Bowling Green Heads to Athens on Tuesday to Conclude the Regular Season Against the Ohio Bobcats

Falcons Conclude Regular Season at Ohio
• Bowling Green State University concludes the 2022 regular season on Tuesday when they travel to Athens to face the Ohio Bobcats.
• It is the 74th meeting between the Falcons and the Bobcats in a series that started in 1945.
• It is the first time since 2017 where BGSU is finished with the regular season before Thanksgiving.
• Bowling Green needs a win over Ohio and a Buffalo loss to advance to the MAC Championship game against Toledo on Dec. 3.
• A win against Ohio will make BGSU co-champions of the MAC East.
• The game will kick at 7 p.m. and broadcast live on ESPNU.

Bowling Green vs. Ohio
• BGSU leads the all-time series with the Bobcats, 41-30-2, however, OU has won five of the last six meetings and eight of the last 13 contests.
• Since 2000, Bowling Green is 9-1 against OU when the Falcons hold the Bobcats below 300 yards of total offense.
• Since 2000, Bowling Green is 6-5 against OU when the Falcons accumulate 400+ yards of total offense.
• Since 2000, Bowling Green is 7-0 against OU when the Falcons win the turnover battle. They are 0-7 when they don't. And are 1-2 when the turnovers are the same.

Five Top Storylines
• WR Odieu Hiliare made eight catches for a career-high 246 receiving yards and two touchdowns last time out at Toledo. The 246 receiving yards are No. 3 all-time on the BGSU single-game ledger and are the second-most in the nation this season, just one yard shy of Ole Miss' Jonathan Mingo's efforts against Vanderbilt last month.
• Hiliare has a catch in 33-straight games, which includes his career at Alabama A&M. It is tied for the 12th-best active streak in the nation. The Alabama A&M transfer has 153 career receptions for 2,061 career receiving yards and 19 receiving touchdowns.
• DL Karl Brooks is No. 3 in the nation in sacks with 10.0. He is also No. 4 in the nation with 17.0 tackles for loss.
• DL Brooks is one of two players in the nation with at least 25+ tackles, 12+ TFLs, 5.5+ sacks, 2+ pass breakups and at least one fumble recovery. Liberty's Durrell Johnson is the other.
• TE Harold Fannin Jr. leads BGSU with four rushing touchdowns. He and Tennessee's Princeton Fant share the national tight end lead in rushing touchdowns.

BGSU Caps 1959 Championship at Ohio
• In 1959 Bowling Green traveled to Athens and beat the Bobcats 13-9 in front of 12,000 fans at what is now named Peden Stadium. It capped a perfect 9-0 season for BGSU. It was BGSU's first and only perfect season.
• The win also clinched the MAC title for the Falcons and later the small college National Championship.
• Jerry Colaner brought Ohio's crowd to its feet when he intercepted a pass in the fourth quarter and scampered 30 yards for the deciding touchdown. This was the only intercepted pass of the game for Bowling Green, and it was probably the biggest one of the season.
• Bob Colburn completed just three of nine passes, enough to break Bill Lyons' career record at the time of 108. One of Colburn's completions was a big one as it accounted for Bowling Green's first touchdown.
• Bowling Green broke the then-MAC scoring record with a total of 208 points for the season. Ohio held the record with 201 set in 1953.
• Bowling Green had chances to score in the first half on two Ohio fumbles deep in the Ohio territory but was unable to do so.
• After connecting on a field goal, Ohio took advantage of a Bowling Green fumble just minutes later to score a touchdown and go out in front 9-0. John Dickinson swept right for the score but was stopped short when he attempted the two extra points.
• Chuck Ramsey attempted a 29-yard field goal into the wind, but it fell short in the closing minutes of the first half.
• The Bobcats threatened several times in the fourth quarter, but fumbles proved to be costly to them.
• The game ended with the Falcons making a last drive to the Ohio one-yard line.

Falcons Are Bowl-Eligible for the first time since 2015
• Currently BGSU has the most season wins (6) and MAC wins (5) since 2015 when BGSU went 10-4 overall and 7-1 in MAC play.
• A win against Toledo last time out made Bowling Green bowl-eligible for the first time since 2015.
• BGSU has won three-straight road games, which is the longest road winning streak for the Falcons since the 2015 season when Bowling Green went 6-0 on the road.

Bowling Green Wins the Battle of I-75 in an Instant Classic
• For the second time in four tries under BGSU head coach Scot Loeffler, BGSU defeated Toledo and laid claim to the Battle of I-75 trophy.
• BGSU won at Toledo's Glass Bowl for the first time since 2008.
• BGSU blocked its fourth punt of the season in the second quarter. It was recovered for a touchdown, which marks the second time this season BGSU has blocked a punt for a touchdown this season (at UCLA).
• Ta'ron Keith's 42-yard game-winning touchdown is his third game-winning score of the season when it was the last score of the game in the fourth quarter or overtime. He also scored the game-winner in OT vs. Marshall and in the fourth quarter against Miami (OH). It came with nine seconds left in the game after Toledo took its first lead of the evening, 35-34, with 51 seconds left.
• QB Matt McDonald finished 20-of-36 for 395 yards and four touchdowns. With four passing touchdown McDonald now has 21 for the season which puts him in a tie at No. 11 on BGSU's single-season list with Brian McClure (1984).
• The 395 passing yards for McDonald were a career high and the second time in his career he threw for 300+ yards.
• WR Odieu Hiliare finished with a career-high 246 receiving yards. It is the second time this season and seventh time in his career he has recorded 100+ receiving yards in a game.
• Hiliare's 246 receiving yards are No. 3 all-time at BGSU for a single game and is No. 2 in the nation this season.
• PaSean Wimberly blocked his third punt of the season and for the second time BGSU scored a touchdown from it (at UCLA). Wimberly is tied for the nation's lead with three blocked punts.
• DL Karl Brooks finished with 2.0 sacks, 4.0 TFLs and seven tackles. Brooks has 27.5 sacks for his career, which moves him past Diyral Briggs (26.0) for No. 3 all-time in program history. His 10 sacks this season puts him No. 3 all-time on the single-season list at BGSU.

BGSU Jumping on the Fumbles
• BGSU has recovered 14 fumbles, which ranks No. 2 in the nation. OLB Charles Rosser is tied for No. 2 in the nation with three fumbles recovered.

How Do you Odieu?
• WR Odieu Hiliare has been on fire the last four games. He has made 29 receptions for 426 receiving yards, which included three receptions of 50+ yards in the win over Toledo. He also had two receiving touchdowns against the Rockets.

McDonald on Third Down
• QB Matt McDonald has 10 passing touchdowns on third down which ranks No. 3 in the nation. Only Sam Hartman (Wake Forest, 12) and C.J. Stroud (Ohio State, 11) have more.
• On 3rd and 10 yards or more situations, McDonald is tied for No. 1 in the nation with three touchdowns. His 313 passing yards in the same situation ranks No. 2 in the nation.

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