Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
Indiana
Falcons Go For 3-0 Saturday On National Television
September 10, 2013 | Football
Saturday, Sept. 14, 2013; 12:00 p.m.
Memorial Stadium (52,929) / Bloomington, Ind.
ESPNU (Tom Hart/John Congemi)
Falcon Radio Network (Todd Walker/John Gibson)
LIVE STATS / COURTESY INDIANA
LIVE AUDIO / FALCON RADIO NETWORK
LIVE VIDEO / WATCH ESPN
COMPLETE GAME NOTES (.PDF)
| 2013 MAC STANDINGS | ||
| EAST DIVISION | MAC | OVERALL |
| Bowling Green | 1-0 | 2-0 |
| Akron | 0-0 | 1-1 |
| Ohio | 0-0 | 1-1 |
| Buffalo | 0-0 | 0-2 |
| Massachusetts | 0-0 | 0-2 |
| Miami | 0-0 | 0-2 |
| Kent State | 0-1 | 1-1 |
| WEST DIVISION | MAC | OVERALL |
| Ball State | 0-0 | 2-0 |
| Northern Illinois | 0-0 | 1-0 |
| Central Michigan | 0-0 | 1-1 |
| Eastern Michigan | 0-0 | 1-1 |
| Toledo | 0-0 | 0-2 |
| Western Michigan | 0-0 | 0-2 |
|
Saturday, Sept. 7 Bowling Green 41, Kent State 22 Penn State 45, Eastern Michigan 7 Kentucky 41, Miami (Ohio) 7 Ball State 40, Army 14 Maine 24, UMass 14 Central Michigan 24, New Hampshire 21 Baylor 70, Buffalo 13 Missouri 38, Toledo 23 Akron 35, James Madison 33 Ohio 27, North Texas 21 Nicholls State 27, Western Michigan 23 Saturday, Sept. 14 Bowling Green at Indiana, 12 pm Akron at Michigan, 12 pm Eastern Michigan at Rutgers, 1 pm Stony Brook at Buffalo, 3:30 pm Ball State at North Texas, 4 pm Northern Illinois at Idaho, 5 pm Kent State at LSU, 7 pm UMass at Kansas State, 7 pm Eastern Washington at Toledo, 7 pm Marshall at Ohio, 8 pm Western Michigan at Northwestern, 9 pm Central Michigan at UNLV, 10 pm |
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TELEVISION
* Saturday's game will be televised nationally on ESPNU with Tom Hart (play-by-play) and John Congemi (analyst) on the call.
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), WXKR 100.7 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 home games and select road games on 88.1 FM in Bowling Green.
TICKETS
* Tickets are available through the BGSU Ticket Office for $40 by calling 877-BGSU TICKET or going to the BGSU Ticket Office, located inside the Stroh Center.
WEBSITES / SOCIAL MEDIA
* BGSUFalcons.com (Bowling Green), IUHoosiers.com (Indiana)
* 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 received seven votes in the Associated Press Top 25 poll released Monday and earned three votes in the USA Today Coaches poll.
* Indiana is not receiving votes in either poll.
LIVE STATS / LIVE AUDIO / LIVE VIDEO
* Live stats are available online at BGSUFalcons.com, courtesy Indiana Athletics.
* Live audio is available (via Falcon Radio Network) online at BGSUFalcons.com.
* Live video is available through WatchESPN.
SERIES INFO
* Bowling Green and Indiana are meeting for the first time in program history.
* BGSU is 5-15 all-time against current schools from the Big Ten, which includes records of 0-2 vs. Michigan, 0-2 vs. Michigan State, 1-2 vs. Minnesota, 2-0 vs. Northwestern, 0-4 vs. Ohio State, 0-2 vs. Penn State, 2-0 vs. Purdue and 0-3 vs. Wisconsin.
THE SERIES
• Bowling Green and Indiana meet for the first time in the history of the two football programs.
• BGSU is 5-15 all-time against current schools from the Big Ten and have lost the last three meetings since defeating Minnesota in overtime on Sept. 1, 2007.
• Indiana is 36-8-1 all-time against current schools from the Mid-American Conference but has lost to a MAC school in each of the past two years.
ON THE ROAD
• BGSU has won four consecutive true road games dating back to last year, outscoring those four opponents 115-46.
• Despite the recent road success, the Falcons have lost five straight away games against school from BCS automatic qualifying conferences since defeating Pittsburgh 27-17 on Aug. 30, 2008.
THE COACHING STAFF
• Head coach Dave Clawson is in his fifth season at the helm of the football team with a career record of 82-77, which includes a 24-28 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.
TURNING UP THE DEFENSE
• Early in Saturday's game at Kent State, the Golden Flashes were rolling offensively, building a 22-17 lead.
• Over the final 34:40 of the game, BGSU outscored Kent State 24-0 and outgained the Golden Flashes 341-59 to snap a three-game losing streak to the Golden Flashes.
• After that point, Kent was unable to move past its own 40 yard line until the Golden Flashes' final possession of the game.
• BGSU held Kent State to 27 yards on 20 plays on the Golden Flashes' first five possessions of the second half.
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 and the only one of those four teams to start 2013 at 2-0.
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.
DIVING INTO 2-0
• In jumping out to a 2-0 start, Bowling Green defeated a pair of teams that each won 11 games a year ago.
• The Falcons handed Kent State its first regular season MAC loss since Nov. 25, 2011 at Temple.
• BGSU is the only MAC East Division team that remains undefeated.
• Bowling Green has not started a season 3-0 since beating Eastern Kentucky, Purdue and Liberty to open the 2003 season.
BREAKING THE #MACTION 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 in 2013 from a defense that ranked sixth in the country in total defense in 2012, allowing just 296 yards per game.
• BGSU currently ranks second in the country in red zone defense, eighth in yards/completion allowed, 14th in first downs allowed, 22nd in rushing defense, 23rd in total defense and 29th in scoring defense.
REVISITING 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 BGSU defense ranked No. 6 in the country in yards allowed per game.
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.
• Entering 2013, BGSU's returners accounted for 182 career starts on offense and 214 on defense for a grand total of 396 career starts.
• Four Falcons entered 2013 with at least 30 career starts (Matt Schilz, Dominic Flewellyn, Alex Bayer and Cameron Truss) and three more had at least 20 (Ryland Ward, BooBoo Gates and Paul Swan).
FIRST TIME TO PAYDIRT
• All four of Bowling Green's touchdowns in the season-opener against Tulsa were scored by players who had never found the end zone before. Another two touchdowns against Kent State were scored by players who had not before.
• Ryan Burbrink's 67-yard punt return against Tulsa was the first touchdown of his career.
• Walk-on William Houston scored three times from just one yard out against Tulsa in his first collegiate game.
• Travis Greene's one-yard rush in the first quarter against Kent State was his first career score.
• Jared Cohen caught a seven-yard pass late in the second quarter against Kent State for his first career touchdown.
MAC LEADERS
• BGSU leads the Mid-American Conference in 14 different team statistical categories.
• Impressively, the Falcons lead the MAC in both total offense and total defense.
• BGSU also leads the MAC in rushing offense and rushing defense.
• In another set of stats, Bowling Green leads the conference in red zone offense and red zone defense.
• BGSU also leads the league in scoring defense, field goal percentage, extra point percentage, first downs, opponent first downs, fourth down percentage and opponent fourth down percentage.
THE SIGNAL CALLER
• Redshirt sophomore Matt Johnson was inserted into the season-opener against Tulsa at quarterback to start the Falcons' third possession of the game and guided the Falcons to the 34-7 victory.
• Johnson then got the first start of his career against Kent State Saturday.
• The redshirt sophomore went 19-for-25 for 357 yards in his first career start, throwing the first two touchdowns of his career.
• Johnson spurred the team to 576 yards of total offense, the most for a BGSU team since 2004.
• In the third quarter against Kent State, Johnson found Ryan Burbrink for a 92-yard touchdown, the third-longest pass completion in BGSU history.
THE SCHILZ FACTOR
• BGSU has one of the most experienced back-up quarterbacks in the country in Matt Schilz.
• Schilz has 36 career starts and ranks third in program history in completions and passing yards. He is also fifth with 50 career passing touchdowns.
HOUSTON, THEY'VE GOT A PROBLEM
• Walk-on William Houston made a splash in his first collegiate game, scoring three times from just a yard out.
• The team's short-yardage back, Houston (who weighs 262 pounds), carried the ball 10 times, gaining positive yardage on nine of those carries.
• For his efforts, Houston was named MAC Offensive Player of the Week.
• Houston added another one-yard touchdown run against Kent State and he ranks 14th in the country in scoring.
WE WANT MOORE
• True freshman Ronnie Moore made a quick impact on the offense with 42 yards rushing and an 18-yard pass reception against Tulsa.
• Moore had two of the team's four "explosive" plays (plays of 20+ yards) against Tulsa with a 37-yard run on the Falcons' first touchdown-scoring drive and a 29-yard kick return.
• He added a third explosive play with a 29-yard kick return against Kent State.
TATE IS GREAT
• With kicks of 30 and 41 yards at Kent State, Tyler Tate made two field goals in a game for the third consecutive contest.
• Tate has made all four of his field goal attempts in 2013 and six in a row dating back to last year.
• Tate has also been perfect on extra points this year, making all nine attempts.
THE RED ZONE
• BGSU is one of 41 teams in the country that is perfect in the red zone as the Falcons have seven touchdowns and four field goals in 11 trips inside the opponents' 20.
• Only two teams (Ball State and Oregon State) have had more trips into the red zone and remain perfect.
• Defensively, Bowling Green ranks second in the country, allowing only two scores in five red zone opportunities for opponents. Texas State leads the country, giving up only two scores in seven red zone trips.
SPECIAL TEAMS DOMINANCE
• BGSU's special teams have provided key sparks in the early going this year.
• BGSU kicker Tyler Tate is 4-for-4 on field goal attempts and 9-of-9 on extra points.
• Ryan Burbrink had a 67-yard punt return for a touchdown against Tulsa.
• Cameron Truss stuffed a fake punt on fourth-and-1 against Tulsa.
• BGSU recovered a muffed punt in the fourth quarter against Tulsa.
• Brian Schmiedebusch has landed five of his 10 punts inside the 20-yard line.
FIRST TIME STARTERS
• Three Falcons earned their first career starts against Tulsa -- all on the offensive side of the ball.
• Offensive tackles Logan Dietz and Jacob Bennett, along with running back Travis Greene, had their names in the starting lineup for the first time.
• Quarterback Matt Johnson picked up his first career start in the win over Kent State.
GETTING THEIR CAREERS STARTED
• In the season opener, 16 Falcons stepped on the field for the first time in their collegiate careers.
• Four true freshmen saw action including Fred Coppet, Isaiah Gourdine, William Houston and Ronnie Moore.
• Nine of the first timers were redshirt freshmen in JJ Beggan, Jacob Bennett, Terrance Bush, Scott Davis, Logan Dietz, Greg Hohenstein, James Knapke, Izaah Lunsford and Ben Steward.
• Others who saw action for the first time were redshirt junior Jared Cohen (junior college transfer), redshirt sophomore Diontre Delk and junior Paul Senn (junior college transfer).
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.
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 has started every game over the past two seasons at center.
• 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 was named the starting running back for 2013, filling a hole left with the departure of former high school teammate Anthon Samuel.
• Greene converted from wide receiver 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.
• Greene carried the ball 22 times for 88 yards in the season opener and then followed that up with 24 carries for 145 yards against Kent State.
• Greene leads the MAC and ranks 27th in the country with 116.5 yards rushing per game.
HOME SWEET HOME
As expected, Bowling Green football draws far more student-athletes from Ohio (44) than from any other state. But after the Buckeye State, the Falcons have pulled 15 players each from the states of Michigan and Florida. Seven players on the roster hail from Illinois, the same number that come from Indiana. Pennsylvania is the hometown of six Falcons and four players have traveled across the country from California. Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Ontario are each represented by one Falcon.
CLASSY
A year ago, 67 percent of Bowling Green's roster consisted of freshmen or sophomores. This year, that number has dropped slightly to 63 percent. The Falcons have 47 freshmen or redshirt freshmen on the roster this year, which is actually three more than a year ago.
RUNNING FOR THE WINS
Over the past two years, Bowling Green has been at its best when 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 rushed for 200 yards in a game just one time. But the Falcons have now reached that total six times in the past two years (including both of the first two games of 2013).
STOPPING THE RUN
Prior to Saturday's win over Kent State, the Falcons had held their opponent under 100 yards rushing in every win over the past two seasons. Kent State, though, rushed for 138 yards Saturday, but even that comes with an asterisk. The Falcon defense buckled down in the second half, holding the Golden Flashes to only 22 yards rushing in the second half, shutting out Kent State in the process.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
• BGSU earned three Mid-American Conference East Division Player of the Week honors over the first two weeks of the season.
• Matt Johnson was named MAC East Offensive Player of the Week after going 19-of-25 for 357 yards and two touchdowns in the 41-22 win over Kent State. He was also named one of eight Manning Award "Stars of the Week".
• William Houston was named MAC East Offensive Player of the Week after scoring three touchdowns in his first collegiate game against Tulsa.
• Ryan Burbrink was named MAC East Special Teams Player of the Week after a 67-yard punt return for a touchdown against Tulsa.
• Burbrink was also named College Football Performance Awards National Punt Returner of the Week.
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 just over four years, Scheier's special teams have:
• three kick returns for touchdowns.
• four 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. The season opener against Tulsa was televised on ESPNU and the Falcons' second game at Kent State was on ESPN Regional. Upcoming games slated for national television include Sept. 14 at Indiana (ESPNU), Nov. 5 at Miami (ESPN2/ESPNU), Nov. 12 vs. Ohio (ESPNU/ESPN3) and Nov. 29 at Buffalo (ESPNU/ESPN3). 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.
