Falcons Soar to Upstate New York for a Saturday Matinee at Buffalo

Saturday, October 30

Buffalo, NY

12:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Buffalo

Photo by: Mallory Hiser, BGSU Athletics

Falcons Soar to Upstate New York for a Saturday Matinee at Buffalo

October 25, 2021 | Football

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By: by Vincent Briedis, BGSU Strategic Communications

Falcons Soar To Upstate New York
• Bowling Green State University returns to the road on Saturday to face the Buffalo Bulls in MACtion. It is BGSU's final Saturday game of the 2021 season.
• It is the 19th meeting between the Falcons and the Bulls and just the fourth meeting in Buffalo prior to the month of November. The 2000, 2005 and 2015 seasons are the other years.
• Click HERE for important COVID-19 information for those looking to attend Saturday's game at Buffalo.

Bowling Green vs. Buffalo
• Bowling Green continues Mid-American Conference action on Saturday at Buffalo.
• BGSU leads the all-time series with UB, 11-7, who has been in the MAC since 2000.
• Bowling Green is 4-1 against UB when the Falcons hold the Bulls below 300 yards of total offense.
• Bowling Green is 9-3 against UB when the Falcons accumulate 350+ yards of total offense.
• Bowling Green is 4-1 against UB when the Falcons win the turnover battle. They are 4-4 when they don't.

Five Top Storylines
• PK Nate Needham is 14-of-14 on field goal attempts this season. He is one of nine FBS players who is perfect on the year, but his 14 made field goals ranks No. 1 in the nation among those who are perfect. A perfect 9-of-9, he leads the nation with nine field goals from 40+ yards.
• LB Darren Anders is the only player in the nation this season with 70+ tackles (79), 7.0+ tackles for loss (7.5), 1+ fumble recoveries (1) and 1+ interceptions (1). Anders currently ranks tied for No. 8 in the nation and tied for No. 1 in the MAC with 9.9 tackles per game. He shares the top spot in the MAC with Buffalo's James Patterson.
• LB Brock Horne and LB Anders are one of two duos in the nation from the same team with each player recording 53+ tackles, 1+ sacks and 1+ interceptions, joining Ball State's Clayton Coll and Bryce Cosby.
• S Davon Ferguson is the only player in the nation with 60+ tackles (68), 2.0+ sacks (2) and 4.0+ passes defended (4). In BGSU records dating back to 2000, he and Dwayne Woods are the only Falcon to reach these numbers through the first eight games of the season. He is No. 1 in the MAC and No. 14 in the nation with 5.6 solo tackles per game.
• 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 eight in the nation that shares the top spot and the only player in the MAC.

Last Meeting at UB Stadium
• Buffalo and Bowling Green met in the 2019 season finale with the Bulls coming away with a 49-7 victory.
• UB running back Jaret Patterson rushed 26 times for 298 yards and six touchdowns in the victory.
• Jordan Anderson led the Falcons with 12 tackles in defeat.

The 2013 Meeting in Orchard Park
• The 2013 meeting took place at the Bills' Ralph Wilson Stadium. BGSU took home a 24-7 win to clinch a spot in the MAC Championship game.
• BGSU shut down the Buffalo offense, holding the Bulls to 236 yards of offense. UB entered the game having won eight of previous nine games, but the Falcons kept the Bulls to just one second quarter touchdown, the team's lowest scoring output of the year. Most notably, running back Braden Oliver was smothered, rushing for just 46 yards, 123 below his average in conference play entering the game.

Anders Having a Special Season
• Darren Anders is having a special season for the Falcons. Not only is he the only player in the nation this season with 79+ tackles (79), 7.5+ tackles for loss (7.5), 1+ fumble recoveries (1) and 1+ interceptions (1), but he is just one of 12 players in the FBS since 2000 to notch those numbers through the first eight games of the season. He is the first since Iowa's Josey Jewell in 2017.
• Of the 12 players since 2000 to notch these numbers through the first eight games of the season, only Anders and TCU's Paul Dawson in 2014 also recorded a "pick-6."

Getting the Sack
• Bowling Green has 17.0 sacks through seven games, which is the fifth most sacks through the first eight games of a season in records dating back to 2000.

Osborne Becoming a Key Target
• WR Austin Osborne made eight catches in his Bowling Green debut at Tennessee. Osborne, a transfer from Washington, entered the 2021 season with one career reception. He was high school teammates with Bowling Green quarterback Matt McDonald at Mission Viejo High School in Southern California.
• Osborne followed up his BGSU debut with seven catches against South Alabama and six more against Murray State.
• His 69 receiving yards against Murray State are a career high.
• Osborne is No. 36 in the nation and No. 5 in the MAC with 5.8 receptions per game.

McDonald Settling In
• After playing all of 2020 injured, QB Matt McDonald is settling in.
• Through seven games McDonald is No. 2 in the MAC in passing yards (1,864) and passing yards per game (233.0). He is No. 1 in completions per game (21.88). He is No. 3 in total offense (235.6).

Special Teams Have Been Special in 2021
• Bowling Green has had some great play on special teams in 2021.
• P Matt Naranjo has 16 punts downed inside the 20-yard line, which is tops in the MAC and tied for No. 10 in the nation. He had a game-high five against South Alabama.
• BGSU is No. 24 in the nation and No. 4 in the MAC on punt return defense, limiting opponents to 6.50 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 17th longest in the nation and his second field goal of 50+ yards this year. He is one of four FBS players that is perfect on multiple field goals of 50+ yards, joining Daniel Gutierrez (UNLV), Marshall Meeder (Central Michigan) and Harrison Mevis (Missouri).
• Needham is 14-of-14 on field goal attempts this season. He is 9-of-9 on field goal attempts of 40+ yards. He is the only kicker in the nation to be perfect with at least nine makes from 40+ yards. His nine makes are the most in the nation among all kickers from 40+ yards. The next closest kicker in makes from 40+ yards is Iowa State's Andrew Mevis, who is 8-of-9 from 40+ yards. Missouri's Mevis is 7-of-7 from 40+ this season.