Falcons Open MAC Play Saturday At Buffalo

Bowling Green Falcons (2-2, 0-0 MAC)
at
Buffalo Bulls (2-2, 0-0 MAC)

GAME INFORMATION	Saturday, Oct. 3, 3:30 pm
LOCATION	Amherst, N.Y. (UB Stadium)
TELEVISION	Time Warner Cable Sports/BCSN
RADIO	Falcon Radio Network (Todd Walker, John Gibson)
LIVE STATS	BGSUFalcons.com
WATCH ONLINE	ESPN3.com/WatchESPN
LISTEN ONLINE	BGSUFalcons.com
GAME NOTES	BGSU \| Buffalo \| MAC

Falcons Open MAC Play Saturday At Buffalo
The Bowling Green State University football program, fresh off a 35-28 road win at Purdue, will travel to take on the Buffalo Bulls Saturday afternoon to begin Mid-American Conference play. The Falcons and Bulls both enter the weekend with identical 2-2 records.

A Win Against Buffalo Would...
• Make the Falcons 3-2 overall with a MAC record of 1-0
• Be Dino Babers' 30th career victory in just his fourth season as a head coach
• Mark the Falcons' 13th straight win over a MAC East Division opponent
• Be the third straight season that BGSU has started MAC play with a win
• Mark Bowling Green's fifth consecutive win in the series

Falcon Facts From Purdue
• Matt Johnson became the first player in school history to have four 400-yard passing games in his career. He has done so in each of the first four weeks this season.
• The win marks the first time BGSU has defeated two Big Ten teams on the road in the same season.
• The win marks the first time BGSU has beaten two Big Ten teams in one season since 2003.
• Head coach Dino Babers improves to 3-1 over Big Ten opponents in two years at Bowling Green.
• BGSU surpassed 500 yards of offense for the fourth straight game in 2015.
• BGSU has scored at least 30 points in all four games this year.
• Matt Johnson's 43 completions are tied for third-most all-time at BGSU and the most in his career.
• Matt Johnson's 59 passing attempts is tied for fifth-most all-time at BGSU.
• BGSU has rushed for 120+ yards in every game in 2015.
• Trent Greene recorded 11 tackles, the third double-digit tackle game of his career.

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 29-15 and has won a championship in all three seasons thus far.
• Babers has impressed in his Bowling Green tenure thus far, winning eight games in his first season. 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.
• In just his second season on the BGSU sideline, Babers has compiled an impressive 3-1 record against Big Ten opponents - defeating Indiana, Maryland and Purdue.

BGSU Wins Again On The Road Against Purdue
• With their 35-28 win at Purdue on Saturday, Bowling Green is now 3-0 all-time against the Boilermakers.
• Prior to Saturday's last-second victory, the Falcons have also defeated Purdue at Ross-Ade Stadium in both 2003 and 1972.

Falcons Sit Atop Big Ten Standings
• Bowling Green has a 2-0 record against Big Ten Conference opponents in 2015, defeating both Maryland and Purdue on the road in the first four weeks of the season.
• The Falcons have won three games dating back to Sept. 13, 2014 against Big Ten foes, as many or more than seven Big Ten members have during that same stretch.

BGSU Among Group Of Five's Most Impressive Early Season Teams
• The Falcons are one of just three teams among members from the Group of Five conferences (MAC, CUSA, AAC, Sun Belt, MWC) to have multiple wins this season over Power Five conference opponents.
• Bowling Green's two road wins over Big Ten Conference opponents lead the Group of Five teams with multiple wins against Power Five conference teams. Toledo and Boise State have also defeated two Power Five opponents.
• However, the Falcons are the only team from the Group of Five to have both of their Power Five wins on the road.

Babers' #FalconFast Clicking In 2015
• The Falcons' offense has been good in each of the past two seasons, but it is already showing why expectations were so high entering the 2015 season with every offensive starter back from the 2014 campaign.
• Bowling Green had their fourth consecutive 500-yard offensive performance Saturday at Purdue, and now has 10 such performances in just 18 games under Babers.
• In the first game of the season against No. 25 Tennessee, the Falcons racked up 557 yards of total offense.
• BGSU followed up that week two performance with 692 yards in week two on the road at Maryland, just 14 yards shy of the school record. The Falcons scored 48 points in the win, tied for the most points in a game under Babers.
• In week three against Memphis, the Falcons averaged 7.8 yards per play and had 579 yards on just 74 total plays.
• During the first four weeks of the 2015 season, the Falcons have had four of their top six offensive performances during Babers' tenure.
• So far in 2015, the Falcons are averaging 38.5 points per game and 591.8 yards per game. BGSU has scored 30 points-or-more and had more than 500 yards in each of their first four games this season.

Johnson Throws For 400 Yards...Again
• For the fourth consecutive week to begin the 2015 season, Matt Johnson surpassed 400 yards through the air on Saturday at Purdue. Johnson had 402 yards passing in the game, completing 43-of-59 passes.
• Johnson is the first quarterback in BGSU football's 96-year history to ever throw for 400 yards in back-to-back games. He is also the first quarterback to ever throw for more than 400 yards at least three times in the same season.
• More impressively, no Falcon quarterback has ever done in a career what Johnson has done the last four weeks. Johnson is the first quarterback in BGSU football history to have four career games of 400 yards passing.
• Johnson started the season with 424 yards passing against Tennessee. As if that wasn't impressive enough, the redshirt senior threw for 935 combined yards over the next two weeks (491, 443) before throwing for 402 yards in a win at Purdue last week.

Greene's Game-Winner Sends Falcons Home Victorious
• Travis Greene's 12-yard rushing touchdown with nine seconds left in Saturday's game at Purdue put the Orange and Brown ahead 35-28.
• Greene, who had 70 rushing yards and 75 receiving yards in the game, scored two touchdowns for the 10th time in a game during his career.
• His six catches for 75 yards were both new career highs.
• His two rushing touchdowns and 70 yards on just 11 carries (6.4 ypc) marked just the second and third TDs for Greene on the season.

Falcons Pound Out Four Rushing Touchdowns
• With four 400-yard passing games to Matt Johnson's name this season, Bowling Green has become known as a "pass-happy" offense. But, the Falcons have rushed on over 40-percent of downs so far this season.
• Saturday at Purdue, the Falcons scored four of their five touchdowns on the ground, as both Greene and Donovan Wilson had two rushing touchdowns apiece.
• The Falcons entered the week four contest with just four rushing touchdowns during the first three weeks of the season, but doubled that total in just the next week.

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 145 offensive line career starts on the roster, second-most in FBS football. Alex Huettel (45), Logan Dietz (32), Jacob Bennett (32), Tim McAuliffe (18), Ben Steward (14) and Ryan Hunter (4) make up the 145.
• 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.

Royster Has Career Day At Purdue
• Starting defensive end Taylor Royster, a redshirt senior from Lima, Ohio, had a career day in the Falcons' win at Purdue last weekend.
• Royster set a new career-high with seven tackles in the game and also had a new career-best with 2.0 sacks. His 2.0 sacks set the Boilermakers' offense back a combined 13 yards.

Trio Of Falcon Receivers Are Streaking
• Three Bowling Green receivers are riding impressive streaks, as all three have caught a pass in at least 18 consecutive games. In two cases, those streaks stretch back to the 2013 season.
• Ronnie Moore leads the trio with a reception in 20 straight games dating back to the MAC Championship Game in 2013. On Saturday, Moore had nine receptions for 74 yards and a touchdown.
• Sure-handed Ryan Burbrink has caught a pass in 19 consecutive games dating back to the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl in 2013. Burbrink registered four catches for 30 yards at Purdue.
• Roger Lewis also has an impressive streak going, having caught a pass in all 18 career games he has played in. He caught six passes for 49 yards in the win at Purdue.

BGSU Sets New School Record
• Bowling Green had an impressive offensive day last weekend at Purdue, totaling 539 yards on 92 plays.
• The Falcons also had 39 first downs in the game, setting a new school record. The previous school record was 37 first downs set in 2002 vs. Ohio.
• 22 of the Falcons' first downs came through the air, while 12 came on the ground and another five via penalty.

Stout Rushing Defense Stifles Purdue
• BGSU's rushing defense shut down Purdue's ground attack Saturday, holding the Boilermakers to 77 rushing yards on 38 attempts.
• Purdue averaged just 2.0 yards per carry in the game, as the Falcons had 4.0 sacks and 8.0 tackles for loss in the game.

Valdez Leading The MAC In Tackles
• Linebacker Austin Valdez is first in the MAC and fourth in the country with 47 tackles in the first four weeks of the season.
• In the week three loss to Memphis, Valdez had a career-high 20 tackles. It was the first 20-tackle performance at BGSU since 2010 and just the third such performance since the 2000 season.
• Late in the game at Purdue, Valdez recorded his first career interception to seal the Falcons' 35-28 victory.

Matty J Leading The NCAA
• Matt Johnson has passed for 400 yards in each of his first four games this season and leads the country with 1,760 passing yards.
• Johnson leads the country in passing yards, passing yards per game and total offense, while leading the Mid-American Conference in passing touchdowns (fourth in FBS).
• Here is how Johnson's numbers stack up with his competitors across the country:

Lewis Goes For 200 Yards in Consecutive Weeks
• Wide receiver Roger Lewis caught seven passes for a career-high 261 yards and three touchdowns against Memphis. The 261 yards were second-most in school history and seventh-most in MAC history.
• It was Lewis' second-straight 200-yard receiving performance, the first player in BGSU football history to ever accomplish that feat in consecutive games.
• Lewis is just the second Falcon ever to have multiple 200-yard receiving performances in the same season, joining Freddie Barnes who did so twice during his record-setting 2009 season.
• Lewis currently ranks second in the country with 559 receiving yards and fifth in the country with 139.8 receiving yards per game.

Unchartered Territory
• Bowling Green enters the week in unchartered territory by NCAA football standards. The Falcons currently have four receivers and two running backs who have over 1,000 career yards.
• Travis Greene is one of the select running backs in the nation with more than 2,500 rushing yards in his career. Greene enters this week's game with 2,785 career rushing yards, fourth-most in BGSU school history.
• Fred Coppet joins Greene with more than 1,000 career rushing yards, totaling 1,202 to date.
• Four receivers - Ryan Burbrink, Ronnie Moore, Roger Lewis, and Chris Gallon - have more than 1,000 career receiving yards.
• Burbrink leads the group with 1,802 career yards receiving. Lewis, after back-to-back 200-yard games earlier this season, has 1,652 career receiving yards while Ronnie Moore has 1,549.
• Gallon, after missing 18 games due to injury between 2013 and 2014, has returned this season. His eight yard reception at Maryland put him over 1,000 career receiving yards. He currently sits at 1,032 yards.

Two Falcon Linebackers Leading The Way
• Both Austin Valdez and Trent Greene rank inside the top five in the MAC for total tackles.
• Valdez is first in the MAC with 47 tackles. He has also added 2.5 TFLs and an interception this season.
• Greene is fifth in the MAC with 41 tackles. He also has 2.5 TFLs in 2015.

Greene Set To Wrap Up Historic Career 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. Greene has set the school record for most rushing yards in a season and nearly broke 1,000 yards a season ago despite missing two games because of injury. What will his third year bring? He is chasing several milestones in the Orange and Brown in 2015, including:
• Currently sits 4th all-time with 2,785 rushing yards...just 638 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
• Comes into 2015 with 14 career 100-yard rushing games...the school record is 20 held by Dave Preston.

Babers Against The Big Ten
• Head coach Dino Babers is 3-1 during his tenure at Bowling Green against opponents from the Big Ten Conference, following Saturday's 35-28 win at Purdue.
• During his first season, Babers and the Falcons split a pair of games against Big Ten foes, defeating Indiana before losing to Wisconsin.
• This season, Babers and the Falcons defeated Maryland 48-27 on the road during week two before beating the Boilermakers over the weekend.
• The two road wins against a Big Ten team in 2015 marked the first time in school history a team has accomplished that feat.

Dieter Sets Career-High At Purdue
• Gehrig Dieter (South Bend, Ind.) returned to his home state over the weekend with the Falcons, turning in one of the best receiving performances of his career.
• Dieter caught a career-high 10 passes for 96 yards in the Falcons' 35-28 victory over the Boilermakers.
• His previous career-high for receptions in a game was seven, which he had done three times prior to his double-digit outing on Saturday.

Falcons Have Been Beasts Of The East
• Since the start of the 2012 season, Bowling Green has a combined record of 16-1 against foes from the MAC's East Division.
• More impressively, the Falcons have won 12 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.
• Bowling Green is undefeated against teams from the MAC East in each of the past two seasons, directly leading to two MAC Championship Game appearances as the East Division representative.

Johnson Has Another Career Day
• For the third time in four weeks this season, Matt Johnson was named MAC East Offensive Player of the Week for his performance at Purdue where he completed 43-of-59 passes for 402 yards.
• His 402 yards marked the fourth straight week he has eclipsed the 400-yard mark, the first time in school history that has been accomplished.
• Johnson's 43 completions were tied for third-most in school history for a single game, while his 59 attempts were tied for sixth-most in school history.

Johnson Off To A Record-Setting Pace In 2015
• Matt Johnson, with his four games of 400-plus yards passing to start the 2015 season, became the first player in BGSU football history to ever have four-such games in a career, let alone a season.
• Johnson joins Texas Tech's Graham Harrell (2007) as the only player since 2000 in NCAA football to have passed for 400 yards in each of his first four games of a season.
• Johnson's historic pace doesn't stop at 400-yard passing games. His 1,760 yards leads the NCAA and are the fifth-most in NCAA football since 2000 for the first four games of a quarterback's season.

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 (PUP list) 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, while Suisham is signed through 2018 and was a Special Teams captain last season for the Steelers.
• Three Falcons - Alex Bayer (San Diego Chargers), Gabe Martin (Arizona Cardinals) and Jude Adjei-Barimah (Tampa Bay Bucs) - are on NFL practice squads.

Falcons On National TV This Season
• The Orange and Brown are currently scheduled to appear on National TV seven times this season, with every game expected to be broadcast to a national audience.
• The first two games of the season were on national TV, while last weekend's game at Purdue was on Big Ten Network.
• This week's game at Buffalo is scheduled to air on ESPN3/TWC/BCSN.
• In addition, the season's final four regular season games are all expected to air nationally: Ohio (ESPN2), at Western Michigan (ESPN2/ESPNU), Toledo (ESPN2/ESPNU) and Ball State (ESPNU/ESPN3).

Head Coaches On The Rise
• During the month of June, Athlon Sports named several head coaches who were rising stars in the profession. In just his fourth season as a head coach, Dino Babers made the list.
• Babers is 27-13 in his three year career as a head coach, including an 8-6 record during his first season on the sideline at Bowling Green.
• Despite losing his starting quarterback in the season opener last year, the Falcons still managed to claim the MAC East Division and win the inaugural Camellia Bowl over South Alabama.

On Pace
• Several members of the Bowling Green State University football are on pace to move up the career record books

Statistic   Player   Current Value/Rank   Regular Season Pace
Rushing Att.   Travis Greene   509/7th   607/4th
Rushing Yds.   Travis Greene   2,785/4th   3,249/2nd
Rushing TDs   Travis Greene   26/5th   32/5th
Passing Cmp.   Matt Johnson   406/NR   674/4th
Passing Yds.   Matt Johnson   5,659/NR   9,179/3rd
Passing TDs   Matt Johnson   40/7th   66/3rd

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Players Mentioned

Jude Adjei-Barimah

Jacob Bennett

Ryan Burbrink

Fred Coppet

Gehrig Dieter

Logan Dietz

Chris Gallon

Travis Greene

Alex Huettel

Ryan Hunter

Matt Johnson

Roger Lewis

Gabe Martin

Tim McAuliffe

Ronnie Moore

Taylor Royster

Ben Steward

Austin Valdez

Donovan Wilson

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