Bowling Green State University
1-2
Memphis
3-0
Falcons Excite In 44-41 Home Opener Loss To Memphis
September 19, 2015 | Football
Audio: Babers | Johnson | Valdez
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BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- The Bowling Green State University football team lost a 44-41 decision to the Memphis Tigers on Saturday afternoon (Sept. 19) in a hard-fought contest at Doyt L. Perry Stadium in Bowling Green, Ohio. The game was the Falcons' season opener at home and the first of five home games during the 2015 season.
The Falcons continued to be a juggernaut on offense, as they racked up more than 30 points and over 500 yards for the third time in three games this season. Today, the team's total was 579 yards on 74 plays from scrimmage, or an average of nearly eight yards per play.
Quarterback Matt Johnson continued his electric play by throwing for 443 yards and rushing for 41 more. He threw four touchdown passes and ran for another score. He increased his season passing totals to 1,358 yards and 12 touchdowns with just one interception thrown.
Three of Johnson's scoring tosses went to receiver Roger Lewis. Lewis found the end zone on passes of 62, 62 and 94 yards en route to seven catches for 261 yards. Lewis is the first player in BGSU history with back-to-back games with 200 receiving yards, and his 94-yard touchdown reception was the second-longest in school history.
The Falcons started the game with a bang. On the fourth play of the opening drive, Johnson connected with Lewis deep down the right sideline for the first of their two 62-yard scoring connections. Memphis evened the game 7-7 after the teams traded punts, but BGSU answered the Tigers' score with a 10-play, 75-yard drive. Donovan Wilson capped that with a two-yard run for a 14-7 lead.
Memphis scored on back-to-back drives to claim a 17-14 lead early in the second quarter, but the Falcons stormed back with two touchdowns in the second frame. On the first, Johnson ran up the middle for a 23-yard score to finish a 91-yard drive. Johnson then found Teo Redding for a nine-yard touchdown pass with just 0:03 left in the half. On that drive, the Falcons went 90 yards in just 1:25.
BGSU took a 27-17 lead into halftime and scored twice more, both on Johnson-to-Lewis passes. Memphis scored the final 10 points of the game, the final three of which came on a 29-yard Jake Elliott field goal midway through the fourth quarter.
Ryan Burbrink caught eight balls for 77 yards, and Ronnie Moore added seven catches for 64 yards. Travis Greene was BGSU's leading rusher with 11 carries for 63 yards. Defensively, linebacker Austin Valdez registered a game-high 20 tackles.
For Memphis, Paxton Lynch threw for 386 yards and three scores. The Tigers were led in rushing by Doroland Dorceus, who ran 16 times for 75 yards and a touchdown. Tevin Jones led Memphis with 98 yards receiving and a touchdown.
The Falcons fall to 1-2 on the season with this loss. Their next game will take place next Saturday (Sept. 26) in West Lafayette, Ind. when BGSU faces the Purdue Boilermakers of the Big Ten Conference. The game begins at 12:00 p.m. ET and will be televised by the Big Ten Network.
Notes
- BGSU finished with 579 yards on 74 plays Saturday against Maryland, averaging 7.8 yards per play.
- The final score of 44-41 in a home opener at Doyt L. Perry Stadium marked the second-highest combined score in a home opener in BGSU football history. The highest was 88 points in a 48-40 win against Buffalo in 2006.
- Matt Johnson passed for 443 yards on Saturday in a loss to Memphis, his third consecutive 400-yard passing performance. No Falcon quarterback has ever had more than two 400-yard performances in a season prior to Johnson in 2015.
- Johnson has passed for 12 touchdowns in three games thus far and now has 39 career touchdowns which is tied for seventh in school history.
- Roger Lewis had seven catches for 261 yards and three touchdowns. It was his career-high for yards in a game and touchdowns. The 261 yards were just 17 shy of Freddie Barnes' school-record of 278 set in a 2008 game at Kent State.
- Lewis became the first Falcon receiver since Ronnie Moore in 2013 to have three receiving touchdowns in the same game.
- Over his last two games, Lewis has caught 22 passes for 461 yards and five touchdowns.
- Johnson has passed for 1,358 yards in his first three games this season. He currently leads the nation in passing yardage and his 12 touchdown passes also currently lead the nation.
- Ronnie Moore (19), Ryan Burbrink (18) and Roger Lewis (17) all extended their streaks of consecutive games with at least one reception on Saturday.
- Austin Valdez finished with a career-high 20 tackles in Saturday's loss to Memphis.
- Over the last six quarters, Bowling Green has scored 83 points.
Team Stats
MEM 0, BGSU 7
BGSU - LEWIS, Roger 62 yd pass from JOHNSON, Matt (TATE, Tyler kick) 4 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:16
MEM 7, BGSU 7
MEM - DORCEUS, D 17 yd run (ELLIOTT, Jake kick), 6 plays, 56 yards, TOP 1:32
MEM 7, BGSU 14
BGSU - WILSON, Donovan 2 yd run (TATE, Tyler kick), 10 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:24
MEM 10, BGSU 14
MEM - ELLIOTT, Jake 34 yd field goal 9 plays, 66 yards, TOP 3:52
MEM 17, BGSU 14
MEM - MONTIEL, Daniel 6 yd pass from LYNCH, Paxton (ELLIOTT, Jake kick) 14 plays, 88 yards, TOP 5:27
MEM 17, BGSU 21
BGSU - JOHNSON, Matt 23 yd run (TATE, Tyler kick), 10 plays, 91 yards, TOP 2:50
MEM 17, BGSU 27
BGSU - REDDING, Teo 9 yd pass from JOHNSON, Matt (TATE, Tyler kickfailed) 9 plays, 90 yards, TOP 1:25
MEM 20, BGSU 27
MEM - ELLIOTT, Jake 52 yd field goal 10 plays, 38 yards, TOP 3:10
MEM 27, BGSU 27
MEM - CRAFT, Sam 3 yd run (ELLIOTT, Jake kick), 10 plays, 70 yards, TOP 4:09
MEM 27, BGSU 34
BGSU - LEWIS, Roger 94 yd pass from JOHNSON, Matt (TATE, Tyler kick) 2 plays, 95 yards, TOP 0:36
MEM 34, BGSU 34
MEM - CRAFT, Sam 60 yd pass from LYNCH, Paxton (ELLIOTT, Jake kick) 6 plays, 78 yards, TOP 2:46
MEM 34, BGSU 41
BGSU - LEWIS, Roger 62 yd pass from JOHNSON, Matt (TATE, Tyler kick) 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:47
MEM 41, BGSU 41
MEM - JONES, Tevin 48 yd pass from LYNCH, Paxton (ELLIOTT, Jake kick) 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:54
MEM 44, BGSU 41
MEM - ELLIOTT, Jake 29 yd field goal 7 plays, 44 yards, TOP 2:48
