Falcons Go For Five in a Row as They Host Eastern Michigan on Saturday

Bowling Green Falcons (5-3, 3-1 MAC)
vs. Eastern Michigan Eagles (1-6, 0-3 MAC)
Game 9: Sat., Oct. 27 • 3:30 p.m.
Doyt Perry Stadium (24,000)
Bowling Green, Ohio
Series vs. EMU: BGSU Leads 23-11-1
Series Streak: EMU - 1
Last Meeting: EMU 24-21 (10/04/08)
Television: BCSN • Greg Franke (PxP) and Tom Cole (Analyst)
Radio: Falcon Sports Radio Network • Todd Walker (PxP) and John Gibson (Analyst)
WBGU 88.1 FM: TBA
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BGSU Game Notes
Eastern Michigan Game Notes

Falcons Quick Hits
• The Bowling Green State University football team is in the middle of its 94th season of football and has an all-time record of 502-349-51 (.587).
• Head coach Dave Clawson is in his fourth season at the helm of the football team and has an all-time record of 77-75 and is 19-26 at BGSU.
• For the fourth consecutive year the Falcons will have all three coordinators returning. Warren Ruggiero, Mike Elko and Adam Scheier will coach offense, defense and special teams.
• The Falcons are 149-79-5 (.650) all-time inside Doyt L. Perry Stadium and 9-12 at home under Clawson.
• BGSU is coming off a 24-0 win at UMass, BGSU's first shutout since Nov. 6, 2004, a 52-0 win at home versus Western Michigan.
• BGSU leads the all-time series with Eastern Michigan at 23-11-1.
• Anthon Samuel ranks tied for 18th in school history with 1,569 career rushing yards.
• Chris Jones is third in BGSU history with 24.5 career sacks and currently is second in the nation with 9.0 sacks in 2012.
• Chris Jones (first-team), Alex Bayer (first-team), Dominic Flewellyn (second-team), Anthon Samuel (second-team), Dwayne Woods (third-team), Cameron Truss (third-team) and Ted Ouellet (third-team) were named to Phil Steele's mid-season All-MAC teams.
• The Falcons will have six captains in 2012: Dominic Flewellyn (OL), Ronnie Goble (DE), Chris Jones (DT), Matt Schilz (QB), Paul Swan (LB) and Bart Tanski (WR).
• According to philsteele.com the Falcons have the 10th youngest roster in the country with 66.7 percent of the roster underclassmen.

Scouting the Offense
Quarterback Matt Schilz will be making his 31st start of his career this weekend versus Eastern Michigan. Schilz, a junior, threw for over 3,000 yards last season and 28 touchdowns, all career-bests, and has thrown for 6,921 yards and 45 touchdowns in his career. He leads an offense that ranks 11th in the MAC in scoring (22.9) and ninth in total offense (386.9).

It's hard to say who Schilz's top target is this year, but Shaun Joplin (29 rec., 420 yards), Chris Gallon (29 rec., 304 yards), Ryan Burbrink (29 rec., 240 yards) and Alex Bayer (24 rec., 302 yards) lead the way.

At running back the Falcons will depend on Anthon Samuel. Samuel, the reigning MAC Freshman of the Year, has already surpassed 1,500 yards in his career and has nine 100-yard games in his first 17 contests. On the year Samuel has 725 yards on the ground, while averaging 5.7 yards per carry and eight touchdowns.

Scouting the Defense
The Falcons return 10 starters from the 2011 team and are led by senior defensive tackle Chris Jones. Jones has 28 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss and 9.0 sacks on the year. Jones is currently second in the country in sacks (9.0) and fifth in tackles for loss (13.5).

As a team, the Falcons rank first in the MAC in scoring defense (16.8) and total defense (304.0). BGSU held UMass to 118 total yards, including just 33 through the air, while picking off four passes in the 24-0 win, BGSU's first shutout in eight years.

Scouting the Special Teams
Brian Schmiedebusch, a 2011 first-team all-conference punter a year ago, will once again handle all punting duties. The junior is averaging 42.0 yards per punt this season and has a 43.9 yard per punt career average.

Overall BGSU is just 4-of-9 on field goals and 21-of-23 on extra points, but Tyler Tate drilled a career-long 42 yard field goal versus UMass, while Stephen Stein made a 26-yard kick in the win versus Miami.

UMass Recap
There is only one word to describe the Bowling Green State University's defensive performance at Massachusetts: dominant. The Falcons' defense only allowed 118 total yards, and also held the opponent under 100 yards rushing for the fourth straight game.

The shutout was the first by a Falcon defense in eight years, with the last one coming in a 52-0 win over Western Michigan on November 6, 2004. The stellar defensive performance would lead to a 24-0 win over UMass.

The Falcons would use four interceptions and good special teams play to give the offense good field position much of the afternoon. Out of the 15 Minutemen drives, the Falcons forced a three-and-out or turnover on 11 of those drives. The defense also held the Minutemen to 1-16 on third down conversions.

Running For The Wins
Over the last four contests BGSU is 4-0 with wins over Rhode Island (48-8), Akron (24-10), Miami (37-12) and UMass (24-0). Helping the Falcons to those wins was a dominant rushing attack. BGSU produced at least 200 yards rushing in three of the four contests and have run the ball 164 times for 843 yards and six touchdowns in that span, an average of 210.8 per game.

Team                     Att. Yds.
vs. Rhode Island   39   206
at Akron                 44   292
vs. Miami                44   251
at UMass                37   94

Stopping Run For The Wins
In that same span the BGSU defense has completely shut down the rushing attacks for each of the last four opponents, holding the four teams combined to 272 yards (68.0/game) on the ground on 104 carries (2.6/rush).

Team                     Att. Yds.
vs. Rhode Island   32   96
at Akron                 26   88
vs. Miami               20   3
at UMass               26   85

The EMU Series
Saturday's contest with Eastern Michigan will be the 36th meeting between the two schools from the Mid-American Conference. BGSU holds a 23-11-1 advantage over the Eagles, but EMU won the last meeting, a 24-21 win inside Doyt Perry Stadium in 2008.

This series dates back to BGSU's first year of football (a 10-0 EMU win) in 1919. In 19 contests at BGSU, the Falcons are 13-5-1.

Welcome To The Doyt
Since opening in 1966, Doyt L. Perry Stadium has been a major home field advantage for the Orange and Brown. The Falcons are 149-79-5 (.650) all-time inside “The Doyt”.

The stadium is named after Doyt Perry, the man who led Bowling Green to a 77-11-5 record in his 10 years as the head coach of the Falcons. He compiled an .855 win percentage in the 1950s and 1960s and led the Falcons to the 1959 National College Division Championship.

Just Win Baby
The Falcons have won four straight contests for the first time since 2009. That year they finished the season with four straight victories to advance to the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho. The Falcons have not won five straight games since 2004. That 2004 squad rattled off seven straight wins.

More From 2004
The last time BGSU was at least 5-3 eight games into a season was also back in 2004. That 2004 squad opened the year 8-2. The last time BGSU began conference play with a 3-1 record (or better) also dates back to 2004 ... BGSU went 6-1 to open MAC play that year.

Protect This House
A win versus Eastern Michigan would push BGSU's home record to 4-0 on the year, something the Falcons have not accomplished in some time. The last Falcon team to go 4-0 at home ... you guessed it ... the 2004 squad (went 5-0 at home in 2004).

Four to Go
With four games remaining in the 2012 regular season the Falcons have everything to play for. At 3-1 in conference play BGSU controls its own destiny if it wants to reach the MAC Championship game in Detroit, Michigan. While Kent State (4-0) and Ohio (3-0) sit atop BGSU is the current MAC Standings, if the Falcons win its last four games (play EMU, Ohio, Kent State and Buffalo) they would guarantee a MAC Championship appearance and have a chance to win a championship for the first time since 1992.

Under Center
Quarterback Matt Schilz will be making his 31st start of his career for the Orange and Brown. While still a junior, Schilz is nearing in on several BGSU school records.
• Is fifth is passing yards (6,921)
• Is fourth in passing attempts (1,056)
• Is third in passing completions (630)
• Is fifth in passing touchdowns (45)

Samuel.1000
Anthon Samuel, who has only played in 17 career games (missed three games in 2011 due to injury) has already surpassed the 1,000 yard career rushing mark, becoming just the 35th Falcon in school history to do so. Samuel currently ranks tied for 18th in school history with 1,569 rushing yards.

Up Next For Samuel
14. Keylan Cates (94-96)             1,827
15. B.J. Lane (02-05)                    1,799
16. Chris Bullock (06-09)              1,756
17. Jack Woodland (47-49)         1,752
18. Anthony Turner (05-07)         1,569
        Anthon Samuel (2011-PR)   1,569

Mr. 100
As stated before, Anthon Samuel has played in just 17 games in his Falcon career, but has already produced nine 100-yard games. The last BGSU running back to record at least that many was P.J. Pope, who had nine 100-yard games in his career from 2002-05.

Most 100-yard Games in BGSU History
Dave Preston - 20
Paul Miles - 16
Fred Durig - 13
Zeb Jackson - 11
Bryant Jones - 10
P.J. Pope - 9
Anthon Samuel - 9

Look Who's Talking
For years Bowling Green has been known as an offensive team, but don't look now, the BGSU defense is ranked first in the MAC in scoring (16.8) and total defense (304.0). They are first in rush (109.2) and pass (194.8) defense as well.

Year    Total Defense
2009    398.2
2010    432.0
2011    406.0
2012    304.0

Year    Rush Defense
2009    194.2
2010    207.8
2011    203.4
2012    109.2

Year    Scoring Defense
2009    27.5
2010    33.6
2011    28.8
2012    16.8

BGSU Tweet-fense
Below are 10 nuggets that you need to know about the BGSU defense, all under 140 characters.
• Leads the MAC in scoring defense (16.8)
• Leads the MAC in total defense (304.0)
• Leads the MAC in rushing defense (109.2)
• Leads the MAC in pass defense (194.8)
• Third in the MAC with eight interceptions
• Second in the MAC with two INT returns for TDs
• Third in the MAC with 20 sacks
• BG defense is allowing just 15.0 first downs a game (leads MAC)
• Leads the MAC in 3rd down defense (31.6%)
• Have allowed just three TDs in the last four games.

It's Been a While
The 24-0 win versus UMass was Bowling Green's first shutout since Nov. 6, 2004, a 52-0 win at “The Doyt” versus Western Michigan. The last time BGSU produced a shutout on the road was back on Nov. 10, 2001, a 17-0 win at Ohio.

Monster of the MAC
Senior defensive tackle Chris Jones has been a demolition machine in 2012. Through eight games the senior has 28 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss and 9.0 sacks. Jones has already been named MAC East Defensive Player of the Week three times this year and is second in the country with 9.0 sacks and fifth with 13.5 tackles for loss.

Of the 28 tackles Jones has been involved with this season, 19 have resulted in no gain or negative yardage -- and the total minus yardage on those plays is minus-74 yards. The nine “positive” plays have gained just 27 yards (five (x2), three (x4) two (x2), one).

Jones'n For Sacks
For the third straight year, Chris Jones has led the Falcons in sacks. The senior led BGSU with 6.0 sacks in 2010 and 8.5 sacks in 2011. This year his 9.0 sacks not only lead the team, they also are second in the country. The defensive tackle has 24.5 sacks in his career, and is beginning to stalk Kevin O'Brien's sack record of 31.0 from 1989-92.

BGSU Career Sack Leaders
Kevin O'Brien (1989-92) - 31.0
Diyral Briggs (2005-08) - 26.0
Chris Jones (2009-PR) - 24.5
Devon Parks (2003-06) - 22.0

BGSU Single Season Sack Records
Kevin O'Brien (1992) - 19.0
Diyral Briggs (2008) - 9.5
Devon Parks (2006) - 9.0
Mitch Crossley (2003) - 9.0
Chris Jones (2012) - 9.0

Under Pressure
Chris Jones leads a defense that has been getting after the quarterback this season. In fact, the Falcons are third in the MAC with 20 sacks on the year.

Defense ... Clap, Clap
That pressure has helped the BG defense get off the field in a hurry. Dating back to the second half with Akron, the Falcon defense has either forced a turnover or a three-and-out in 21 of 32 drives. In those 21 drives the Falcons have allowed 79 yards on 65 plays (1.2 yds./play).

I Got It!
That same pressure has also started to produce turnovers, including four last week versus UMass. The last Falcon team to record for interceptions in a single game was a 28-26 loss versus Buffalo in 2010. Overall the Falcons have eight interceptions on the year, after recording just six in all of 2011.

Bring The Wood(s)
Middle linebacker Dwayne Woods is closing in on 300 career tackles. The senior has 298 career tackles, recording 24 as a freshman in 2009, 134 in 2010, 111 in 2011 and 29 this season.

That Didn't Take Long
On page 24 of these game notes there is a chart labeled “The last time” listing when special plays last happened in BGSU history. Following the Miami game BooBoo Gates saw his name replace Robert Lorenzi (vs. Buffalo in 2010) as the last Falcon to return an interception for a touchdown. Gates remained on that list for all of one week after Dwayne Woods returned an interception 48 yards for a score versus UMass.

All Alone
In his career BooBoo Gates now owns two kick returns for touchdowns, one punt return for a score and has two pick-6's in his career, becoming the first Falcon in school history to own touchdown returns via kick, punt and interception returns.

Very Special Teams
Since head coach Dave Clawson arrived at Bowling Green, he and assistant coach Adam Scheier, have found a way to get the most out of the BGSU special teams. In four years Scheier's special teams have:
• Three kick returns for touchdowns.
• Three punt returns for scores.
• Have blocked 11 kicks.
• Produced two All-MAC returners (BooBoo Gates and Eugene Cooper).
• Produced two All-MAC Punters (Brian Wright and Brian Schmiedebusch)
• Successfully converted on two fake punts.

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