Falcons Start MAC Play With Win Over Akron

Saturday, October 1

Akron, Ohio

3:30 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

2-3 , 1-0

Akron

1-4 , 0-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Bowling Green

Akron

October 01, 2022 | Football

Box Score Box Score (XML)Box Score (PDF)Bowling Green Postgame Notes

By: by David Dietrich, BGSU Strategic Communications

AKRON, Ohio – The Bowling Green Falcons opened MAC play with a 31-28 road victory over Akron on Saturday, Oct. 1. Matt McDonald threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns as the Falcons totaled 422 yards of offense. Jalen Burton returned an interception for a touchdown in the first quarter and Bowling Green maintained the lead throughout the game. With the victory, BGSU improves to 2-3 overall and 1-0 in the MAC. Akron falls to 1-4 overall and 0-1 in conference play.

How It Happened

The Falcons received the opening kickoff, with Ta'ron Keith returning the ball to midfield. Facing third down early on the drive, Matt McDonald found Jhaylin Embry down the sideline for a 35-yard gain. A string of incompletions led to a field goal attempt, but an offsides penalty on the Zips gave the Falcons a chance on fourth and goal from the 2. PaSean Wimberly was stopped just short of the goal line, turning the ball over on downs.
Akron maintained a lengthy drive with three third-down conversions but went backwards after a holding penalty. On the ensuing play, DJ Irons fumbled and JB Brown recovered, giving the ball to the Falcons at the Akron 39.
Embry started the BGSU drive with another big play, running for a 19-yard gain. The drive stalled at the Akron 11, but Mason Lawler's 29-yard field goal gave the Falcons a 3-0 lead.
Facing third down on their own 18, the Zips looked for a completion over the middle. Bowling Green's Jalen Burton intercepted the pass and won a footrace down the sideline, extending BGSU's lead to 10-0 with a pick-six.
Akron wasted no time trimming the deficit, as Shocky Jacques-Louis returned the kickoff to the BGSU 3. Clyde Price III punched it in with a rushing touchdown on the next play, making the score 10-7 in favor of the Falcons.
The teams traded punts to start the second quarter, then the Falcons marched 80 yards on just seven plays. Sparked by completions to CJ Lewis (21 yards) and Tyrone Broden (44 yards), Bowling Green reached the three-yard line before Matt McDonald tossed his first touchdown of the game to Andrew Bench.
The hosts answered with a long drive of their own, covering 75 yards in 3:24. Irons completed a 13-yard touchdown pass to Price III on the tenth play of the drive to make the score 17-14, BGSU.
The Falcons next drive stalled at midfield, but Charles Rosser recovered the muffed punt at Akron's 3. McDonald threw another three-yard touchdown to a tight end, this time hitting Christian Sims in the left flats to give the Orange and Brown a 24-14 lead. Akron crossed midfield but was unable to complete a hail mary to end the half.
The Falcon defense held strong to start the second half, holding the Zips to another punt. On BG's first drive of the half, Matt McDonald's pass was tipped and intercepted by KJ Martin at the Akron 33. The Zips capitalized, with Irons throwing a 36-yard touchdown to Alex Adams.
A pair of third down completions extended Bowling Green's next drive, but a fourth-down pass attempt fell incomplete to give the ball to Akron at their own 32. The Falcons forced a three-and-out, stuffing Price III's rush on 3rd-and-3.
Bowling Green's drive began on the last play of the third quarter and ended less than three minutes into the fourth quarter. Covering 88 yards on seven plays, McDonald completed a 59-yard pass to Odieu Hiliare, then found Hiliare again for a 19-yard touchdown to extend the lead back to 10 points.
The Zips responded once again, with Irons keeping the drive alive with a third-down completion to Adams. A few plays later, the duo connected on third down again for a 41-yard touchdown to trim the BGSU lead to 31-28 with just over eight minutes remaining.
BGSU's next drive started with a 24-yard rush by Jamal Johnson, but a deep pass on third down was broken up. Sami Sir's punt traveled 44 yards and was downed at the Akron 2.
Akron's drive nearly reached midfield, with Irons scrambling for a first down two times. His pass to Adams on fourth down was overthrown, giving the ball back to Bowling Green with 1:33 remaining. Jamal Johnson plunged forward for a yard on 3rd-and-1, giving the Falcons a first down and securing a win in the MAC opener.

Stat Leaders

Matt McDonald: 18-of-29, 247 yards, three touchdowns
Jamal Johnson: 13 rush attempts, 70 yards
Odieu Hiliare: four receptions, 95 yards, one touchdown
DJ Taylor: 11 total tackles (7-4), 0.5 sacks
Jalen Burton: 1 interception, returned for touchdown
Karl Brooks: 2.5 sacks, 3.5 TFLs

Game Notes

BGSU won its first MAC opener since 2015.
BGSU had a "pick-6" for the first time this season and for the first time since Darren Anders against South Alabama (Sept. 11, 2021).
BGSU generated 17 points off turnovers in the first half.
CB Jalen Burton recorded his first career interception and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter.
QB Matt McDonald has thrown for 2+ touchdowns in three-straight games he has played.
McDonald's streak of 241 passes without an interception (dating back to 2021) was snapped on a dropped pass by CJ Lewis that was caught by Akron for the INT.
McDonald finished with 247 passing yards, giving him three games this season and 12 for his career with 200+ yards passing.
DL Karl Brooks finished with a 2.5 sack, which puts him at 22 for his career passing No. 5 Brandon Hicks (1998-01) in BGSU history and tying Devon Parks (2003-06).

From the Locker Room
"I am super excited to get the win. Last year and definitely two years ago we wouldn't have finished. We found a way to win. It wasn't pretty. There were some things we could have done better in all three phases, but we found a way to get a win and that is all that matters. In this league, it is a mindset league. Ball State beat Northern (NIU), it doesn't matter in this league. You need to bring it every week. I thought we did a good job with the turnover battle. I thought Matt [McDonald] protected the ball well and that was the key to this game." - Scot Loeffler, BGSU head coach

Up Next

The Falcons return to Doyt Perry Stadium for a MAC showdown with Buffalo on Oct. 8. It will be Hall of Fame Day, as well as Josh Harris Bobblehead Day. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. on ESPN+.