MAC Play Begins Saturday At Kent State

Saturday, September 21

Kent, Ohio

3:30 PM

Bowling Green State University

Kent State

September 17, 2019 | Football

By: by Jason Knavel, Assistant Athletic Director for Athletic Communications

SETTING THE SCENE

• Bowling Green opens Mid-American Conference play this Saturday (Sept. 21) at Kent State University. Game time is slated for 3:30 p.m. inside Dix Stadium.
• The Falcons have won three-straight games at Kent State, winning those ballgames by a combined score of 133-38. BGSU's last loss at Kent State came in 2011. Bowling Green is 8-1 on the road against Kent State since 2000.
• BGSU is in search of its first win in a conference opener since a road win at Buffalo, 28-22, in 2015. The Falcons have opened up MAC play at home in each of the three previous seasons.
• The Falcons and Golden Flashes last opened the MAC schedule in Kent during the 2013 season. BGSU won that matchup, 41-22, went on to win the Eastern Division championship, and defeated Northern Illinois in the MAC Championship for their first conference title in two decades.
• BGSU owns a 60-20-6 all-time record against the Golden Flashes.

COMPLETE GAME NOTES
WEEKLY PRESS CONFERENCE

SUCCESS IN MAC OPENERS ON THE ROAD
• Bowling Green is 4-4 in Mid-American Conference openers dating back to 2011. However, all four of those wins have come on the road.
• The Falcons are 4-1 in conference openers on the road across that time period, which includes wins over Miami (2011), Kent State (2013), UMass (2014) and Buffalo (2015).
• Saturday's game marks the first time Bowling Green has opened its MAC slate on the road since 2015. The Falcons have played their last three league openers at The Doyt.

#MACTION BUSINESS TRIPS
• Along with a 4-1 record in its last five conference openers on the road, the Falcons will enter this weekend's game having won two-straight road league games.
• BGSU ended its MAC road slate in 2018 with back-to-back wins in consecutive weeks over Central Michigan (24-13) and Akron (21-6).
• Bowling Green erased a 13-0 halftime deficit at Central Michigan, scoring 24 unanswered points to win the ballgame. The following week, the BGSU defense allowed just six points in a 15-point win in Akron.

ENTER SCOT LOEFFLER
• BGSU Director of Athletics Bob Moosbrugger named veteran coordinator Scot Loeffler as the 20th head coach in Bowling Green history on Nov. 28, 2018.
• Loeffler became the program's second consecutive first-time head coach. Prior to Mike Jinks, the program had not named a first-time head coach to the position since Gregg Brandon was promoted from offensive coordinator in 2003. Brandon was BGSU's fourth consecutive first-time head coach, following in the footsteps of Urban Meyer, Gary Blackney and Moe Ankney.
• While Loeffler's experience in the lead chair is limited, he is a veteran coach who has served as the offensive coordinator at Boston College, Virginia Tech, Auburn and Temple. He has also coached at Florida, his alma mater Michigan, and Central Michigan -- as well as the Detroit Lions.
• Loeffler has coached seven quarterbacks who went on to play in the NFL, including Tom Brady and Tim Tebow. His team's have qualified for 17 bowl games, including coaching for Michigan's 1997 Rose Bowl team that won the national championship.

THE COACHING STAFF
• Scot Loeffler's first task upon being hired in late November was to assemble the most experienced coaching staff he could. He did not disappoint.
• Bowling Green's coaching staff has mentored more than 150 players who went on to play in the NFL and the staff has competed for both national championships and Super Bowl rings.
• Athlon Sports' Mark Ross named Terry Malone as the Top Coordinator Hire for the MAC during the offseason. Malone has 36 years of coaching experience, including nine years in the NFL and 14 years with Power Five confernce schools. He was a member of staffs that won the 1997 National Championship (Michigan), the 2009 Super Bowl (New Orleans), two MAC Championships (Bowling Green) and five Big Ten titles (Michigan).
• Defensive Coordinator Brian VanGorder is a former winner of the Broyles Award, given to the top assistant coach in the country. A veteran of more than 30 years in coaching, VanGorder has been the DC at Louisville, Notre Dame, Auburn, Georgia, Western Carolina, Central Michigan and his alma mater Grand Valley State.
• Associate Head Coach Steve Morrison has held full-time coaching positions at Syracuse, Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan. He holds Michigan's single-game record with 23 tackles and went on to play in the NFL with the Indianapolis Colts.
• The remainder of the new coaching staff is a mix of veterans (Erik Campbell and Chris Hedden) and young, pedigree-rich individuals (Max Warner, Louie Addazio, Julian Campenni).
• Loeffler retained two coaches from the previous staff in Jacob Schoonover and LaMarcus Hicks.

LOEFFLER ERA STARTS WITH A BANG
• Bowling Green opened the Scot Loeffler era on Thursday (Aug. 29) night with a 46-3 victory over the Morgan State Bears. Loeffler is the first BGSU coach to win his first game since Dave Clawson in 2009.
• The 43-point win marked the third-largest margin of victory for a BGSU head coach in his debut game, topping Doyt Perry's 40-0 win over Defiance to open the 1955 campaign. Gregg Brandon picked up a 63-13 win over Eastern Kentucky in 2003, while Don Nehlen defeated Ball State by a score of 62-8 in the 1968 opener.
• With Bowling Green's win, BGSU coaches moved to 10-1 all-time in their first games inside Doyt L. Perry Stadium.

SEVEN IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
• When Scot Loeffler took the field to lead Bowling Green against Morgan State, he became the seventh individual to coach a game for the Falcons since the 2013 MAC Championship game on Dec. 6, 2013. Three held interim titles in that time frame.
• Nationally, BGSU is the only program to have seven different individuals coach a game since 2013. Only Houston has seen six different people coach a game in that span of time.
• In the 2013 MAC Championship game, current Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson concluded a five-year career with the Falcons, leading the program to a 47-27 victory over undefeated No. 14 Northern Illinois.
• Special teams coordinator Adam Scheier (now a senior special teams consultant at Mississippi State) took over on an interim basis for the 2013 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl, a 30-27 loss to Pittsburgh that served as James Conner's coming out party.
• Dino Babers was named head coach of the Falcons beginning in the 2014 season and he went 18-9 in two seasons, coaching his final game at BGSU in the 2015 MAC Championship game, a 34-14 win over Northern Illinois. He is currently the head coach at Syracuse.
• Defensive coordinator Brian Ward, now the DC at Syracuse, was named interim head coach for the 2015 GoDaddy Bowl, a 58-27 loss to Georgia Southern.
• Mike Jinks, currently the running backs coach at USC, was then hired to lead the Falcons beginning with the 2016 season.
• Jinks was fired following a 1-6 start to the 2018 season and Carl Pelini, now the associate head coach at Youngstown State, closed the campaign with a 2-3 mark.
• Enter Scot Loeffler. The former Michigan quarterback and veteran coordinator became the seventh individual to coach the Falcons in a span of 2,092 days.

EARLY SEASON COACHING NUGGETS
• With Bowling Green's win over Morgan State, BGSU coaches are now 10-1 all-time in their first games in Doyt L. Perry Stadium. This record includes Bob Gibson, who began his second season at BGSU when Doyt L. Perry Stadium opened in 1966.
• Loeffler was the fourth head coach in the last five to debut on a weeknight. Gregg Brandon opened his career with a 63-13 win over Eastern Kentucky on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2003. Dave Clawson defeated Troy 31-14 on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2009. Dino Babers' team hit the road to play on Friday, Aug. 29, 2014 in a 59-31 loss to Western Kentucky.
• Five of the last seven head coaches at BGSU have begun their careers with at least two straight home victories. Dino Babers is the last to do it as his 2014 squad defeated VMI (48-7), Indiana (45-42) and Buffalo (36-35) in succession to open his tenure.

THE FUTURE MINI GOLF PRO
• Running Backs Coach Chris Hedden has a successful track record in football, but maybe he will head to the mini golf senior tour in the distant future.
• Hedden won the third annual BGSU Athletic Department Mini Golf Tournament during the summer of 2019, posting the winning score at Perry Falls Mini Golf Course.
• Hedden stunned defending champion and BGSU men's golf coach John Powers to win the title over approximately 80 other BGSU Athletic Department staffers.

THE CAPTAINS
• By vote of their peers, seniors Jack Kramer and David Konowalski have been named the team captains for the 2019 season.
• Kramer is the starting center for the Falcons and has played in 32 games in his career, starting all 12 a year ago.
• Konowalski started all 24 games during the 2016 and 2017 seasons before an achilles injury kept him out of the 2018 campaign. He returns for a sixth-year of eligibility this year.

TNT
• Head coach Scot Loeffler believes explosive plays (running plays of at least 12 yards or passing plays of at least 16 yards) are one of the key components to winning football.
• So far in 2019, Loeffler has proven to be accurate as the team that has posted the most explosive games has won each game.
• Bowling Green had 15 explosive plays (eight running and seven passing), while holding Morgan State to just one explosive play in the season-opening victory.
• In each of the last two contests, BGSU has generated just four explosive plays. In contrast, Kansas State had 14 and Louisiana Tech recorded eight.

A RETURN TO DEFENSE
• In 2013, BGSU's defense ranked fifth nationally in points allowed and 10th in yards allowed. Since that time, the Falcons have ranked no higher than 84th in scoring defense and 86th in total defense. But Brian VanGorder appears to have the defense trending back towards the elite.
• In week one, BGSU arguably posted its best statistical performance since 1956.
• Morgan State recorded just four first downs, one shy of BGSU's school record of three first downs allowed in a victory over Defiance in 1956. The Bears' two rushing first downs were also one shy of the Falcons' school record.
• BGSU also allowed just 24 passing yards and 70 total yards. Both totals are the fewest by a Falcon defense since holding Eastern Michigan to four yards passing and 65 total yards in a 58-7 win during the 2013 season.
• In last week's game against Louisiana Tech, BGSU recorded five sacks – its most since 2016 – while also creating two turnovers. David Konowalkski recovered a fumble, while Brandon Perce made an incredible individual effort on an interception.
• BGSU leads the MAC in sacks with 11, and ranks second in the league in total defense, as the Falcons are allowing just 348.0 yards of total offense per game.

KONO RETURNS TO MAKE AN IMPACT
• The spiritual and emotional leader for the Falcons, David Konowalski has returned for his sixth season in the Orange and Brown.
• Konowalski redshirted as a true freshman in 2014 and then played for the Falcons from 2015-17. Set to be one of the leaders on the defensive line, he tore his achilles in the team's first fall scrimmage of the 2018 season.
• Konowalski started all 24 games for the Falcons in 2016 and 2017 and has racked up 112 career tackles, including 12.5 for loss and 6.0 sacks.
• Konowalski was part of the most memorable moment of the past three years. With BGSU leading Miami 30-29 in 2017, the RedHawks sat just one yard from scoring the winning touchdown. On a botched snap, Konowalski crawled and fought his way into the backfield, batting the loose ball away from a Miami player and into the hands of teammate Brandon Harris, who returned it 93 yards for the clinching touchdown.
• This past week against Louisiana Tech, Konowalski continued his emphatic return to the field with his first sack of the season, first fumble recovery, and six tackles. Konowalski now owns eight career sacks and four fumble recoveries.

THREE-HEADED MONSTER AT RB
• Head coach Scot Loeffler has not hidden the fact that BGSU's running back unit may be the most talented on the team.
• Despite starter Andrew Clair being forced into a limited role over the past two weeks, Bowling Green still ranks fifth in the MAC at 168.7 rushing yards per contest.
• Davon Jones leads the running back group in total rushing yards (171) and average per carry (4.6).
• Quarterbacks Darius Wade and Grant Loy have also been efficient running the ball. The pair of signal callers are averaging 4.6 and 6.7 yards per carry, respectively. Loy has run the ball just nine times, but has racked up 60 yards of rushing.
• Clair is averaging 3.9 per carry, having registered 97 yards on 25 touches. Bryson Denley has added 64 rushing yards on 20 attempts.

FIRST-TIME FALCONS
• The Falcons had 20 first-time players appear in Bowling Green's 46-3 win over Morgan State to start the season. Furthermore, BGSU had eight first-time starters – four on each side of the ball.
• On defense, linebackers Brandon Perce, Jerry Roberts and Evan Brown, along with defensive back JaJuan Hudson, made the first starts of their BGSU careers. Making their first starts on offense for the Orange and Brown were quarterback Darius Wade, receiver Julian Ortega-Jones, tight end Austin Dorris and lineman Sam Neverov.
• In game two, Rodell Rahmaan earned his first start in the Orange and Brown, playing at wide receiver. He had the team's longest reception of the day, a 34-yarder. In game three, it was defense back Melvin Jackson that earned the first start of his career. Jackson had four tackles and recorded his second sack of the season.
• Bowling Green has 37 true freshmen and 10 redshirt freshmen on the 2019 roster. With just over 44 percent of the roster maintaining freshman eligibility, BGSU is the 23rd youngest team in the country.
• BGSU's 37 true freshmen are seventh-most in the nation. Nebraska leads the way with 47, followed by UCLA and Alabama with 43 each. Among Mid-American Conference schools, Bowling Green leads the way, followed by Akron with 36.

THE SPOTLIGHT ON THE TIGHT ENDS
• The tight end position plays a massive role in head coach Scot Loeffler's offensive scheme. The production and impact that BGSU's tight ends have made so far in 2019 was reminiscent of Dave Clawson's (2009-13) offense that heavily featured the likes of Alex Bayer and Tyler Beck.
• Of BGSU's 54 receptions so far in 2019, 21 have been caught by tight ends. Four different tight ends have caught a pass in just two games and the Falcons' leading receiver, Quintin Morris, plays the position.
• In the Falcons' 43-point win over Morgan State on Aug. 29, Bowling Green's tight ends combined for nine catches for 105 yards and three touchdowns.
• Junior Quintin Morris led the charge with five catches for 65 yards and two touchdowns. His two touchdowns tied a career high. True freshman Christian Sims caught two passes, including an 18-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter. Indiana graduate transfer Austin Dorris added two catches for 13 yards.
• Additionally, true freshman Joey Carroll and redshirt junior Presley Motes saw action for the Orange and Brown. Three of BGSU's five tight ends used in the game had not played for the Falcons prior to the contest, while Motes appeared in just one game in 2018. Morris, the player on the unit with most experience wearing the Orange and Brown, was playing in his first contest as a tight end.
• Morris had six catches for 90 yards in Bowling Green's most-recent game versus Louisiana Tech. Morris now leads all BGSU pass catchers in receptions (12), yards (171), touchdowns (2), yards per game (57.0) and longest catch (59).

PROVIDING CLAIR-ITY
• Junior Andrew Clair has proven to be one of the most dangerous multi-purpose backs in the country and is climbing the charts in the BGSU record book.
• Clair sits 23rd all-time in career rushing yards with 1,524 career rushing yards. His seven career 100-yard rushing games ranks 12th in program history.
• Against Oregon in the 2018 season opener, Clair carried for 113 yards. He has a 100-yard rushing game against every MAC East Division school except for Buffalo.
• Clair averaged 6.8 yards per carry as a freshman to break a school record that stood since 1951, when Fred Durig averaged 6.7 yards per touch. Willie Geter tied Durig's mark in 2008.
• According to Pro Football Focus, Clair averaged 4.5 yards after contact in 2017, the fifth-best average in the country among returning running backs.
• The St. Louis native finished the 2017 season with a team-best 1,184 all-purpose yards, ranking fifth in the country among true freshmen with 107.6 all-purpose yards per game.
• Clair followed up his rookie season with an equally productive 2018 campaign, rushing for 702 yards and adding 19 catches for 102 more yards.
• Pro Football Focus ranked Clair as the most explosive running back in the MAC with a 47.4 percent breakaway percentage, highest among all ball carriers with at least 115 rushes.

BYE BYE BYE
• Bowling Green is one of nine teams in the country who will not face an opponent coming off of a bye week.
• BGSU and Eastern Michigan are the only Mid-American Conference schools with that favorable schedule. Georgia Tech, Tulsa, Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, Old Dominion, BYU and New Mexico State are the other seven.
• Notre Dame plays an NCAA-high seven teams (including Bowling Green) coming off of bye weeks. No other school in the country plays more than five such games.

SACKING THE COMPETITION (AND NOT ALLOWING SACKS)
• In recent years, BGSU has struggled to create pressure on opposing quarterbacks but the Falcons already have 11 sacks in 2019.
• The Falcons recorded just 15 sacks through the entirety of the 2018 season and have not posted 11 sacks in the first three games of a season in more than two decades.
• Just as impressively, BGSU has allowed just two sacks in 2019 after allowing 29 a year ago and 10 through the first three games of the 2018 season.
• In fact, BGSU has not allowed two sacks or fewer through the first two games of a season since the 2004 squad gave up just two sacks through three games.
• BGSU ranks first in the MAC in both quarterback sacks and in fewest sacks allowed thus far in 2019.

ICE THAT LEG
• Matt Naranjo punted nine times against Kansas State, averaging 44.0 yards per punt and tying his career-long with a 72-yarder.
• Naranjo's day included a pair of 50-yarders, two punts that were fair caught, just one touchback, and a net punting average of 40.9 yards.
• The 396 yards punting was the most since All-American Joseph Davidson had 407 yards on nine punts against Northwestern in 2017.
• Last Saturday versus Louisiana Tech, Naranjo punted eight times for 319 yards. He had an average of 39.9 yards per punt, but four of his kicks buried Louisiana Tech inside the 20 yard line, and he had a long of 55 yards.
• Since taking over punting duties midway through the 2018 season, Naranjo has a career average of 40.7 yards per punt, which has ranked eighth all-time at BGSU.

100 YEARS OF BG FOOTBALL
• BGSU Football will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the first game in the program's history all year long. Although this is the 101st season of Bowling Green Football, the program officially began on Oct. 3, 1919 in a home game against Toledo.
• Bowling Green's first victory came in a 7-0 win at Kent State on Nov. 6, 1920 and the Falcons have rarely looked back.
• BGSU has won 17 conference titles (12 in the Mid-American Conference) and played in 13 bowl games.
• Through 100+ seasons, Bowling Green is 543-393-52 (.577)all-time, including 284-184-11 (.604) in MAC play. The Falcons have a winning record all-time against every current MAC school except for Miami and Toledo (though BGSU has the opportunity to even the all-time series against Toledo this year).

WOMEN RULE THE WORLD
• The Bowling Green football program has a pair of women in critical positions within the football program, a rarity at the FBS level.
• Liv Passey is just the second female Director of Football Operations in Mid-American Conference history. A graduate of Boston College, she is in her first year working with the program.
• Dani Coppes is one of just 11 females who serves as the primary care provide (sports medicine) for an FBS football program. After getting her undergraduate degree at Ohio State, she earned her master's degree at Bowling Green and is beginning her third year working with the BGSU Football team.
• BGSU is one of only two schools in the country to have females in both of these positions, along with Kansas State.

TRENDING TOWARDS SUCCESS
• College football expert Phil Steele tracks the success of teams that lost at least 34 games to injury the previous season. Of teams that had to manage injury-plagued campaigns since 2006, 68 percent have equaled or exceeded their record the next year.
• Bowling Green lost 36 starts to injury in 2018, tied for the 11th most in the country. Virginia Tech lost the most games to injury, 63, while Boston College lost the fewest -- three.

GRADUATING CHAMPIONS
• Five active players have already earned their undergraduate degrees – Austin Dorris, Jack Kramer, Nico Lautanen, Davon Jones, and Darius Wade.
• Jack Kramer and Nico Lautanen were true freshmen on the 2015 MAC Championship team.
• Austin Dorris earned his undergraduate degree from Indiana, while Davon Jones and Darius Wade are both graduates of Boston College.

PRO FALCONS
• Two BGSU alums earned spots on 53-man NFL rosters.
• Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman Ryan Hunter was an undrafted free agent in 2018. He is a native of Canada where he was a high draft pick in the CFL. After spending 2018 on the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad, he earned a spot on the team's 53-man roster.
• Scott Miller begins his rookie season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2019. He was drafted in the sixth round, following four productive seasons with BGSU, ranking third in school history with 2,867 career receiving yards.
• Three other Falcons took part in NFL camps during the preseason, including Gehrig Dieter, Roger Lewis and Teo Redding.

COLLEGE PRESSBOX
• CollegePressBox.com is the official media website for Division I football. Access and download weekly game notes, quotes, statistics, media guides, headshots, logos and more for each conference and its member schools. Register for access at collegepressbox.com/register.

CHALLENGING THE POWER FIVE
• Bowling Green plays just one game against a Power Five opponent in 2019 (Kansas State), though the Falcons also play at Notre Dame, an independent program that plays in the ACC for all other sports and has a scheduling agreement with the league.
• All 12 Mid-American Conference schools will take on at least one school from a Power Five conference (ACC, Big 12, Big 10, SEC, PAC-12) during the non-conference portion of the 2019 college football season.
• In total, the 12 schools within the MAC will combine to play 22 games against Power Five competition. Kent State and Northern Illinois will play three Power Five schools each in 2019.
• Eight of the league's 12 teams are set to play multiple games against the Power Five. Ball State, Bowling Green (including the Notre Dame game), Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Miami, and Western Michigan will each play such games twice.
• Of those 22 games, 21 are true road games. Ball State played a neutral site game against Indiana at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.