Bowling Green State University Athletics
Saturday, September 24
Starkville, Miss.
12 p.m.
Bowling Green State University
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Mississippi State
Falcons Soar to the Deep South and SEC Country on Saturday
September 19, 2022 | Football
Falcons Soar to The Deep South And SEC Country
• Bowling Green State University returns to the road to face the Mississippi State Bulldogs of the Southeastern Conference.
• The game will kick at 12 p.m. on Saturday and be broadcast live on the SEC Network.
Bowling Green vs. Mississippi State
• Bowling Green and Mississippi State are meeting for the second time in series history. MSU won the only other meeting, 21-20, in 2013 at Davis Wade Stadium.
• BGSU shut Mississippi State out in the second half but managed only seven points to fall by one.
• Bowling Green is facing SEC teams in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2012 and 2013 when they faced Florida (2012) and Mississippi State (2013). The Falcons opened 2021 at Tennessee.
Five Top Storylines
• QB Matt McDonald is No. 1 in the MAC and tied for No. 4 in the nation with 10 passing touchdowns. His 72.0 points responsible for ranks No. 1 in the MAC and No. 3 in the nation. Three of his passing touchdowns have come in overtime.
• RB Ta'ron Keith is No. 3 in the nation among running backs with 14 receptions. He trails Mississippi State's Dillon Johnson (17) and Georgia's Kenny McIntosh (15). Keith also has two receiving touchdowns, both coming in each of the last two overtime games. TE Christian Sims is No. 5 in the nation among tight ends with 13 receptions.
• The Falcons have 10-different players that have recorded at least 0.5 sack this season, which is the most in the nation.Â
• WR Odieu Hiliare has a catch in 25-straight games, which includes his career at Alabama A&M. It is tied for the 17th-best active streak in the nation. The Alabama A&M transfer has 114 career receptions for 1,508 career receiving yards and 16 receiving touchdowns.
• Preseason All-American Darren Anders was No. 8 in the nation in 2021 with 10.33 tackles per game. He is one of three players in all of FBS over the past two seasons to rank in the Top-15 nationally in tackles and the only one who returns to the college football ranks in 2022.Â
Loeffler vs. Mississippi State
• Bowling Green head coach Scot Loeffler has faced Mississippi three previous times as an assistant coach and his teams are 1-2.
• When Loeffler was on Urban Meyer's 2009-10 staffs at Florida, the Gators went 1-1 against MSU, winning in Starkville in 2009 and losing in Gainesville in 2010. While at Auburn in 2012, Loeffler and the Tigers lost to the Bull Dogs in Starkville.
Bowling Green vs. the SEC
• Bowling Green is 4-9 all-time against current members of the SEC.
• The Falcons are 3-2 against Missouri, 1-2 against Kentucky, 0-2 against Tennessee, 0-1 against Mississippi State, 0-1 against Florida and 0-1 against Alabama.
More on Saturday's game
• Bowling Green is playing on a grass surface for only the third time in the Scot Loeffler era. BGSU also played on grass in the 2021 season opener at Tennessee's Neyland Stadium and the 2022 season opener against UCLA at the Rose Bowl. Saturday marks just the fourth time over 54 games that Bowling Green will play on a grass surface.
BGSU Connections to MississippiÂ
• OT/OG Cedric Dunbar II hails from Natchez, Miss., and he attended Cathedral High School.
• Dunbar played for head coach Deion Sanders at Jackson State, including starting 12 games and helping Jackson State go 11-2 and win the SWAC.
• Appeared in 26 career games with 24 starts at Jackson State before transferring to Bowling Green this summer.
Bowling Green - MSU connections
• Mississippi State's linebackers coach Matt Brock was the special teams coordinator and linebackers coach at Bowling Green from 2016-17.
• Mississippi State's associate AD of football administration Brittany Thackery was an assistant softball coach at Bowling Green from 2016-17. Thackery received her master of sport administration from BGSU in 2017.
• When Dan Mullen left Florida to become the head coach at Mississippi State in 2009, current BGSU head coach Scot Loeffler replaced him as the quarterback coach on Urban Meyer's UF staff. Mullen is no stranger to Bowling Green as he was the quarterback coach in 2001-02 on Meyer's two BGSU staffs. Mullen met his wife, Megan, while at BGSU. She was the weekend sports anchor at Toledo's WNWO NBC affiliate.
The Sack Game and the Bowling Green Falcons
• Bowling Green is tied for No. 6 in the nation with 12 team sacks. The Falcons are also tied for No. 40 in the nation with four sacks allowed.
• Bowling green is one of three teams in the nation to have 12+ sacks and allow four or fewer sacks. The other teams are Arkansas and Ole Miss.
Bowling Green in the Plus on Turnover Margin
• Bowling Green is +5 in the turnover margin through three games. The Falcons have also forced 2+ turnovers in four-straight games dating back to 2021.
• Bowling Green's two turnovers are both errant snaps over the quarterback's head.
• The Falcons are tied No. 9 in the country in turnover margin and are No. 1 in the MAC.
McDonald Spreading the Wealth
• QB Matt McDonald has connected with 13 different receivers so far this season.
• McDonald is No. 1 in the MAC and tied for No. 4 in the nation with 10 passing touchdowns. Six different receivers have caught his 10 touchdown passes.
• McDonald threw five touchdown passes to four-different receivers in the Eastern Kentucky game. The five touchdowns are tied for the third-most in a game this season.
McDonald Throws four-plus Touchdowns in back-to-back games
• QB Matt McDonald has thrown 4+ touchdowns in each of BGSU's last two games, including a career-high five passing touchdowns against Eastern Kentucky.
• McDonald is one of seven FBS quarterbacks with at least two games of 4+ passing touchdowns this season, which is tied for the nation's lead. He joins Davis Brin (Tulsa), Drake Maye (North Carolina), Michael Penix Jr. (Washington), Will Rogers (Mississippi State), Spencer Sanders (Oklahoma State) and C.J. Stroud (Ohio State).
• McDonald became the first Falcon to throw 4+ touchdowns in back-to-back games since Matt Johnson in 2015 when he accomplished the feat in four-straight games. Johnson went on to set BGSU's single-season passing touchdown record in 2015 with 46.
McDonald In The BGSU Record Book
• QB Matt McDonald is tied for No. 1 in the BGSU single-game record book with six total touchdowns against Eastern Kentucky. McDonald had five passing TDs and one rushing, matching Matt Johnson (2x, 2015), Josh Harris (2001) and Ryan Henry (1994).
McDonald Continues to elevate his game
• Since throwing three interceptions in the Akron (Oct. 9, 2021) game, QB Matt McDonald has thrown for 1,839 yards, 17 touchdowns and only one interception over the past nine games.
• McDonald has gone 224 passes since his last interception, which came on his first pass of the third quarter against Eastern Michigan.
• However, McDonald has been sacked 21 times over the last seven games.
• McDonald is the son of former Cleveland Brown starting quarterback Paul McDonald. Paul led the USC Trojans to the 1979 National Title and was a first-team All-American and first-team academic All-American for the Trojans.Â
More on McDonald in the Passing Game
• QB Matt McDonald is No. 1 in the MAC and tied for No. 13 in the nation with 14 passes of 20+ yards.
JB Brown has jumped on the scene
• ILB JB Brown has jumped onto the scene in 2022.
• Brown is tied for No. 3 in the nation with two fumbles forced.
• He is third on the team with both 18 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss.
The Falcons Shine on Fourth Down against Marshall
• Bowling Green was 2-of-2 on fourth down against Marshall with two touchdowns.
• BGSU was facing 4th and 2 and 4th and 3 in the second quarter. WR Odieu Hiliare scored on a 25-yard touchdown on 4th and 3 in the second quarter. That touchdown cut BGSU's deficit to seven points, 21-14.
• Later in the quarter, Cavon Croom tallied his first career touchdown on a 30-yard scoring strike to tie the game, 21-21, on a 4th and 2 play.
Wimberly Comes with the Blocked Punts
• RB PaSean Wimberly is tied for No. 2 in the nation in blocked punts with two.
• Wimberly, who was awarded a scholarship a week before the season, blocked a punt at UCLA and another one against Eastern Kentucky.
• Temple's De'Von Fox leads the nation with three blocked punts, all of which came in week No. 2 against Lafayette. Iowa's Lukas Van Ness shares the second spot with Wimberly.
• BGSU also blocked a punt against Marshall (James Miller), giving the Falcons one in each of their first three games.
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• Bowling Green State University returns to the road to face the Mississippi State Bulldogs of the Southeastern Conference.
• The game will kick at 12 p.m. on Saturday and be broadcast live on the SEC Network.
Bowling Green vs. Mississippi State
• Bowling Green and Mississippi State are meeting for the second time in series history. MSU won the only other meeting, 21-20, in 2013 at Davis Wade Stadium.
• BGSU shut Mississippi State out in the second half but managed only seven points to fall by one.
• Bowling Green is facing SEC teams in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2012 and 2013 when they faced Florida (2012) and Mississippi State (2013). The Falcons opened 2021 at Tennessee.
Five Top Storylines
• QB Matt McDonald is No. 1 in the MAC and tied for No. 4 in the nation with 10 passing touchdowns. His 72.0 points responsible for ranks No. 1 in the MAC and No. 3 in the nation. Three of his passing touchdowns have come in overtime.
• RB Ta'ron Keith is No. 3 in the nation among running backs with 14 receptions. He trails Mississippi State's Dillon Johnson (17) and Georgia's Kenny McIntosh (15). Keith also has two receiving touchdowns, both coming in each of the last two overtime games. TE Christian Sims is No. 5 in the nation among tight ends with 13 receptions.
• The Falcons have 10-different players that have recorded at least 0.5 sack this season, which is the most in the nation.Â
• WR Odieu Hiliare has a catch in 25-straight games, which includes his career at Alabama A&M. It is tied for the 17th-best active streak in the nation. The Alabama A&M transfer has 114 career receptions for 1,508 career receiving yards and 16 receiving touchdowns.
• Preseason All-American Darren Anders was No. 8 in the nation in 2021 with 10.33 tackles per game. He is one of three players in all of FBS over the past two seasons to rank in the Top-15 nationally in tackles and the only one who returns to the college football ranks in 2022.Â
Loeffler vs. Mississippi State
• Bowling Green head coach Scot Loeffler has faced Mississippi three previous times as an assistant coach and his teams are 1-2.
• When Loeffler was on Urban Meyer's 2009-10 staffs at Florida, the Gators went 1-1 against MSU, winning in Starkville in 2009 and losing in Gainesville in 2010. While at Auburn in 2012, Loeffler and the Tigers lost to the Bull Dogs in Starkville.
Bowling Green vs. the SEC
• Bowling Green is 4-9 all-time against current members of the SEC.
• The Falcons are 3-2 against Missouri, 1-2 against Kentucky, 0-2 against Tennessee, 0-1 against Mississippi State, 0-1 against Florida and 0-1 against Alabama.
More on Saturday's game
• Bowling Green is playing on a grass surface for only the third time in the Scot Loeffler era. BGSU also played on grass in the 2021 season opener at Tennessee's Neyland Stadium and the 2022 season opener against UCLA at the Rose Bowl. Saturday marks just the fourth time over 54 games that Bowling Green will play on a grass surface.
BGSU Connections to MississippiÂ
• OT/OG Cedric Dunbar II hails from Natchez, Miss., and he attended Cathedral High School.
• Dunbar played for head coach Deion Sanders at Jackson State, including starting 12 games and helping Jackson State go 11-2 and win the SWAC.
• Appeared in 26 career games with 24 starts at Jackson State before transferring to Bowling Green this summer.
Bowling Green - MSU connections
• Mississippi State's linebackers coach Matt Brock was the special teams coordinator and linebackers coach at Bowling Green from 2016-17.
• Mississippi State's associate AD of football administration Brittany Thackery was an assistant softball coach at Bowling Green from 2016-17. Thackery received her master of sport administration from BGSU in 2017.
• When Dan Mullen left Florida to become the head coach at Mississippi State in 2009, current BGSU head coach Scot Loeffler replaced him as the quarterback coach on Urban Meyer's UF staff. Mullen is no stranger to Bowling Green as he was the quarterback coach in 2001-02 on Meyer's two BGSU staffs. Mullen met his wife, Megan, while at BGSU. She was the weekend sports anchor at Toledo's WNWO NBC affiliate.
The Sack Game and the Bowling Green Falcons
• Bowling Green is tied for No. 6 in the nation with 12 team sacks. The Falcons are also tied for No. 40 in the nation with four sacks allowed.
• Bowling green is one of three teams in the nation to have 12+ sacks and allow four or fewer sacks. The other teams are Arkansas and Ole Miss.
Bowling Green in the Plus on Turnover Margin
• Bowling Green is +5 in the turnover margin through three games. The Falcons have also forced 2+ turnovers in four-straight games dating back to 2021.
• Bowling Green's two turnovers are both errant snaps over the quarterback's head.
• The Falcons are tied No. 9 in the country in turnover margin and are No. 1 in the MAC.
McDonald Spreading the Wealth
• QB Matt McDonald has connected with 13 different receivers so far this season.
• McDonald is No. 1 in the MAC and tied for No. 4 in the nation with 10 passing touchdowns. Six different receivers have caught his 10 touchdown passes.
• McDonald threw five touchdown passes to four-different receivers in the Eastern Kentucky game. The five touchdowns are tied for the third-most in a game this season.
McDonald Throws four-plus Touchdowns in back-to-back games
• QB Matt McDonald has thrown 4+ touchdowns in each of BGSU's last two games, including a career-high five passing touchdowns against Eastern Kentucky.
• McDonald is one of seven FBS quarterbacks with at least two games of 4+ passing touchdowns this season, which is tied for the nation's lead. He joins Davis Brin (Tulsa), Drake Maye (North Carolina), Michael Penix Jr. (Washington), Will Rogers (Mississippi State), Spencer Sanders (Oklahoma State) and C.J. Stroud (Ohio State).
• McDonald became the first Falcon to throw 4+ touchdowns in back-to-back games since Matt Johnson in 2015 when he accomplished the feat in four-straight games. Johnson went on to set BGSU's single-season passing touchdown record in 2015 with 46.
McDonald In The BGSU Record Book
• QB Matt McDonald is tied for No. 1 in the BGSU single-game record book with six total touchdowns against Eastern Kentucky. McDonald had five passing TDs and one rushing, matching Matt Johnson (2x, 2015), Josh Harris (2001) and Ryan Henry (1994).
McDonald Continues to elevate his game
• Since throwing three interceptions in the Akron (Oct. 9, 2021) game, QB Matt McDonald has thrown for 1,839 yards, 17 touchdowns and only one interception over the past nine games.
• McDonald has gone 224 passes since his last interception, which came on his first pass of the third quarter against Eastern Michigan.
• However, McDonald has been sacked 21 times over the last seven games.
• McDonald is the son of former Cleveland Brown starting quarterback Paul McDonald. Paul led the USC Trojans to the 1979 National Title and was a first-team All-American and first-team academic All-American for the Trojans.Â
More on McDonald in the Passing Game
• QB Matt McDonald is No. 1 in the MAC and tied for No. 13 in the nation with 14 passes of 20+ yards.
JB Brown has jumped on the scene
• ILB JB Brown has jumped onto the scene in 2022.
• Brown is tied for No. 3 in the nation with two fumbles forced.
• He is third on the team with both 18 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss.
The Falcons Shine on Fourth Down against Marshall
• Bowling Green was 2-of-2 on fourth down against Marshall with two touchdowns.
• BGSU was facing 4th and 2 and 4th and 3 in the second quarter. WR Odieu Hiliare scored on a 25-yard touchdown on 4th and 3 in the second quarter. That touchdown cut BGSU's deficit to seven points, 21-14.
• Later in the quarter, Cavon Croom tallied his first career touchdown on a 30-yard scoring strike to tie the game, 21-21, on a 4th and 2 play.
Wimberly Comes with the Blocked Punts
• RB PaSean Wimberly is tied for No. 2 in the nation in blocked punts with two.
• Wimberly, who was awarded a scholarship a week before the season, blocked a punt at UCLA and another one against Eastern Kentucky.
• Temple's De'Von Fox leads the nation with three blocked punts, all of which came in week No. 2 against Lafayette. Iowa's Lukas Van Ness shares the second spot with Wimberly.
• BGSU also blocked a punt against Marshall (James Miller), giving the Falcons one in each of their first three games.
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Players Mentioned
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