Bowling Green Heads to NIU for a Saturday Afternoon MACtion Clash

Saturday, October 16

DeKalb, IL

3:30 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

Northern Illinois

Photo by: Mallory Hiser, BGSU Athletics

Bowling Green Heads to NIU for a Saturday Afternoon MACtion Clash

October 11, 2021 | Football

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By: by Vincent Briedis, BGSU Strategic Communications

Falcons Set to Clash at NIU on Saturday
• Bowling Green State University returns to the road when the Falcons head to DeKalb, Ill., to face Northern Illinois in MACtion.
• It is the 23rd meeting between the Falcons and the Huskies and the first clash at Huskie Stadium since 2016.
• The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and kick at 3:30 p.m.

Bowling Green vs. Northern Illinois
• Bowling Green continues Mid-American Conference action on Saturday at Northern Illinois.
• BGSU leads the all-time series with NIU, 12-10, who has been in the MAC since 1997 after also being in the league from 1973-85.
• Since 2000, Bowling Green is 2-1 against NIU when the Falcons hold the Huskies below 300 yards of total offense. The lone win for the Huskies was lin 2008.
• Since 2000, Bowling Green is 3-3 against NIU when the Falcons accumulate 350+ yards of total offense.
• Since 2000, Bowling Green is 2-1 against NIU when the Falcons win the turnover battle. They are 1-4 when they don't.

Five Top Storylines
• PK Nate Needham is 9-of-9 on field goal attempts this season. He is one of 15 FBS players who is perfect on the year, but his nine made field goals ranks tied for No. 3 in the nation among those who are perfect.
• LB Darren Anders is one of two players in the nation this season with 45+ tackles (54), 5.0+ tackles for loss (5.5), 1+ fumble recoveries (1) and 1+ interceptions (1). Devin Lloyd (Utah) is the other. Anders currently ranks No. 26 in the nation and No. 2 in the MAC with 9.0 tackles per game.
• S Davon Ferguson is the only player in the nation with 45+ tackles, 2.0+ sacks and 4.0+ passes defended. In BGSU records dating back to 2000, he joins James Sanford in 2015 to reach those numbers through a season's first six games. He is No. 2 in the MAC and No. 27 in the nation with 5.2 solo tackles per game.
• LB Brock Horne is one of two underclassmen in the nation with 35+ tackles, 1.0+ sacks and 1+ interceptions. He is one of 24 FBS players in 2021 with those numbers.
• SS Sy Dabney has blocked two punts this season (Murray State and Akron). He ranks No. 1 in the nation with two blocked kicks. He is one of seven in the nation that share sthe top spot and the only player in the MAC.

Bowling Green vs. NIU
• Bowling Green was nationally ranked and 8-0 when Northern Illinois upset the Falcons in 2002. One year later, the roles were reversed. The Falcons were still ranked, but NIU was the undefeated team when they invaded Doyt Perry Stadium on Oct. 25, 2003. In the first-ever visit to a MAC stadium by ESPN's College Gameday, the No. 23 Falcons took down the No. 12 Huskies, 34-18.
• A sellout crowd of 31,007, the second-largest in Doyt Perry Stadium history, witnessed Josh Harris throw for a then-stadium-record 437 yards and total a BGSU record 527 yards of offense. Those 527 yards were the second-most in a single game in MAC history at the time. He threw for three touchdowns and directed an offense that piled up 634 yards on 93 plays.
• The Falcons stormed to a 14-0 lead after just three minutes and led 24-3 at halftime behind two Harris touchdown passes and a scoring jaunt by P.J. Pope. BGSU sealed the win in the third quarter with a 55-yard touchdown reception by Charles Sharon, his second score of the game. Sharon caught six passes for 123 yards to lead the team.
• BGSU's defense allowed NIU just 227 yards of total offense and only 62 on the ground, as the Huskies held the ball for just 20:38. Mitch Crossley earned 2.5 sacks, and Janssen Patton picked off three passes. It tied the school record and was the third game in Patton's career with three interceptions.
• Bowling Green vaulted to 7-1 and 4-0 in the MAC with the win. They ultimately captured the MAC's Western Division, won 11 games and hosted the MAC Championship game. The team rose as high as 15th in the Associated Press poll and as high as 16th in the BCS standings in 2003.
• Bowling Green defeated NIU in 2013 and 2015 for the MAC championship in the MAC Championship game at Detroit's Ford Field.

Bowling Green - NIU connections
• Bowling Green has 11 players from the state of Illinois: Jeremiah Banks-Wall (Chicago), Jalen Burton (Waukegan), George Carlson (Woodstock), Jalen Grant (Chicago), Jamal Johnson (Frankfort), Willie Jones (Chicago), Matt Kordas (Frankfort), Matt Naranjo (Skokie), Denver Warren (Chicago), Adrian Wilson (Tinley Park), Alex Wollschlaeger (Aurora).

Special Teams Have Been Special in 2021
• Bowling Green has had some great play on special teams in 2021.
• P Matt Naranjo has 12 punts downed inside the 20-yard line, which is tops in the MAC and tied for No. 13 in the nation. He had a game-high five against South Alabama.
• BGSU is No. 23 in the nation and No. 3 in the MAC on punt return defense, limiting opponents to 3.21 yards per return.
• BGSU is No. 1 in the nation with two in the nation with four blocked kicks. The Falcons have blocked three punts, two of which by Sy Dabney. Patrick Day had the other. BGSU also blocked one field goal by Devin Taylor.
• PK Nate Needham booted a 52-yard field goal at Kent State on Sept. 2. The career-long field goal by Needham is the longest in the MAC this season, tied for 12th longest in the nation and his second field goal of 50+ yards this year. He is one of five FBS players with multiple 50+-yard field goals this season, joining Cade York (LSU), Harrison Mevis (Missouri), James McCourt (Illinois) and Gabe Brkic (Oklahoma).
• Needham is 9-of-9 on field goal attempts this season. He is 6-of-6 on field goal attempts of 40+ yards. He is one of two kickers in the nation to be perfect with at least six makes from 40+ yards. Missouri's Mevis is the other, who is 7-fo-7 from 40+ this season.

More on the BGSU Air Defense
• This year's BGSU team has allowed the fourth-fewest passing yards (995) through the first six games of a season in records dating back to 2000.
• BGSU is forcing opponents to 57.3 percent completion rate through the first six games of the season. In records dating back to 2000 that is the seventh-lowest rate through the first six games of the season.

Defense Keeping Opponent Total Yards Down
• Bowling Green has held five opponents under 400 yards of total offense. Six other schools lead the nation with six games. BGSU is tied for No. 7 with 28 other schools.
• The five games for BGSU is the most in the MAC.

Getting the Sack
• Bowling Green has 16.0 sacks through six games, which is the second most sacks through the first six games of a season in records dating back to 2000. The 2019 team had 17 sacks through the first six games of the season.