Bowling Green State University Athletics
It's Showtime! BGSU vs. Tulsa Thursday Night
August 23, 2013 | Football
Home Opener / Season Opener
Thursday, Aug. 29, 2013; 7:00 p.m.
Doyt Perry Stadium (24,000) / Bowling Green, Ohio
ESPNU (Joe Davis/David Diaz-Infante)
Falcon Radio Network (Todd Walker/John Gibson)
LIVE STATS
LIVE AUDIO
LIVE VIDEO
COMPLETE GAME NOTES (.PDF)
BUY TICKETS HERE
| 2013 MAC STANDINGS | ||
| EAST DIVISION | MAC | OVERALL |
| Akron | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Bowling Green | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Buffalo | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Kent State | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Massachusetts | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Miami | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Ohio | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| WEST DIVISION | MAC | OVERALL |
| Ball State | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Central Michigan | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Eastern Michigan | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Northern Illinois | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Toledo | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Western Michigan | 0-0 | 0-0 |
|
Thursday, Aug. 29 Liberty at Kent State, 6 pm Akron at UCF, 7 pm Illinois State at Ball State, 7 pm Tulsa at Bowling Green, 7 pm Friday, Aug. 30 Western Michigan at Michigan St., 8 pm Saturday, Aug. 31 Toledo at Florida, 12 pm Buffalo at Ohio State, 12 pm UMass at Wisconsin, 12 pm Central Michigan at Michigan, 3:30 pm Northern Illinois at Iowa, 3:30 pm Howard at Eastern Michigan, 6 pm Miami at Marshall, 7 pm Sunday, Sept. 1 Ohio at Louisville, 3:30 pm |
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RADIO
• Falcon Radio Network with Todd Walker (play-by-play) and John Gibson (analyst). Radio coverage can be heard on the flagship station for BGSU Football WFRO 99.1 FM in Fremont, Ohio as well as WWSR 93.1 FM (Lima, Ohio), WCIT 940 AM (Lima, Ohio), WLQR 1470 AM and 106.5 FM (Toledo, Ohio), WONW 1280 AM (Defiance, Ohio), WHKW 1220 AM (Cleveland, Ohio), WFXN 102.3 FM (Mansfield, Ohio), WXXF 107.7 FM (Ashland, Ohio) and WHKW 1420 AM (Cleveland, Ohio).
• The Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization (BGRSO) broadcasts BGSU Football on 88.1 FM in Bowling Green.
TICKETS
Single game ticket prices begin at $15 and are available ahead of time at BGSUFalcons.com, by calling the BGSU Ticket Office at 877-BGSU TICKET or by visiting the office in the Stroh Center just off of Wooster Street in Bowling Green. Walk-up purchases are available on gameday.
WEBSITES / SOCIAL MEDIA
• BGSUFalcons.com (Bowling Green), TulsaHurricane.com (Tulsa)
• Follow BGSU Football on Twitter through the official account of BGSU Athletics @BGAthletics or the official account of BGSU Football @BGFalconFootbal
• On Facebook search for BGSU Athletics
POLLS
BGSU is not receiving votes in either the Associated Press or USA Today Coaches Poll. Tulsa earned nine votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll, the 39th most in the country.
SERIES INFO Â Â
• Bowling Green is 0-3 all-time against Tulsa.
• The series began in 1989 with Tulsa posting a 45-10 win in Oklahoma. The Golden Hurricane also won 63-7 in the 2007 GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Ala. and 33-20 in 2010 in Oklahoma.
• This will be the first meeting in the series held in Bowling Green.
FOR THE 95TH TIME
• BGSU Football plays its 95th season of football in 2013, entering the season with an all-time record of 505-350-52 (.585).
• The Falcons are 48-39-7 all-time in season openers (.548).
• BGSU is 64-26-4 all-time in home openers (.702).
OPENING AT HOME
• While BGSU is 64-26-4 all-time in home openers, the Falcons have won all four home openers under head coach Dave Clawson.
• In fact, Bowling Green has won 11 of the past 12 home openers dating back to 2001.
• Although the Falcons have opened the season away from Doyt Perry Stadium in 14 of the past 17 years, BGSU has won each of the past three times in which the season opener was played in the Doyt. Those victories included a 31-14 win over Troy in 2009, a 63-13 win over Eastern Kentucky in 2003 and a 41-7 win over Tennessee Tech in 2002.
THE TULSA SERIES
• BGSU is 0-3 all-time against Tulsa.
• The two programs have never played each other in Bowling Green, with Tulsa winning home games in 1989 (45-10) and in 2010 (33-20).
• In 2007, the two programs met in the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Ala. with the Golden Hurricane posting a 63-7 victory.
AGAINST CONFERENCE USA
• Conference USA has undergone a tremendous amount of change over the past few years, but the Falcons have faced seven teams that are currently members of the league.
• BGSU is 28-16 all-time against those seven opponents, with most of those contests coming against Marshall, in which the Falcons are 21-8. BGSU is also 3-1 against Southern Mississippi, 2-2 against East Carolina, 1-0 against both FIU and North Texas, 0-2 against Louisiana Tech and 0-3 against Tulsa.
THE COACHING STAFF
• Head coach Dave Clawson is in his fifth season at the helm of the football team with a career record of 80-77, which includes a 22-28 mark at BGSU.
• For the fifth consecutive year the Falcons will have all three coordinators returning. Warren Ruggiero, Mike Elko and Adam Scheier will coach offense, defense and special teams.
• BGSU is the only program in the MAC that can boast having the same head coach and coordinators for five years running.
THE REBUILD IS COMPLETE
Following a trip to the Humanitarian Bowl in 2009, BGSU Head Coach Dave Clawson knew he had an arduous rebuilding job ahead of him. The Falcons slumped to 2-10 in 2010 but have rebounded by winning three more games than the previous season in each of the past two years. The Falcons are one of just four BCS teams to have made a three-win increase or better in each of the past two seasons.
LOOKING BACK AT 2012
• BGSU posted its first eight-win season since 2007.
• Bowling Green went 6-2 in Mid-American Conference play, the program's best league record since going 6-2 in 2009.
• The Falcons played in their 10th bowl game in program history, including the fifth in the past 10 years.
THE CAPTAINS
• BGSU Head Coach Dave Clawson has named eight captains for the 2013 season -- Alex Bayer, Jairus Campbell, Dominic Flewellyn, BooBoo Gates, Ronnie Goble, Chief Kekuewa, Gabe Martin and Paul Swan.
• The group represents three players on the offensive side of the ball (Bayer, Flewellyn and Kekuewa) and five on defense (Campbell, Gates, Goble, Martin and Swan).
• Three of this year's captains were also captains a year ago -- Flewellyn, Goble and Swan.
AGAINST THE MOLD
• When most fans here the phrase #MACtion, they primarily think of the offensive fireworks by Mid-American Conference schools featured in weeknight games on national television. But Bowling Green has broken that mold with a stifling defense.
• The Falcons return nine starters from a defense that ranked sixth in the country in total defense in 2012, allowing just 296 yards per game.
• BGSU ranked 10th in the country in scoring defense, 11th in quarterback sacks, 12th in run defense, 13th in pass defense and 18th in pass efficiency defense.
AN EXPERIENCED CREW
• Bowling Green returns nine starters on defense and eight more on offense from the 2012 team. In fact, it is the second year in a row in which the Falcons return 17 starters between the two units.
• BGSU's returners have accounted for 182 career starts on offense and 214 on defense for a grand total of 396 career starts.
• Four Falcons have at least 30 career starts (Matt Schilz, Dominic Flewellyn, Alex Bayer and Cameron Truss) and three more have at least 20 (Ryland Ward, BooBoo Gates and Paul Swan).
A SLOW START ISN'T THE END
• Although no team wants to start the year with losses, Bowling Green has proven that a slow start is no reason to panic. The two bowl teams under head coach Dave Clawson started the year 1-4 in 2009 and 1-3 in 2012.
• The 2009 team won six of its final seven regular season games, while the 2012 team won seven of its final eight regular season games.
• The Falcons face a tough stretch to begin 2013 by hosting Tulsa, a team receiving votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll, before play at Kent State and at Indiana.
SCHILZ EARNS THE START
• Fifth-year senior quarterback Matt Schilz was named the starting quarterback on Aug. 20 after spending the spring and fall camp in a battle for the starting role with redshirt sophomore Matt Johnson.
• Schilz has 35 career starts at quarterback, including 32 consecutive.
• Starting the 2013 season, Schilz ranks third in program history with 702 completions and 7,832 career passing yards. He is fifth all-time at Bowling Green with 50 career touchdown passes.
ALL-MAC RETURNERS
• BGSU returns seven players who were named All-MAC a year ago. Gabe Martin and BooBoo Gates were first team all-league honorees, while punter Brian Schmiedebusch made the second team. Alex Bayer, Dominic Flewellyn, Ted Ouellet and Cameron Truss were named to the third team.
• In all, the Falcons had 10 All-MAC players a year ago, the most for the team since 2004.
STAR WAS BORN LATE
Chris Gallon was having a solid freshman campaign entering the final two regular season games of 2012. Then he broke out with 10 catches for 213 yards and two touchdowns against Kent State. The 213 receiving yards are the most ever by a Falcon inside Doyt Perry Stadium. While Gallon had 32 receptions for 369 yards and four touchdowns in the first 10 games of the year, he had 22 catches for 351 yards and two touchdowns over the final three games.
THE CHIEF OF THE O-LINE
• David "Chief" Kekuewa spent two years at Arizona Western Junior College before coming to Bowling Green just prior to the 2012 season. Kekuewa started all 13 games a year ago at center and is expected to play a similar role again in 2013.
• Chief's last name comes from Keli'ikuewa (which is also his middle name) and means the wandering chief. In old Hawaii, Kekuewa's family were chiefs of Honaunau, the city of refuge, on the island of Hawaii. Once foreigners went to the islands and especially after the Great Mahele chiefs in the Hawaiian Kingdom lost land and power, his family became wanderers, hence the wandering chiefs.
THE GREENE LIGHT
• Redshirt sophomore Travis Greene has been named the starting running back for the season opener, filling a hole left with the departure of Anthon Samuel.
• A converted wide receiver, Greene will certainly be green in the backfield, getting his first collegiate playing time at the position.
• Greene converted to running back during the spring and continued to climb the depth chart until finally being moved to the top of the two-deep after the team's second fall scrimmage.
• Making his ascendence even more surprising is the fact that the Falcons have a talented and deep pool of backs that include senior Jordan Hopgood, junior Jamel Martin, sophomore Andre Givens and a pair of explosive freshmen in Fred Coppet and Marcus Levy.
RUNNING FOR THE WINS
Bowling Green was at its best in 2012 when the Falcons were pulverizing the opposition in the running game, a fact that was in direct contrast to Dave Clawson's first three seasons at BGSU. From 2009-11 the Falcons had 12 games with at least 300 yards passing and rushed for more than 200 yards just once. But last year, the Falcons ran for over 200 yards four different times and had only two 300-yard passing performances.
STOPPING THE RUN
In the Falcons' eight wins in 2012, they held each opponent under 100 yards rushing for the game. Combined, BGSU allowed 470 yards on 224 carries, an average of just 2.1 yards per carry in the eight wins.
ALL ALONE
Senior BooBoo Gates has two kick returns for touchdowns, one punt return for a score and has two interception returns for TD 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.
• blocked 14 kicks.
• produced two All-MAC returners (BooBoo Gates and Eugene Cooper).
• produced two All-MAC punters (Brian Wright and Brian Schmiedebusch twice).
• successfully converted on two fake punts.
HEY BOOBOO
Senior BooBoo Gates was named to the Paul Hornung Preseason Watch List, an award given annually to the most versatile player in the country. Gates was named first team All-MAC as a safety a year ago and is also a dangerous kick returner, producing an 80-yard punt return for a touchdown against Rhode Island in 2012.
HAIL TO THE CHIEF
David "Chief" Kekuewa was named to the Rimington Fall Watch List, an award given annually to the top center in college football. Kekuewa started all 13 games at center a year ago and was part of a unit that helped produce more than 150 rushing yards per game.
BAYER FOR MACKEY AWARD
Senior tight end Alex Bayer was named to the John Mackey Award Preseason Watch List, an award given annually to the most outstanding tight end in college football. Bayer was a third-team All-MAC selection a year ago after catching 36 passes for 410 yards and three touchdowns.
TWO NAMED TO LOMBARDI WATCH LIST
Dominic Flewellyn and Gabe Martin were each selected to the Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List, an award given annually to the best down lineman in the country, either on offense or defense. Flewellyn was a third-team All-MAC performer on Bowling Green's offensive line in 2012, while Martin earned first-team All-MAC honors as a linebacker.
PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
Almost every preseason poll in the country has picked the BGSU football team to finish first or second in the MAC East, splitting most of the votes with Ohio. The Falcons were picked first by Athlon, The Sporting News and Phil Steele. The MAC media and USA Today picked Bowling Green to finish second in their respective preseason polls.
SWEET SEVENTEEN
One of the most respected college football writers in the country, Phil Steele, picked 17 Falcons among his preseason All-MAC teams, the most of any team in the conference. The Falcons had four representatives on the first team, three second-team members, four players on the third team and six more Falcons were named fourth-team preseason All-MAC. Toledo had the second-most picks in the conference with 14.
ON THE TUBE
BGSU has had six games selected to be televised on the ESPN Family of Networks. Games Aug. 29 vs. Tulsa (ESPNU), Sept. 7 at Kent State (ESPN Regional), Sept. 14 at Indiana (ESPNU), Nov. 5 at Miami (ESPN2/ESPNU), Nov. 12 vs. Ohio (ESPNU/ESPN3) and Nov. 29 at Buffalo (ESPNU/ESPN3) have been chosen. Any home game that is not selected for ESPN coverage can be seen locally on BCSN and webstreamed live on BGSUFalcons.com.
THE NFL DRAFT
BGSU alumnus Chris Jones joined a select fraternity in April when the defensive tackle was picked in the sixth round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans. Jones was the first Falcon drafted since Kory Lichtensteiger in 2007. Jones, the MAC Defensive Player of the Year, was joined in NFL camp by classmate Jordan Roussos, who was signed by the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent.
