Clair Logs 100-Yard Game On The Ground As Falcons Fall To Ohio

Saturday, November 28

Athens, Ohio

12:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

0-4 , 0-4

Ohio

2-1 , 2-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Bowling Green

Ohio

Photo by: Isaiah Vazquez/BGSU Athletics

November 28, 2020 | Football

Box Score

By: by Kyle Edmond, BGSU Athletics

Athens, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University football team was bested by the Ohio Bobcats in a 52-10 final score at Peden Stadium on Saturday (Nov. 28). For the Bobcats, they were paced by a rushing attack that totaled 355 yards on the ground, being led by De'Montre Tuggle with 185 yards and three scores. As for the Falcons, it was running back Andrew Clair that led the way with 118 rushing yards of his own, his first 100-yard rushing outing of the season.

For Ohio, Tuggle accumulated his 185 rushing yards on 15 carries highlighted by a 70-yard touchdown run on the first play of Ohio's second drive of the game. Backup quarterback Armani Rodgers was the second leading rusher with 65 yards on eight carries with a score.

Having three chances in the red zone, the Falcons were able to capitalize on two of those attempts, tallying all 10 points from inside the 20-yard line. As for Ohio, they managed to score on each trip into the red zone, totaling four touchdowns in the contest.

While Andrew Clair led the offense with 118 yards rushing, Darren Anders was able to pace the team on the defensive side of the ball. Over the course of the day, Anders registered 13 tackles, one shy of his career-best, now having logged at least nine tackles in every game so far this season.

HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER

Ohio opened the game with an eight-yard touchdown run by De'Montre Tuggle to cap a seven-play, 54-yard drive to give the Bobcats the early 7-0 advantage. Tuggle carried the ball four times on the drive for 16 yards.
After a punt to conclude Bowling Green's first drive, Ohio's Tuggle found a hole and went for 70-yards on the first play of the drive for a touchdown, his second of the game, to extend the lead to 14-0.
The Falcons' second drive of the game started with promise, logging three straight first downs. The first came from a 10-yard run by Andrew Clair followed by a 13-yard reception for Quentin Morris from Matt McDonald with the trio of first downs being completed by a roughing the passer call.
That drive made its way into Bobcat territory, but an attempt to convert on fourth down fell incomplete. The defense was then able to force a three-and-out to put the ball back in the hands of the BGSU offense.
The Orange and Brown were able to put points on the board with the ensuing possession. Nate Needham put a 32-yard field goal through the uprights to end a nine-play, 59-yard scoring drive, cutting the lead to 14-3.
On the following kickoff, Ohio returned the kick for a touchdown to answer, moving the score to 21-3. The 96-yard return by Julian Ross was the first kick return for a touchdown allowed by Bowling Green since 2006.
Clair concluded the first quarter for Bowling Green with a 35-yard run to put the Falcons back in Bobcat territory.

SECOND QUARTER

The Falcons were able to register their first touchdown of the game early in the second quarter, seeing Matt McDonald connect with Javonte Kinsey for a 26-yard score. The touchdown marked the first passing touchdown for McDonald on the season and Kinsey's first receiving touchdown as well. The score ended a five-play, 73-yard drive.
The Bobcats answered back with a long drive that lasted nearly nine minutes and ended in a touchdown to push the Ohio lead back to 17 points with the score reading 27-10, Ohio.
After a three-and-out for Bowling Green, Ohio reclaimed possession and found the end zone again. A 29-yard rush from backup quarterback Armani Rogers on his first play from scrimmage extended the lead to 35-10.
Before the end of the half the Bobcats added another score, capitalizing on an interception by their defense. The score came on a 2-yard pass from Rogers to Ryan Leuhrman, his second touchdown reception of the day.
An interception left Ohio with two seconds on the clock and in field goal range. Tristan Vandenberg was able to add three to OU's score with a 30-yard field goal, sending the teams to half with Ohio leading 45-10.

THIRD QUARTER

Bowling Green opened the second half with a return out to the 44-yard line by Cedric Mitchell and after just one offensive play found themselves in Ohio territory. On the second play of the drive, Andrew Clair broke loose for a 42-yard rush to quickly put the Falcons on the Bobcats' five yard line. A goal line stand by Ohio forced a turnover on downs.
Ohio used the spot to create a long drive, lasting over five minutes and ending in a 43-yard touchdown run by De'Montre Tuggle. The drive consisted of nine plays, going for 96 yards to push the score to 52-10.
The defensive side of the ball prevailed through the rest of the quarter with both teams punting once and sending the game to the fourth quarter with Ohio leading.

FOURTH QUARTER

On the first play of the fourth quarter Ohio's defense was able to get in the way of a BGSU pass attempt for their third interception of the day, taking over inside the BGSU 30 yard line.
The Falcons were able to force a three-and-out on the drive, resulting in a missed field goal attempt from 43-yards out.
From there, each team turned to their punters seeing Bowling Green punt twice and Ohio once before the game concluded.

STATS/NOTES

Andrew Clair logged over 100 yards rushing for the first time this season, and his eighth of his career, with 118 yards on the ground. With the performance he tied Joe Alls (1999-02) and Bernard White (1984-85) for the 10th most in program history.
After logging a career-high 14 tackles last week, Darren Anders continued his hot streak on defense with 13 tackles as well as a forced fumble.
With nine tackles in the first half alone, Darren Anders continued a streak of at least nine tackles in every game so far this season. He entered the contest averaging 11.3 tackles per game, ranking among the top 15 tacklers in the country.
With a 36-yard reception in the first quarter that later resulted in a field goal for the Falcons, Quentin Morris registered a new season-best for his longest reception, previously set at 25 yards.
In the first quarter, Matt McDonald was 6-for-7 on pass attempts, totaling 61 yards in the quarter. Of the six completed passes, five ended up in the arms of Morris.
The touchdown pass to Javonte Kinsey in the second quarter marked the first touchdown reception by a wide receiver for a Falcon since 2018.
The toss to Kinsey also marked the first touchdown pass for Matt McDonald in his collegiate career. Similarly, it was the first reception of Kinsey's young career in the Orange and Brown.
Entering on the second drive of the third quarter, LaBronz Davis made his BGSU debut under center.
Jordan Porter was able to log a sack in the third quarter to force an Ohio punt. The sack went down as the first of Porter's tenure in the Orange and Brown.

UP NEXT

The Falcons will stick to the road next weekend for their final away game of the season, traveling to take on the Akron Zips. Currently, the game is set for a 2 p.m. start time on Saturday, Dec. 5 and will be broadcasted on ESPN3.
Bowling Green will then conclude the regular season by hosting Miami on Saturday, Dec. 12. Kickoff has yet to be determined for that game.