Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Face Kent In Early-Season MAC Battle
September 03, 2013 | Football
MAC Opener
Saturday, Sept. 7, 2013; 12:00 p.m.
Dix Stadium / Kent, Ohio
ESPN Regional (Michael Reghi/Doug Graber)
Falcon Radio Network (Todd Walker/John Gibson)
LIVE STATS / COURTESY KENT STATE
LIVE AUDIO / FALCON RADIO NETWORK
LIVE VIDEO / WATCH ESPN
COMPLETE GAME NOTES (.PDF)
| 2013 MAC STANDINGS | ||
| EAST DIVISION | MAC | OVERALL |
| Bowling Green | 0-0 | 1-0 |
| Kent State | 0-0 | 1-0 |
| Akron | 0-0 | 0-1 |
| Buffalo | 0-0 | 0-1 |
| Massachusetts | 0-0 | 0-1 |
| Miami | 0-0 | 0-1 |
| Ohio | 0-0 | 0-1 |
| WEST DIVISION | MAC | OVERALL |
| Ball State | 0-0 | 1-0 |
| Eastern Michigan | 0-0 | 1-0 |
| Northern Illinois | 0-0 | 1-0 |
| Central Michigan | 0-0 | 0-1 |
| Toledo | 0-0 | 0-1 |
| Western Michigan | 0-0 | 0-1 |
|
Thursday, Aug. 29 Kent State 17, Liberty 10 Central Florida 38, Akron 7 Ball State 51, Illinois State 28 Bowling Green 34, Tulsa 7 Friday, Aug. 30 Michigan State 26, Western Michigan 13 Saturday, Aug. 31 Florida 24, Toledo 6 Ohio State 40, Buffalo 20 Wisconsin 45, Massachusetts 0 Michigan 59, Central Michigan 9 Northern Illinois 30, Iowa 27 Eastern Michigan 34, Howard 24 Marshall 52, Miami (Ohio) 14 Sunday, Sept. 1 Louisville 49, Ohio 7 Saturday, Sept. 7 Bowling Green at Kent State, 12 pm   Eastern Michigan at Penn St., 12 pm   Miami (Ohio) at Kentucky, 12 pm    Army at Ball State, 1 pm Maine at UMass, 2 pm New Hampshire at C. Michigan, 3 pm Buffalo at Baylor, 3:30 pm Toledo at Missouri, 3:30 pm James Madison at Akron, 6 pm North Texas at Ohio, 7 pm Nicholls State at W. Michigan, 7 pm |
||
TELEVISION
* ESPN Regional telecast with Michael Reghi (play-by-play) and Doug Graber (analyst).
* The following 16 stations have been cleared to televise the game locally: WPWR MNT (Chicago), WXYZ ABC (Detroit), WEWS ABC (Cleveland), WRTV ABC (Indianapolis), WWHO CW (Columbus), WZZM ABC (Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo/Battle Creek), WNYO MNT (Buffalo), WKEF ABC (Dayton), WTVG ABC (Toledo), ETVW MNT (Madison), WMYS IND (South Bend/Elkahrt), WYTV-DT2 MNT (Youngstown - Tape Delay at 3:30 pm), WHTV MNT (Lansing), KQEG FMN (La Crosse-Eau Claire), WTVO-DT2 MNT (Rockford), WTOV-DT2 RTV (Wheeling/Steubenville)
RADIOÂ
* 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 $10 by calling 877-BGSU TICKET or going to the BGSU Ticket Office, located inside the Stroh Center.
WEBSITES / SOCIAL MEDIA
* BGSUFalcons.com (Bowling Green), KentStateSports.com (Kent State)
* 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
POLLSÂ
* With a 1-0 start, Bowling Green is receiving nine votes in the Associated Press Top 25 poll and has one vote in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
* Kent State is not receiving votes in either poll.
LIVE STATS / LIVE AUDIO / LIVE VIDEO
* Live stats are available online at BGSUFalcons.com, courtesy Kent State Athletics.
* Live audio is available (via Falcon Radio Network) online at BGSUFalcons.com.
* Live video is available through WatchESPN.
SERIES INFO
* Bowling Green is 55-19-6 all-time against Kent State.
* The series began in 1920 with Bowling Green posting a 7-0 win.
* Kent State has won the last three meetings in the series since the Falcons won 36-35 in Kent in 2009 when Freddie Barnes caught a school-record 22 passes.
THE SERIES
• Established by the respective alumni departments of each school in 1985, BGSU and Kent State play for the Anniversary Award annually. It commemorates the founding of both schools in 1910.
• BGSU looks to snap a three-game losing streak against Kent State Saturday at noon.
• The Falcons are 55-19-6 all-time against Kent State, but just 1-3 under Head Coach Dave Clawson, a 36-35 win at Kent State in 2009 when Freddie Barnes caught a school-record 22 passes.
• The series started in 1920 as Bowling Green posted a 7-0 win and Kent State did not get a win over the Falcons until 1935 as BGSU went 3-0-3 in those early years.
• In the long-running Bowling Green/Kent State series, this is the earliest meeting ever between the two programs.
#MACTION STARTS EARLY
• BGSU and Kent State open Mid-American Conference play Saturday. It is the only league game over the first two weeks of the conference season.
• This is the earliest MAC game for the Falcons since defeating Miami (Ohio) 28-21 on Sept. 6, 1997.
• BGSU is 6-0 all-time in MAC games that were played on Sept. 7 or earlier on the calendar.
ROAD OPENERS
• BGSU is 1-3 in road openers under Head Coach Dave Clawson, including a pair of losses to ranked teams (#25 Missouri in 2009 and #23 Florida in 2012).
• The Falcons are 7-5 in their past 12 road openers, including wins over Pittsburgh, Minnesota, No. 16 Purdue, Kansas and Missouri.
• BGSU is 41-47-6 all-time in road openers.
THE COACHING STAFF
• Head coach Dave Clawson is in his fifth season at the helm of the football team with a career record of 81-77, which includes a 23-28 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.
WEEK ONE DEFENSE REVISITED
• BGSU was just minutes from its first shutout to open a season in 31 years. The seven points allowed were the fewest in a season opener since the 2002 team opened the year with a 41-7 win over Tennessee Tech.
• Tulsa had not been scoreless so late in a game since a 2009 shutout loss to Oklahoma.
• BGSU held Tulsa to just 273 yards of offense, the fewest for the Golden Hurricane since producing just 269 yards in that shutout loss to Oklahoma.
• Bowling Green did not allow a rush of more than seven yards and just 51 total yards on the ground to a team that averaged almost 250 yards per game rushing a year ago. BG's rush defense is ranked ninth in the country after one week.
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 only BGSU and San Jose State opened 2013 with a victory.
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.
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.
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 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.
• 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 against Tulsa were scored by players who had never found the end zone before.
• Ryan Burbrink's 67-yard punt return was the first touchdown of his career.
• Walk-on William Houston scored three times from just one yard out in his first collegiate game.
THE SIGNAL CALLER
• Redshirt sophomore Matt Johnson was inserted into Thursday's game against Tulsa at quarterback to start the Falcons' third possession of the game and guided the Falcons to the 34-7 victory.
• Johnson led BGSU on a nine-play, 41-yard drive for a field goal on the first possession after he entered the game.
• Johnson completed more passes (11) against Tulsa than he had in his career (10) entering the game.
• The added running threat was a big factor as Johnson carried the ball nine times for 50 yards, including an 18-yard scamper.
SCHILZ EARNED 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 recorded his 36th career start at quarterback against Tulsa, including his 33rd in a row.
• 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.
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.
• Houston's three touchdowns tied for the most in the country in week one.
• For his efforts, Houston was named MAC Offensive Player of the Week.
WE WANT MOORE
• True freshman Ronnie Moore made a quick impact on the offense with 42 yards rushing and an 18-yard pass reception.
• Moore had two of the team's four "explosive" plays (plays of 20+ yards) with a 37-yard run on the Falcons' first touchdown-scoring drive and a 29-yard kick return.
TATE IS GREAT
• With kicks of 28 and 34 yards against Tulsa, Tyler Tate tied his career best with two field goals in a game.
• Tate also went 2-for-2 on field goals in the Bowl game against San Jose State, giving him an active streak of four consecutive made field goals.
THE RED ZONE
• BGSU had a perfect performance in the red zone against Tulsa, both on offense and defense.
• Offensively, the Falcons got three William Houston touchdowns and two Tyler Tate field goals in five trips into the Tulsa red zone.
• Defensively, Bowling Green held strong when Tulsa got into the red zone, forcing one turnover and two missed field goals in three Golden Hurricane opportunities.
SPECIAL TEAMS DOMINANCE
• BGSU controlled almost every aspect of the special teams play against Tulsa Thursday.
• BGSU kicker Tyler Tate was 2-for-2 on field goals, while Tulsa missed two attempts.
• Cameron Truss snuffed out a fake punt on fourth-and-1 in the third quarter and the Falcons recovered a muffed punt in the fourth quarter.
• Ryan Burbrink returned a punt 67 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
• Brian Schmiedebusch landed four of his seven 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.
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.
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 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 has been named the starting running back for the season opener, 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, getting the lion's share of the opportunities in the backfield. His 88 yards were the third-most in the MAC in week one.
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
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. The Falcons continued the trend against Tulsa with 233 yards rushing.
STOPPING THE RUN
In the Falcons' nine combined wins in 2012 and 2013, they held each opponent under 100 yards rushing for the game. Combined, BGSU allowed 521 yards on 248 carries, an average of just 2.1 yards per carry in the nine wins.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
• BGSU earned two of the three Mid-American Conference East Division Player of the Week honors after week one.
• William Houston was named MAC East Offensive Player of the Week after scoring three touchdowns in his first collegiate game.
• Ryan Burbrink was named MAC East Special Teams Player of the Week after a 67-yard punt return for a touchdown.
• 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 four years (and one game) 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 was televised on ESPNU and upcoming games 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.
