Falcons Look To Clinch MAC Championship Game Berth At Western Michigan

Wednesday, November 11

Kalamazoo, Mich.

8:00 p.m. ET

Bowling Green State University

Western Michigan

Tickets

Falcons Look To Clinch MAC Championship Game Berth At Western Michigan

November 07, 2015 | Football

By: by Scott Swegan, BGSU Athletic Communications

Bowling Green Falcons (7-2, 5-0 MAC)
at
Western Michigan Broncos (6-3, 5-0 MAC)

GAME INFORMATION	Wednesday, Nov. 11, 8:00 pm
LOCATION	Kalamazoo, Mich. (Waldo Stadium)
TELEVISION	ESPN2 (Dave Lamont, Desmond Howard, Paul Carcaterra)
RADIO	Falcon Radio Network (Todd Walker, John Gibson)
LIVE STATS	BGSUFalcons.com
WATCH ONLINE	ESPN3.com/WatchESPN
LISTEN ONLINE	BGSUFalcons.com
GAME NOTES	BGSU \| WMU \| MAC

Falcons Begin West-Division Swing At Western Michigan
Riding a six-game winning streak, the Bowling Green State University football program will begin play against the Mid-American Conference West Division on Wednesday night in Kalamazoo, Mich. against the Western Michigan Broncos. The Falcons, 7-2 overall and a perfect 5-0 in the MAC, clinch at berth in the MAC Championship Game with a win. WMU, coming off a win at Ball State on Thursday night, enters the contest on a five-game winning streak.

A Win Against WMU Would...
• Clinch the MAC East Division for the third straight season - the first team to do so since Marshall won six straight East Division titles from 1997-2002
• Make the Falcons 8-2 overall for the first time since the 2004 season which saw the Falcons begin the year with an identical 8-2
• Give the Falcons a 6-0 start in MAC play for the first time since the 1994 campaign which saw BGSU start 7-0 in conference play
• Be the Falcons first victory over WMU since 2004 when they defeated the Broncos 52-0

Falcon Facts From The Win Over Ohio
• Bowling Green improved to 7-2 overall and 5-0 in the MAC. It is the Falcons' best nine-game start since 2004 and the best MAC start since 2003.
• The win over Ohio marked the Falcons 17th straight victory over foes from the MAC East. For the third straight season, BGSU finished undefeated against the East Division, going 5-0 in 2015.
• Matt Johnson passed for 365 yards and four scores in Wednesday's game. He now has a 33-to-3 touchdown-to-interception ratio on the season.
• Johnson's 365 yards marked his ninth 300-yard game in a row to begin the 2015 season and his 10th consecutive overall.
• Roger Lewis had 102 yards receiving, marking the fifth straight game he has gone over 100 yards on the season. He has seven total 100-yard games in 2015.
• Dernard Turner's pick-6 of 85 yards marked the third-longest in school history and was the first pick-6 since 2012 for the Falcons.
• Bowling Green's 62 points marked the fourth consecutive game scoring over 40 points and the sixth time they have done so this season. It was the second time in the last four weeks they have scored 62 points in a game.
• Travis Greene had three touchdowns in the game, marking the first time in his career he has registered three scores in the same game.
• Bowling Green went over 500 yards of total offense for the ninth time this season and the 10th consecutive game.
• Gehrig Dieter led the Falcons with nine catches for 136 yards on Wednesday. His two touchdowns were a career high. He now has over 1,000 career receiving yards.

Head Coach Dino Babers
• Dino Babers is in his second season at the helm of the Orange and Brown, and his fourth season overall as a head coach. He has a career record of 34-15 and has won a championship in all three seasons thus far.
• Babers has impressed in his Bowling Green tenure to date, compiling a record of 15-8 in just his second season.
• In his first season, Babers led a team which lost its starting QB in week one, winning eight games. In those eight wins were a victory over a Big Ten foe (Indiana), a MAC East Division championship, and Bowling Green's first bowl win since the 2004 season.
• The Falcons went 2-2 through one of the nation's toughest nonconference schedules this season, defeating two Big Ten Conference opponents on the road. Babers has compiled an impressive 3-1 record against Big Ten opponents - defeating Indiana, Maryland and Purdue.

The Ziggy Warriors Are Road Warriors
• With their 48-0 win at Kent State, the Falcons are now 4-0 on the road this season.
• Bowling Green is one of just six teams in the country with at least four road wins and an umblemished road record in 2015.
• The five teams to join the Falcons at 4-0 this season are all ranked inside the top 25. TCU, Houston, Memphis, Oklahoma State and Temple all are a perfect 4-0 with the Falcons away from home in 2015.

Lighting Up The Scoreboard
• Bowling Green has scored 413 points in nine games this season, averaging 45.9 points per game.
• The 45.9 points per game are fifth-best in the country and tops in the Mid-American Conference.
• The 413 points are already the sixth-most ever scored in a season, despite this being BGSU's 96th season of football.

Huettel Makes 50th Consecutive Start Against Ohio
• Redshirt senior Alex Huettel (Pickerington, Ohio) started his 50th consecutive game against Ohio on Wednesday night in the Falcons' 62-24 victory.
• Huettel, who has made more consecutive starts than any other player in school history, has started every game during his illustrious Falcon career.
• A two-time All-MAC performer at left guard, Huettel's 50 straight starts ranks third in the nation behind a pair of players from MAC foe Northern Illinois:
51 – Aidan Conlon/Andrew Ness, NIU
50 – Alex Huettel, Bowling Green

Greene Running Towards History In 2015
Redshirt senior Travis Greene is in his third season at running back for the Falcons in 2015, after coming to BGSU and playing wide receiver his first two years on campus. As his senior season winds down, Greene is chasing several milestones in the Orange and Brown in 2015, including:
• Currently sits 2nd all-time with 3,249 rushing yards...just 174 yards shy of the all-time career record currently held by Dave Preston (1973-76)
• Could become just the second Falcon player ever, behind Paul Miles, to lead Bowling Green in rushing in three consecutive seasons
• Enters the game at Western Michigan with 17 career 100-yard rushing games...the school record is 20 held by Dave Preston.
• Greene is coming off a career-best performance against Ohio where he tallied three touchdowns for the first time in his career. He rushed 13 times for 106 yards in the game, his third 100-yard game of the season.

Johnson A Star In Babers' Offense
• Quarterback Matt Johnson (Harrisburg, Pa.) has been a star under head coach Dino Babers. Despite missing 13 games a season ago due to injury, Johnson has passed for 3,999 yards in just 10 starts under Babers.
• To start the 2015 season, Johnson passed for 400 yards in each of his first four starts. He is the first player in school history to ever pass for 400 yards in back-to-back games, three times in a season, and four times in a career.
• In all, Johnson has passed for 400 yards-or-more in six of his first nine games this season.
• Although Johnson's streak of consecutive 400-yard games ended at four, only three players have ever had a longer streak within the same season.
• In his 10 starts under Babers, Johnson has passed for 3,999 yards while completing 293-of-417 (.703) passes. Johnson's TD-to-INT ratio sits at 34-to-3.

Babers' #FalconFast Offense Has Clicked
• Ever since he took over at Bowling Green, Dino Babers has made it clear that his offensive system usually clicks between games four and six of the second season.
• Against UMass (game six of the second season), Bowling Green set a new school record with 725 yards of total offense.
• Babers' Falcons have had at least 532 offensive yards in all nine games this season, and are fourth in the country averaging 593.7 yards per game.
• In his 23 games at BGSU, Babers' teams have had 500-or-more yards of offense 15 times, including 10 consecutive games dating back to last year' Camellia Bowl.
• The Falcons offense leads the MAC in scoring offense (45.9) and is averaging 51.8 points per game in MAC play.

Davidson, Mack Garner Academic Honors
• Two standout student-athletes on the BGSU football team garnered CoSIDA Academic All-District honors for their efforts both on-and-off the football field.
• Punter Joseph Davidson (Findlay, Ohio), a 3.95 GPA student in mathematics, earned the honor in part to his MAC-leading 46.2 yards per punt average. A redshirt sophomore, Davidson has landed nine inside the 20 and had nine over 50 yards.
• Cornerback Alfonso Mack (South Bend, Ind.) also received recognition. A 3.96 GPA student in psychology, Mack is tied for the team lead with three interceptions for the Orange and Brown. A walk-on for the Falcons, Mack has started the last seven games.

Knowledge Is Power
• Bowling Green heads to Kalamazoo looking to end a four-game skid against the Broncos. The Falcons, who have not beaten WMU since 2004, are also looking for their first road win in the series since the 2003 season.

#MattyJHeisman Leading NCAA
• BGSU quarterback Matt Johnson leads the nation in passing with 3,686 yards through nine games this season.
• He has completed 268-of-380 passes (70.5%) with 33 touchdown passes compared to just three interceptions.
• Through nine games this season, Johnson's 3,686 yards are the fifth-most in FBS football since 2000, despite Johnson having attempted 78 less passes and completing 58 less passes than anyone else in the top five (full chart in pdf game notes)

Senior Class One Of Best In School History
• Bowling Green's senior class has been one of the best in school history, totaling 33 wins to date. If the Falcons can win four games the rest of the season, the 2015 senior class will be the winningest in school history. The current senior class is fourth all-time with 33 wins heading into Wednesday night's showdown at WMU.
37 • 2001-04
36 • 1991-94
34 • 1982-85
33 • 2012-15
32 • 1959-62
32 • 1961-64

Streaking Falcons
• The Falcons enter Wednesday's contest with Western Michigan on a six-game winning streak, their longest since 2012.
• Bowling Green and Western Michigan are the two hottest teams in the Mid-American Conference, both riding at least five-game winning streaks.
• BGSU and WMU, both 5-0 in MAC play, are the only two undefeated teams left in conference play entering Wednesday night's game.

Turner Having An Impact
• Senior Dernard Turner is putting together a nice season as a defensive leader for the Orange and Brown, currently ranking fifth on the Falcons with 42 tackles this year.
• Turner, who has started all nine games, is tied for the team lead in interceptions with three.
• In last Wednesday's game over Ohio, Turner intercepted a pass and returned it to the house for an 85-yard score.
• For the Falcons, it was the first interception returned for a TD since 2012 and the second longest interception returned for a touchdown in school history.

Lewis A Biletnikoff Award Candidate
• Wide receiver Roger Lewis has caught 64 passes for 1,224 yards and 12 touchdowns so far this season.
• His 1,224 yards through nine games are second-most in BGSU history for a single season.
• Lewis currently ranks second in the nation in receiving yards behind TCU's Josh Doctson. He is also third in the country with 12 receiving touchdowns. Despite his impressive numbers, Lewis has done all that all while averaging only 7.1 catches per game - 14th-most in the nation.
• A true sophomore, the Pickerington, Ohio native has recorded 100 yards in a game six times in the first nine games, while three of those performances have gone for more than 200 yards.
• Lewis went over 200 yards three times in the first five games of this season, going for 200 at Maryland, 261 against Memphis and 201 at Buffalo.
• He has recorded 100 yards receiving in all five MAC games to date, totaling 34 receptions for 665 yards and seven touchdowns in conference play.
• After just 23 career games, Lewis has 2,317 career receiving yards - ninth all-time in school history. Last season he was first team All-MAC as a freshman after catching 73 passes for 1,093 yards and seven TDs.

Trio Of Falcon Receivers Are Streaking
• Three Bowling Green receivers are riding impressive streaks, as all three have caught a pass in at least 23 consecutive games. In two cases, those streaks stretch back to the 2013 season. All three are on the Biletnikoff Award Watch List.
• Ronnie Moore has caught a pass in 25 consecutive games, dating back to the 2013 MAC Championship Game against Northern Illinois. Moore has 54 catches - second on the team - this season for 714 yards and five touchdowns.
• Sure-handed Ryan Burbrink has a reception in 24 straight games going back to the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl game in 2013 against Pitt. Burbrink is fourth on the Falcons with 43 catches for 527 yards and four TDs through nine games this season.
• Roger Lewis, the Falcons leading receiver with 1,224 yards on the season, has caught a pass in all 23 career games thus far. He has 64 catches and 12 touchdowns in 2015.

Dieter Joins The 1,000 Yard Party
• With his nine-catch, 136-yard performance against Ohio last Wednesday, Gehrig Dieter surpassed 1,000 career receiving yards in a Falcon uniform.
• After starting his career at SMU, Dieter is in his second year playing at BGSU. He has 1,074 career yards and became the 37th player in BGSU's 96-year football history to surpass the 1,000-yard mark.
• So far in 2015, Dieter has 49 catches - third-most on the Falcons - for 614 yards and five scores.

Falcons Have Been Beasts Of The East
• With their dominating 62-24 victory over Ohio, Bowling Green finished 5-0 against teams from the MAC East Division and has now gone undefeated against division foes in each of the last three seasons.
• Since the start of the 2012 season, Bowling Green has a combined record of 21-1 against foes from the MAC's East Division.
• More impressively, the Falcons have won 17 straight games against MAC East opponents, dating back to a 2012 win over Buffalo in the regular season finale.
• With that success has come results, as the Falcons have won back-to-back MAC East Division titles and are knocking on the doorstep for a third straight division title with a two-game lead and three games to play.

Spreading The Ball Around
• Head coach Dino Babers has multiple weapons in his offensive repertoire, starting with the nation's leading quarterback in Matt Johnson.
• The Falcons have five receivers over 1,000 career yards, and four who have over 40 catches this season.
• At Johnson's disposal through the air are the 9th, 15th, and 17th-most prolific receivers in school history. Additionally, despite this being just his second season, Gehrig Dieter ranks 35th in school history while senior tight end Chris Gallon ranks 37th.
• When BGSU needs the rushing attack, they certainly don't have a shortage there, either. Redshirt senior Travis Greene is second in school history with 3,249 career rushing yards, while Fred Coppet ranks 23rd with 1,504.

Johnson Is Mr. 300
• Matt Johnson has passed for at least 300 yards in 10 consecutive games and 12 total games during his career. He has done so in all nine games this season after passing for 365 yards against Ohio.
• Johnson tied Tyler Sheehan's (2009) school record for most 300-yard passing games in a season. Sheehan also did so nine times in '09.
• The signal caller also tied Omar Jacobs' career record for most 300-yard games with 12.
• So far in 2015, Johnson has passed for 400 yards-or-more in six games and has had 300 yards-or-more in each of the other three contests. His season high is 491 and his season low is 324.

Falcons Sporting Top Offense AND Defense In MAC Play
• Bowling Green has been dominant in MAC play, outscoring opponents 259-to-94 during a 5-0 start.
• The Falcons are averaging a MAC-best 51.8 points per game during MAC play, while the defense is allowing just 18.8 points per game.
• BGSU has scored 135 more points than any other MAC East team in conference play and allowed 14 points less than any other team.
• Wednesday night's game against WMU will pit the top two offenses against the top two scoring defenses during MAC play. The Broncos are scoring 47.4 points per game while allowing just 20.2.

Former Falcons In The NFL
• Eight former Falcons were on preseason NFL rosters this season, including four who have played a significant role with NFL teams over the past several years.
• Kory Lichtensteiger is the starting center for the Washington Redskins. He has started every game since the 2010 season.
• Both Chris Jones and Shaun Suisham (IR) have had significant impacts in past seasons for the Patriots and Steelers, respectively. Jones won a Super Bowl last season with the Patriots and is back practicing with the team after beginning the season on the PUP list due to an injury. Suisham is signed through 2018 and was a Special Teams captain last season for the Steelers.
• Jude Adjei-Barimah made his debut with the Tampa Bay Bucs a few weeks ago against the Carolina Panthers, playing on special teams and defense.
• Two other Falcons - Alex Bayer (San Diego Chargers) and Gabe Martin (Arizona Cardinals) - are on NFL practice squads.

High-Flying Falcons
• So far through nine games this season, Bowling Green has scored 40 points in six games and at least 50 points three times.
• Bowling Green has scored 62 points in two of the last four games.
• The most 40-point games in a season came in 2004, when the Falcons did so nine times. BGSU has also scored 40 points at least six times in 2013 (6) and 2002 (6).
• The 2015 season marks the sixth time in BGSU's 96 years of football history that they have scored 50 points at least two times in the same season.
• The school record for 50-point performances in the same season was four, which the 2004 team did.
• BGSU has also scored 50 points multiple times in the same season in 2002 (3), 1959 (2), 1994 (2) and 2003 (2).

2015 #GutGang Feasting At The All-You-Can-Eat Pancake Buffet
• Bowling Green features one of the most experienced offensive line units in the entire country, and it has showed thus far.
• The Falcons' have 170 offensive line career starts on the roster, second-most in FBS football. Alex Huettel (50), Jacob Bennett (37), Logan Dietz (35), Tim McAuliffe (22), Ben Steward (15), Ryan Hunter (9), and Austin Labus (2) make up the 170.
• Bowling Green was one of just nine schools in the entire country to start the same five players on the offensive line every game last season. The Falcons were joined by Fresno State, UL-Lafayette, Northern Illinois, Ohio State, Rutgers, Tulane, Wisconsin and Rice. BGSU is the only one of those nine that returns all five starters in 2015.
Johnson Trending Towards The Top
• Bowling Green quarterback is on pace to set the school and Mid-American Conference record for passing yards in a single-season. His current pace is 5,734 yards, if the Falcons are to clinch the MAC East and play a 14-game schedule in 2015, which would be second-most in NCAA history.

Longest Winning Streak
• Since 1995, Bowling Green has had just four winning streaks of six games or more in the same season.
• The Falcons' current winning streak, which started on Sept. 26 at Purdue has lasted also through the first five games of MAC play.
2002 - 8 games (Aug. 29 - Nov. 2)
2004 - 7 games (Oct. 2 - Nov. 13)
2015 - 6 games (Sept. 26 - current)
2012 - 6 games (Sept. 29 - Nov. 7)

Trending Towards 100
• In the first season of Dino Babers' #FalconFast offense at Bowling Green, the Falcons had 11 receiving and nine rushing performances of 100-or-more yards. The 11 receiving games tied a school record for most in a season, while the nine rushing efforts was just two shy of the school record.
• After just nine games this season, BGSU appears to be primed to break the school record for most 100-yard receiving games in a season. The Falcons have already had 11 such performances in the first nine weeks.