Falcons Travel To Athens For Saturday Showdown

Saturday, October 11

Athens, OH

2 PM

Bowling Green State University

Ohio

Photo by: BGSU Marketing and Communications

October 06, 2014 | Football

By: by Scott Swegan, BGSU Athletic Communications

BGSU Falcons (4-2, 2-0 MAC)
vs.
Ohio Bobcats (3-3, 1-1 MAC)
ESPN3 (Dave Weekely, Rocky Boiman)
BGSU Radio Network (Todd Walker, John Gibson)
Complete Game Notes (.pdf)
Live Stats | Live Audio

Television
* Saturday's game will be available live on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app. Dave Weekely (play-by-play) and Rocky Boiman (color) will have the call.

Radio
* Falcon Radio Network with Todd Walker (PxP) 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 WCIT 940 AM (Lima, Ohio), WXKR 100.7 FM (Toledo, Ohio), WONW 1280 AM (Defiance, Ohio), WHKW 1220 AM (Cleveland, 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.

Websites
* BGSUFalcons.com is the internet home of Bowling Green State University athletics
* Coverage of Ohio University athletics is available at OhioBobcats.com

Social Media
* Falcon fans can follow Falcon football all season long through several social media outlets which will provide in-game updates throughout the year.
* On Twitter, fans can follow @BGAthletics or @BG_Football (in-game updates), while on Instagram Falcon Athletics can be found at bgfalcons.

Online Coverage
* Live stats can be found at BGSUFalcons.com under the football schedule page
* Live audio can be heard via the Falcon Radio Network on BGSUFalcons.com
* Live video can be accessed online via WatchESPN.com

The Teams
* The Falcons enter Saturday's game at Ohio with a 4-2 record at the midpoint of the 2014 season. Bowling Green is 2-0 in the Mid-American Conference. BGSU is coming off of a 36-35 win over Buffalo on Saturday at Doyt L. Perry Stadium.
* Ohio enters this weekend's game with a 3-3 record overall. The Bobcats are 1-1 in the MAC following a 28-10 setback at Central Michigan over the weekend. Ohio is 2-0 at Peden Stadium on the season.

Series Info
* Bowling Green leads the all-time series with Ohio, as the Falcons have a record of 38-25-2. The Falcons have won each of the last two seasons, including a 49-0 win last season in Bowling Green. The series started in 1945 with a 6-0 Falcon win over the Bobcats.

Falcons Continue MAC Play Saturday At Ohio
• Bowling Green will look to continue their winning ways on Saturday at Ohio, as the Falcons travel to Athens for a 2:00 pm kickoff against the Bobcats.
• The Falcons are coming off of a 36-35 win against Buffalo on Homecoming, a game which saw them score a go-ahead touchdown in the final minutes to secure the win.
• BGSU sits atop the Mid-American Conference East Division standings with a record of 2-0. They are one of just four teams without a MAC loss, and one of just two with more than one win.
• Ohio enters the game with an overall record of 3-3, and a MAC mark of 1-1. The Bobcats have defeated Kent State and lost to Central Michigan in conference play. It will be the first home game in MAC play for them.

What a Win Would Mean
• A win on Saturday would mark Bowling Green's third consecutive victory overall, having defeated UMass and Buffalo in each of the past two weeks.
• A win at Ohio would mark the Falcons' third consecutive in the series, and second straight in Athens.
• A victory would make the Falcons 5-2 overall and 3-0 in MAC play. It would be the second straight year in which the Falcons started 3-0 in conference action.

Head Coach Dino Babers
• Dino Babers is in his first season at Bowling Green in 2014, and his third as a head coach overall.
• He has a 4-2 record at Bowling Green, but holds a career record of 23-9. Babers has won a conference title in each of his first two seasons as a head coach.
• Babers has also been named conference coach of the year in both seasons as a head coach, after taking a last-place team and winning two Ohio Valley Conference crowns.
• Babers has an impressive pedigree of mentoring NFL-caliber players. His quarterback at EIU, Jimmy Garoppolo, was drafted in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. In total, Babers has coached more than 30 NFL players.
• On top of individual player success, Babers knows how to get the most out of his teams. Babers' teams have been to the postseason eight times in the past 10 seasons.

Tate Named MAC East Special Teams Player Of The Week
• Redshirt junior Tyler Tate was named MAC East Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday (Oct. 6) following his 12-point performance vs. Buffalo.
• Tate made three field goals and three extra points in the game, earning the weekly award for the third time this season, and second consecutive week.

Knapke Given Keys To Offense
• Quarterback James Knapke (Fort Wayne, Ind.) took over the offense following a season-ending injury to opening game starter Matt Johnson at Western Kentucky.
• Through five games as the starter, Knapke has passed for 1,559 yards and eight TDs.
• In the win over UMass, Knapke passed for 443 yards and three touchdowns. His 443 yards were the fourth-most in school history for a single game.
• In Bowling Green's win over Indiana, Knapke completed 46 passes on 73 attempts for 395 yards and three touchdowns -- all career highs at the time.
• His 46 completions and 73 passing attempts were both school records. Knapke was just the third player to ever complete more than 40 passes in a game at BGSU.
• The previous school record for pass attempts in a game was 63, set by Tyler Sheehan in 2009. Knapke's 73 attempts shattered that mark.
• In his debut as a starter, Knapke completed 22-of-31 passes for 237 yards. His 22 completions were the most for a first career start in a Bowling Green uniform since quarterback Matt Schilz went 22-of-43 at Troy on Sept. 4, 2010.
• Omar Jacobs was the last quarterback at BGSU to complete more passes than Knapke during a first career start. Jacobs completed 24-of-41 passes in a loss at Oklahoma on Sept. 4, 2004.

The Greene Light
• Travis Greene (Carol City, Fla.) has rushed for 540 yards and seven touchdowns through the first six games of the season.
• Against UMass, Greene surpassed 100 yards for the 12th time in his career. He was converted from a wide receiver to running back before the start of the 2013 season.
• Greene has 2,144 rushing yards in his career, good for 9th-most all-time at Bowling Green. He is just the 12th player to ever surpass 2,000 career rushing yards in BGSU history.
• Greene set a school record in 2013 with 1,594 rushing yards.
• He also set a school record last season with nine games of 100-plus rushing yards.

We Want Moore
• True sophomore Ronnie Moore (Sanford, Fla.) has been known as an explosive player throughout his career at Bowling Green.
• Moore led the team with seven receiving touchdowns in 2013 and already has four this season.
• Moore has already been a part of 18 plays of 20-or-more yards this season, most on the team.
• On the game-winning drive Saturday against Buffalo, Moore had receptions of 40 and 36 yards to put the Falcons in position to score the go-ahead points.

Tate Is Great
• Tyler Tate (Carroll, Ohio) was named MAC East Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday (Oct. 6), the third time he has won the weekly award this season.
• Against Buffalo, Tate made three field goals and three extra points. His 12 points were the second-most he has tallied in a game this season.
• Tate is now 11-for-14 on the season in field goals and has made 23 extra points, good for a team-high 56 points on the season.

Five Straight Weeks
• For the last five weeks, Bowling Green has had a player named MAC East Special Teams Player of the Week.
• Tyler Tate has won the award three times, while Ryan Burbrink and Joe Davidson have also been honored.

Back-To-Back In The MAC
• Bowling Green will look to become the first team in the Mid-American Conference to repeat as champion since Miami University in 2003 and 2004.
• In fact, no team from the MAC East Division has even appeared in the Marathon MAC Championship Game in back-to-back seasons since Miami in '03 and '04.

Lewis Leading Falcons
• Roger Lewis (Pickerington, Ohio) has been a force early in his career, recording 45 receptions for 595 yards and three touchdowns through six games.
• Following a 16-reception, 149-yard game against Indiana, Lewis was added to the Biletnikoff Award Watch List, which annually recognizes the country's best receiver.
• On Sept. 13 against Indiana, Lewis set a Doyt Perry Stadium record with 16 receptions.
• With nine seconds left in a win over Indiana, Lewis caught the game-winning touchdown for a 45-42 victory.

Big Plays Mean Big Things
• Bowling Green's offense has been able to exploit opposing defenses this season to record 54 plays of 20-plus yards already through the first six games.
• The Falcons have had four plays of 50-plus yards so far, and all four of them have gone for touchdowns.
• James Knapke has found Roger Lewis twice for pass touchdowns of over 50 yards (51 and 52 yards, respectively). Andre Givens had a rushing touchdown of 60 yards at Wisconsin, while Ryan Burbrink had a punt return touchdown of 75 yards against VMI.

Scoring At A Rapid Pace
• Of their 37 scoring drives this season through six games, 31 of them have lasted less than three minutes.
• Bowling Green has had five scoring drives take less than 45 seconds, and eight scoring drives taken under five plays.
• The Falcons have had 13 scoring drives of more than 10 plays, while just six of them have taken up more than three minutes of game time.

Another Homecoming Game
• For the third consecutive week, Bowling Green will be a part of a Homecoming game.
• The Falcons defeated Buffalo on Saturday in their annual Homecoming matchup, coming from behind to defeat the Bulls, 36-35.
• Two weeks ago, BGSU traveled to UMass as the Minutemen opened their renovated stadium on Homecoming. The Falcons came out on top, beating UMass 47-42.
• The Orange and Brown take on Ohio this weekend in the Bobcats' Homecoming game.

BG Stymies Buffalo In Second Half
• Bowling Green's defense was spectacular in the second half against Buffalo, allowing the Falcons to outscore the Bulls 16-7 to overcome an eight point halftime deficit.
• The Falcons allowed just 160 yards in the second half, while Buffalo was just 2-for-8 on third down conversions.
• Trailing by eight points at halftime, the BGSU defense forced four straight punts to begin the second half.
• On the game's final drive, the Bowling Green defense allowed Buffalo to gain just two yards in four plays to secure the victory with a turnover on downs.

BT In The Backfield
• Bryan Thomas (Washington, Pa.) has been a force in the opponent backfield this season.
• Despite totaling just 14 tackles through six games, Thomas has 5.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks.
• The redshirt senior also has one quarterback hurry and a pass breakup.

Martin The Menace
• After missing the final six games of the 2013 season, Gabe Martin (Grand Blanc, Mich.) has returned to form in 2014.
• A two-time All-MAC performer, Martin is second on the team with 47 tackles through six games.
• The redshirt senior leads the team with 6.0 tackles for loss and also has a sack.
• Martin has three pass breakups, a quarterback hurry, and a forced fumble.
• In Saturday's win over Buffalo, Martin picked off a Joe Licata pass and returned it 37 yards into Buffalo territory. It was his first interception of the season.

Schwieterman Stepping Up
• A redshirt freshman, Gus Schwieterman (Tipp City, Ohio) has stepped up nicely in the absence of senior defensive tackle Zach Colvin.
• Schwieterman is fifth on the team with 34 tackles, having registered five tackles for loss and a sack. He also has a forced fumble and has recovered fumble on the season.

Burbrink A Dual Threat
• Ryan Burbrink (Shady Side, Md.) has become a dual threat for the Orange and Brown. An All-MAC punt returner in 2013, Burbrink has turned into a force as a wide receiver as well.
• The redshirt junior has caught 26 passes this season for 328 yards and two touchdowns.
• Burbrink has also returned seven punts for an average of 15.6 yards per return. He has one touchdown, which came on a 75-yard return against VMI.

Forcing Turnovers
• Through six games this season, the Bowling Green defense has created 12 turnovers -- eight fumbles and four interceptions.
• The Falcons are tied with Miami for the most turnovers forced in the Mid-American Conference.
• BGSU is first in the MAC and fifth in the nation with eight fumbles recovered through the first six weeks of the season.

Sutton A Safety Valve
• Brian Sutton (Fishers, Ind.) has served as a safety valve for the Bowling Green defense this season. Through six games, Sutton leads the Falcons with 48 tackles (33 solo, 15 assisted).
• One of just four true seniors on the roster, Sutton has 2.5 tackles for loss to go along with his 48 tackles.

Jackson Brings Consistency
• Redshirt senior Heath Jackson (Ada, Ohio) has been a model of consistency for the Falcons over the past two seasons.
• In 2014, Jackson has 23 catches for 200 yards.
• Although Jackson hasn't found the end zone yet in 2014, he has helped the Falcons march the ball down the field averaging 8.7 yards per reception.

Falcons In The NFL
• The Falcons currently have four former players on NFL rosters.
• Shaun Suisham signed a long-term contract extension with the Pittsburgh Steelers during the offseason. He will remain their placekicker through the 2018 season. On Sunday (Sept. 7), Suisham made three field goals and was a perfect 3-for-3 on extra point attempts. Suisham's 41-yarder as time expired gave the Steelers a 30-27 win over the Cleveland Browns. For the season, Suisham is 10-for-11 on field goal attempts, and 12-of-12 on extra point attempts. The Steelers are 3-2.
• Kory Lichtensteiger, a member of the Washington Redskins, made the move to center for the 2014 season. Last year, Lichtensteiger started every game at guard. He has started every game since the beginning of 2012 for the Redskins.
• Chris Jones is in his second season in the NFL as a member of the New England Patriots. Jones was named the Patriots Defensive MVP following last season. So far this season, Jones has recorded nine tackles and 1.5 sacks in four games played.
• Alex Bayer, an undrafted free agent, made the St. Louis Rams' 53-man roster. He led the Rams during preseason play with 10 catches. Bayer was active on Sunday (Sept. 21) for the first time, as the Rams lost to the Cowboys.

Several Falcons See First Action
• 11 Falcons have made their first career start through the first six weeks of the 2014 season.
• Gehrig Dieter (WR), Roger Lewis (WR), Tim McAuliffe (C), Nate Locke (LB), James Knapke (QB), Gus Schwieterman (DL), Jhalil Croley (DL), Paul Senn (LB), Austin Valdez (LB), James Sanford (LB) and Dernard Turner (DB) have all started games for the Falcons this season.
• In addition to those 11, 16 other Falcons have seen the first playing action of their careers during the first six games of the season.
• Nick Johnson (CB), Monti Phillips (LB), Joe Davidson (P), Ryan Hunter (OL), John Klingerman (WR), Shannon Smith (DL), Cody Callaway (QB), Hunter Folkertsma (TE), Trevahn Beery (DB), Matt Robinson (DB), Dominique Carter (LB), Malik Brown (DL), Trevor Roop (WR), Brandon English (RB), Nilijah Ballew (DB), and Ben Hale (DB) have all made appearances during the first six weeks of the season.

The Falcons By Class
• While the Falcons return a lot of experience in 2014, they are still fairly young. 63% of the roster enters the year with at least three years of eligibility remaining.
• 43 players enter the season with four years of eligibility remaining. The Falcons have 21 true freshmen and 22 redshirt freshmen.
• 20 players enter the year as sophomores eligibility-wise. The Falcons have just five true sophomores and 15 redshirt sophomores.
• The junior class has just 21 players, with 14 of them having redshirted.
• The 2014 senior class will consist of 16 players, while only four of them have not redshirted during their careers.

The Falcons By State
• Bowling Green has done a great job of recruiting their backyard in recent years. 70% of the roster hails from Ohio or states that immediately border the state of Ohio.
• 45 players on the 2014 roster are from Ohio. Florida (15) and Michigan (14) have the most student-athletes on the roster besides Ohio.
• The Falcons also have players from Illinois (6), Indiana (6), Pennsylvania (5), Texas (2), California (2), Massachusetts (1), Wisconsin (1), New York (1), Maryland (1), and Canada (1).

Davidson Flipping The Field
• Joe Davidson (Findlay, Ohio) had big shoes to fill when he stepped in this season to replace All-MAC punter Brian Schmiedebusch.
• Davidson has exceeded expectations, punting 29 times thus far for an average of 41.3 yards per punt. He has landed eight inside the 20 yard line and has registered three punts of over 50 yards.

Kickoff Time For Legacy Weekend Announced
• Bowling Green State University will celebrate the 50th anniversaries of both the Falcon Club and Athletics Hall of Fame on Oct. 17-18 during Legacy Weekend.
• The Falcons will take on Western Michigan on Saturday, Oct. 18, in a Mid-American Conference matchup. Several recognitions will take place during the game to recognize BGSU's heritage sports, as well as the Falcon Club and Hall of Fame.
• On Monday (Oct. 6), the MAC announced that the BGSU and WMU game will kickoff at 2:00 pm inside of Doyt L. Perry Stadium. The game will be live on BCSN, ESPN GamePlan, and ESPN3.

Falcons In The Spotlight
• All but one BGSU football game will air on the ESPN family of networks in 2014, with the recently announced MAC television contract extension with ESPN.
• This weekend's game at Ohio will be available to a national audience on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.
• All six of Bowling Green's previous games have been available nationally, including four to a national television audience.
• The season opener at Western Kentucky aired live on CBS Sports Network.
• In back-to-back weeks against Big Ten foes, the Falcons were on national TV. BGSU hosted Indiana on Sept. 13 in a game available on ESPNU. The very next weekend, the Falcons traveled to Wisconsin for a matchup shown on ESPN2. This past weekend's win over Buffalo was aired on ESPN GamePlan.
• The VMI and UMass games have been aired on ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN app.

Falcons Honored With MAC Player Of The Week
• Through the first six weeks of the season, Bowling Green has racked up six MAC Player of the Week awards, including five straight weeks on special teams.
• Tyler Tate leads the way with three weekly awards (Sept. 15, Sept. 29, Oct. 6). Tate also earned MAC Male Scholar Athlete of the Week on Sept. 17.
• Ryan Burbrink (Special Teams, Sept. 8), James Knapke (Offense, Sept. 15), and Joe Davidson (Special Teams, Sept. 22) have all been recognized for their play during 2014, as well.