Saturday, October 3
Buffalo, N.Y.
3:30 p.m. ET
Bowling Green State University
3-2 , 1-0
28
at
22
Buffalo
2-3 , 0-1
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Bowling Green
7
14
0
7
28
Buffalo
3
3
3
13
22
Falcons Best Bulls In MAC Opener, 28-22
October 03, 2015 | Football
Final Statistics: HTML | PDF
Postgame Audio: Babers | Greene | Sanford | Johnson
AMHERST, N.Y. – The Bowling Green State University football team defeated the State University of New York at Buffalo, 28-22, Saturday (Oct. 3) afternoon inside of UB Stadium. The contest served as the Mid-American Conference opener for both schools. With the victory, the Falcons move to 3-2 (1-0 MAC) on the season, while Buffalo drops to 2-3 (0-1 MAC).
On the first play of the fourth quarter, junior Ronnie Moore took a reverse for a touchdown on third-and-five from the Buffalo seven, putting the Falcons up, 28-9. The Bulls would go on to score the final 13 points of the game, scoring a touchdown with 5:13 left in regulation to pull within six.
But the Orange and Brown were able to run out the clock from there, ending the game in victory formation inside UB territory. Facing a third-and-one at the BGSU 34, redshirt-sophomore Donovan Wilson picked up two yards. Two plays later, Redshirt-senior Travis Greene rushed for 29 yards on second-and-10, before picking up the final first down of the ballgame after runs of seven and four yards.
The Falcons ran of total of 71 plays – 25 less than Buffalo, but BGSU still outgained the Bulls, 536-500. Bowling Green also won the turnover game, as redshirt-junior linebacker James Sanford intercepted Joe Lictata – who completed 35-of-59 passes for 348 yards – on Buffalo's first drive of the second half. The interception – Sanford's first of his career – halted a drive deep in Falcon territory.
Sanford led the way on defense for BGSU, recording 13 tackles, while also registering a tackle for loss and a pass breakup to go along with his pick. The Falcon defense clamped down in the red zone all afternoon, forcing Buffalo to settle for field goals three separate times. Redshirt-sophomore linebacker Austin Valdez was second in line in tackles with 10, while senior linebacker Trent Greene had eight.
Redshirt-senior defensive back Dernard Turner finished with tackles. Defensive linemen Zach Colvin – a redshirt-senior – and Shannon Smith – a redshirt-sophomore – recorded a sack apiece.
Redshirt-senior Matt Johnson completed 23-of-29 passes for 324 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for six yards and a score. Greene led the Falcon rushing attack with 119 yards on 17 carries. Junior Fred Coppet added 75 yards on 10 rushes. Wilson had a touchdown and seven yards on three carries.
For the third time this season, sophomore Roger Lewis reached the 200-yard receiving plateau, as he finished with one score and 201 yards on 10 catches. Redshirt-senior Ryan Burbrink and redshirt-junior Gehrig Dieter finished with four catches each, for 68 yards and 24 yards, respectively. Moore had five catches for 31 yards, to go along with his rushing touchdown.
After Buffalo won the toss and elected to defer, BGSU scored a touchdown on its opening drive, driving 85 yards over 11 plays. Wilson capped off the scoring drive with a one-yard rush. After crossing midfield, Johnson found Burbrink for 37 yards down to the 12. BGSU found pay dirt four plays later.
After Buffalo answered with a 30-yard field goal, the two teams traded stops, before the Orange and Brown found the end zone yet again. Needing just three plays, Johnson kept the ball on a read option and ran 10 yards, untouched, for the score. The play prior, Lewis hauled in a 61-yard reception, beating the Buffalo defense down the Falcon sideline.
The Falcon defense then answered the bell again, setting up a six-play, 72-yard touchdown drive that lasted just 1:05. The final two plays of the drive – a 22-yard reception and a 12-yard reception – were both Johnson-to-Lewis connections.
BGSU held Buffalo to 48 rush yards on 13 attempts, while the Falcons outgained the Bulls, 360-216, in the opening half. Johnson completed 16-of-19 passes for 280 yards. Lewis led all receivers with 196 yards on nine catches, to go along with his touchdown. Burbrink had 68 yards on four catches, while Greene had a game-high 63 yards on 10 touches.
The Falcons host the University of Massachusetts on Saturday, Oct. 10. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. inside of Doyt L. Perry Stadium. The contest is a part of Bowling Green's Hall of Fame Weekend, with the induction ceremony taking place the night before.
Postgame Notes – Bowling Green 28, Buffalo 22
Postgame Audio: Babers | Greene | Sanford | Johnson
AMHERST, N.Y. – The Bowling Green State University football team defeated the State University of New York at Buffalo, 28-22, Saturday (Oct. 3) afternoon inside of UB Stadium. The contest served as the Mid-American Conference opener for both schools. With the victory, the Falcons move to 3-2 (1-0 MAC) on the season, while Buffalo drops to 2-3 (0-1 MAC).
On the first play of the fourth quarter, junior Ronnie Moore took a reverse for a touchdown on third-and-five from the Buffalo seven, putting the Falcons up, 28-9. The Bulls would go on to score the final 13 points of the game, scoring a touchdown with 5:13 left in regulation to pull within six.
But the Orange and Brown were able to run out the clock from there, ending the game in victory formation inside UB territory. Facing a third-and-one at the BGSU 34, redshirt-sophomore Donovan Wilson picked up two yards. Two plays later, Redshirt-senior Travis Greene rushed for 29 yards on second-and-10, before picking up the final first down of the ballgame after runs of seven and four yards.
The Falcons ran of total of 71 plays – 25 less than Buffalo, but BGSU still outgained the Bulls, 536-500. Bowling Green also won the turnover game, as redshirt-junior linebacker James Sanford intercepted Joe Lictata – who completed 35-of-59 passes for 348 yards – on Buffalo's first drive of the second half. The interception – Sanford's first of his career – halted a drive deep in Falcon territory.
Sanford led the way on defense for BGSU, recording 13 tackles, while also registering a tackle for loss and a pass breakup to go along with his pick. The Falcon defense clamped down in the red zone all afternoon, forcing Buffalo to settle for field goals three separate times. Redshirt-sophomore linebacker Austin Valdez was second in line in tackles with 10, while senior linebacker Trent Greene had eight.
Redshirt-senior defensive back Dernard Turner finished with tackles. Defensive linemen Zach Colvin – a redshirt-senior – and Shannon Smith – a redshirt-sophomore – recorded a sack apiece.
Redshirt-senior Matt Johnson completed 23-of-29 passes for 324 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for six yards and a score. Greene led the Falcon rushing attack with 119 yards on 17 carries. Junior Fred Coppet added 75 yards on 10 rushes. Wilson had a touchdown and seven yards on three carries.
For the third time this season, sophomore Roger Lewis reached the 200-yard receiving plateau, as he finished with one score and 201 yards on 10 catches. Redshirt-senior Ryan Burbrink and redshirt-junior Gehrig Dieter finished with four catches each, for 68 yards and 24 yards, respectively. Moore had five catches for 31 yards, to go along with his rushing touchdown.
After Buffalo won the toss and elected to defer, BGSU scored a touchdown on its opening drive, driving 85 yards over 11 plays. Wilson capped off the scoring drive with a one-yard rush. After crossing midfield, Johnson found Burbrink for 37 yards down to the 12. BGSU found pay dirt four plays later.
After Buffalo answered with a 30-yard field goal, the two teams traded stops, before the Orange and Brown found the end zone yet again. Needing just three plays, Johnson kept the ball on a read option and ran 10 yards, untouched, for the score. The play prior, Lewis hauled in a 61-yard reception, beating the Buffalo defense down the Falcon sideline.
The Falcon defense then answered the bell again, setting up a six-play, 72-yard touchdown drive that lasted just 1:05. The final two plays of the drive – a 22-yard reception and a 12-yard reception – were both Johnson-to-Lewis connections.
BGSU held Buffalo to 48 rush yards on 13 attempts, while the Falcons outgained the Bulls, 360-216, in the opening half. Johnson completed 16-of-19 passes for 280 yards. Lewis led all receivers with 196 yards on nine catches, to go along with his touchdown. Burbrink had 68 yards on four catches, while Greene had a game-high 63 yards on 10 touches.
The Falcons host the University of Massachusetts on Saturday, Oct. 10. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. inside of Doyt L. Perry Stadium. The contest is a part of Bowling Green's Hall of Fame Weekend, with the induction ceremony taking place the night before.
Postgame Notes – Bowling Green 28, Buffalo 22
- Despite the wind and rain on Saturday, Bowling Green's offense totaled 536 yards on just 71 total plays.
- Matt Johnson completed an efficient 23-of-29 passes for 324 yards in Saturday's win. His 29 attempts were 15 fewer than any other game this season. It was the sixth time in six starts under Dino Babers that Johnson has passed for more than 300 yards in a game.
- Travis Greene rushed 17 times for a season-high 119 yards in the game. It was his 15th 100-yard rushing performance in his career, but his first this season.
- Roger Lewis caught 10 passes for 201 yards and a touchdown. It was his third 200-yard receiving performance in the last four weeks. No BGSU receiver has ever had three 200-yard receiving games in their career.
- James Sanford had 13 tackles and an interception in the win. It was the second consecutive MAC opener in which he has shined, totaling nine tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in the 2014 opener at UMass.
- The win marked Dino Babers' 30th career victory. In just his fourth season as a head coach, Babers reaches 30 wins in just his 45th career game.
- The 28-22 win over Buffalo marked the Falcons' fifth consecutive in the series and their 13th straight over MAC East foes.
- Matt Johnson is now over 2,000 yards passing on the season. He has 2,084 yards passing on the season with 14 touchdowns and has completed 66.5-percent of passes on 236 attempts.
- Roger Lewis now has 760 yards receiving on 40 catches. He has caught six touchdown passes in five games and is averaging 19.0 yards per reception.
- Travis Greene now has 2,904 rushing yards in his career. He is just 515 yards shy of the school record.
- The 212 rushing yards for the Falcons on 42 attempts marked the first time this season that the Falcons' rushing attack has surpassed the 200-yard mark.
Team Stats
BGSU
UB
Total Yards
536
500
Pass Yards
324
348
Rushing Yards
212
152
Penalty Yards
70
85
1st Downs
25
34
3rd Downs
7
10
4th Downs
1
2
TOP
26:15
33:45
1st Quarter
BGSU 7, UB 0
BGSU - WILSON, Donovan 1 yd run (TATE, Tyler kick), 11 plays, 85 yards, TOP 4:24
BGSU 7, UB 3
UB - MITCHESON, Adam 30 yd field goal 12 plays, 53 yards, TOP 5:04
2nd Quarter
BGSU 14, UB 3
BGSU - JOHNSON, Matt 10 yd run (TATE, Tyler kick), 3 plays, 72 yards, TOP 0:42
BGSU 21, UB 3
BGSU - LEWIS, Roger 12 yd pass from JOHNSON, Matt (TATE, Tyler kick) 6 plays, 72 yards, TOP 1:05
BGSU 21, UB 6
UB - MITCHESON, Adam 28 yd field goal 15 plays, 79 yards, TOP 2:00
3rd Quarter
BGSU 21, UB 9
UB - MITCHESON, Adam 27 yd field goal 16 plays, 78 yards, TOP 5:35
4th Quarter
BGSU 28, UB 9
BGSU - MOORE, Ronnie 7 yd run (TATE, Tyler kick), 10 plays, 94 yards, TOP 2:42
BGSU 28, UB 16
UB - JOHNSON, Jordan 1 yd run (MITCHESON, Adam kick), 16 plays, 92 yards, TOP 6:05
BGSU 28, UB 22
UB - WILLOUGHBY, Ron 5 yd pass from LICATA, Joe (MITCHESON, Adam kickfailed) 7 plays, 62 yards, TOP 1:16
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
23
TD
1
YDS
324
INT
0
Players Mentioned
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