Friday, November 25
Bowling Green, Ohio
2:30 PM
Bowling Green State University
4-8 , 3-5
27
vs
19
Buffalo
2-10 , 1-7
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Buffalo
0
12
0
7
19
Bowling Green
7
7
6
7
27
Falcons Run For 346 Yards And Beat Buffalo 27-19
November 25, 2016 | Football
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BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Fred Coppet ended his tenure at BGSU with a career-best 160 yards as the Bowling Green State University football team finished the 2016 season with a 27-19 victory over the Buffalo Bulls. The game was held Friday at Doyt Perry Stadium. The Falcons' victory was their third in a row and marks the team's first season-ending three-game win streak since 2001.
For the third straight game, Bowling Green's rushing attack could not be stopped. The Falcons tallied 346 yards on 67 attempts and featured three backs with 100 or more yards for the second straight game. The team has 984 yards on the ground in the last three games – nearly as many (1,186) as they had in the first nine games.
It is the first time in program history that the Falcons have seen three running backs go over 100 yards in back-to-back games and just the fourth time in the history of the program that it has happened in a game. In fact, BGSU has had eight 100-yard rushing performances in the last three games.
BGSU took the opening kickoff and drove into Buffalo territory before a fumble ended the drive. After a three-and-out by Buffalo, the offense had an even better opportunity. Starting from their own 40, the Falcons drove 60 yards in eight plays. Donovan Wilson had runs of 12 and 17, and Coppet finished with a seven-yard touchdown romp for a 7-0 lead.
The Falcon offense continued to pile up yards in the first half but had a difficult time finishing drives. Three times, the team could not convert on fourth downs in Buffalo territory, and midway through the second, the Bulls took advantage. Buffalo went 65 yards in two plays, the final of which was a 38-yard TD run by Jordan Johnson. The extra point was missed, but BGSU's lead was cut to 7-6.
Bowling Green answered right away. James Morgan hit Scott Miller on a 15-yard pass to get the team near midfield, then Coppet showed his burst by cutting upfield for a 52-yard touchdown scamper that gave the Falcons a 14-6 lead.
Buffalo scored another touchdown on a 31-yard pass from Grant Rohach to Jacob Martinez just before halftime. However, the Falcons continued to move the ball at will and added two short Jake Suder field goals in the third quarter for a 20-12 lead.
Following the second field goal, Rohach drove the Bulls to the BGSU 34 but was sacked for a 12-yard loss on a fourth down play by Terrance Bush. The Falcons drove the resulting 54 yards in eight plays, seven of which were running plays. Leonard Skattebo plowed into the end zone from one yard out for BGSU's final points of the day and a 27-12 lead. It was the first rushing touchdown of Skattebo's career.
The Bulls cut the lead to 27-19 on a four-play drive later in the quarter. Then, in the final minute, Rohach drove his team into the red zone. Tavaraus Wade made a big tackle on a 14-yard Buffalo reception to keep the Bulls out of the end zone at the one-yard line. With nine seconds remaining, a mishandled snap allowed BGSU to tackle Rohach and keep the clock running, but an injured Falcon stopped the clock with four seconds left.
Rohach threw two passes into the end zone that fell incomplete in those final four seconds, and Bowling Green survived with a 27-19 win.
BGSU finished the game with 492 yards in 88 plays, including 146 passing yards from Morgan in 21 attempts. Coppet amassed 160 yards and two touchdowns in 20 carries to surpass his previous single-game high of 141 set earlier this season. He surpassed 1,000 yards in a season for the first time (1,030) and scored eight rushing touchdowns. For his career, Coppet finishes with 2,833 yards (fifth all-time at BGSU) and 19 scores. His 1,030 net yards in 2016 tie Paul Miles in 1972 for the 10th most in a season in school history.
Coppet is the first BGSU back with three straight 100-yard games since Travis Greene against Eastern Michigan, Buffalo and Northern Illinois in 2013. His 1,000-yard season gives BGSU back-to-back seasons with a 1,000-yard back for the first time since 2003-04.
Wilson rushed 25 times for 107 yards and ends the season with 503, while Cleveland had 109 yards on 16 carries. His season concludes with 649 yards and a 6.43 yards per carry average, the fourth-highest average in program history.
Scott Miller caught six passes for 89 yards to lead BGSU and ends 2016 with a team-best 74 catches and 968 yards. Ronnie Moore caught two passes for ten yards in his final game with BGSU; his career ends with 198 catches and 2,701 yards, as well as a 42-game streak with at least one reception.
On defense, BGSU had 6.0 sacks, 9.0 tackles for loss and two fumble recoveries. Tavaraus Wade and Trenton Greene led the team with eight tackles, and Greene had two sacks and a fumble recovery. Terrance Bush, Gus Schwieterman, David Konowalski and Shannon Smith added quarterback sacks to the total.
The six sacks are the most for a Falcon team since recording seven in a 21-7 win over Buffalo on Nov. 23, 2012 in a home game played at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
Bowling Green concludes the 2016 season with a 4-8 record and a 3-5 mark in the Mid-American Conference. Buffalo is 2-10 overall and 1-7 in the MAC. The Falcons end the season with a three-game winning streak for the first time since beating Ohio, Northwestern and Toledo to end 2001.
Team Stats
UB
BGSU
Total Yards
401
492
Pass Yards
334
146
Rushing Yards
67
346
Penalty Yards
16
0
1st Downs
20
27
3rd Downs
7
8
4th Downs
0
1
TOP
24:03
35:57
1st Quarter
UB 0, BGSU 7
BGSU - COPPET, Fred 7 yd run (SUDER, Jake kick), 8 plays, 60 yards, TOP 3:08
2nd Quarter
UB 6, BGSU 7
UB - JOHNSON, Jordan 38 yd run (MITCHESON, Adam kickblocked), 2 plays, 65 yards, TOP 0:41
UB 6, BGSU 14
BGSU - COPPET, Fred 52 yd run (SUDER, Jake kick), 5 plays, 71 yards, TOP 1:15
UB 12, BGSU 14
UB - MARTINEZ, Jacob 31 yd pass from ROHACH, Grant (ROHACH, Grant passfailed) 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:54
3rd Quarter
UB 12, BGSU 17
BGSU - SUDER, Jake 29 yd field goal 11 plays, 55 yards, TOP 3:56
UB 12, BGSU 20
BGSU - SUDER, Jake 28 yd field goal 7 plays, 26 yards, TOP 2:25
4th Quarter
UB 12, BGSU 27
BGSU - SKATTEBO, L. 1 yd run (SUDER, Jake kick), 8 plays, 54 yards, TOP 2:57
UB 19, BGSU 27
UB - EILAND, Jamarl 7 yd pass from ROHACH, Grant (MITCHESON, Adam kick) 4 plays, 80 yards, TOP 1:29
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
12
TD
0
YDS
146
INT
0
CMP
0
TD
0
YDS
0
INT
0
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