirt sophomores. That means 72.9 percent of the Falcons' roster has at least three years of eligibility remaining entering 2011.

Non-Conference Wins
Since 2001 the Falcons have 22 non-conference wins, the most in the Mid-American Conference. Not only are they out of conference wins, but BGSU has several major wins.
2001 - at Missouri, 20-13
2001 - at Northwestern, 43-42
2002 - Missouri, 51-28
2002 - at Kansas, 39-16
2003 - at #16 Purdue, 27-26
2003 - Northwestern, 28-24*
2004 - Memphis, 52-35#
2006 - at Florida International, 33-28
2007 - at Minnesota, 32-31 (OT)
2008 - at Pittsburgh, 27-17
2009 - Troy, 31-14
2010 - Marshall, 44-28
2011 - at Idaho, 32-15
*Motor City Bowl
# GMAC Bowl

Six Falcons Named to Phil Steele Preseason Team
Alex Bayer, Ben Bojicic, Eugene Cooper, Chris Jones, Kamar Jorden and Dwayne Woods, six members of the Bowling Green State University football team, were honored as members of Phil Steele's Preseason All-MAC Team.

Woods earned first-team honors, while Bayer, Cooper, Jones and Jorden made second-team and Bojicic was named to the fourth-team.

BGSU Traffic Pattern Changes for Football and Stroh Center Events
With the completion of the Stroh Center and the access to adjacent parking lots for events, the University's Department of Public Safety, in conjunction with the City of Bowling Green, have requested a revised traffic pattern for patrons entering parking lots 24, 20, and 13. All traffic from I-75 will be routed westbound on E. Wooster Street to Mercer Road to Alumni Drive. Those traveling eastbound from downtown Bowling Green will turn left on to Mercer Road to access Alumni Drive. The entrance at Alumni Drive and Campbell Hill Road intersection will be closed on event days.

The change improves queuing of traffic on Wooster Street. The old traffic pattern created congestion from traffic exiting from I-75.

The revised traffic pattern will be in effect for all football games, stadium events, and when pay for parking is required for an event in Stroh.

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