Bowling Green Opens Its 71st Season of MAC Play at Akron on Saturday

Falcons Open 71st season of MAC Play at Akron
• Bowling Green State University opens its 71st season of play in the Mid-American Conference on Saturday against the Akron Zips.
• It is the 29th meeting between the Falcons and the Zips.
• The game will kick off at 3:30 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN+

Bowling Green and MAC Openers
• Bowling Green opens Mid-American Conference play on Saturday at Akron.
• Bowling Green is 4-7 in MAC openers dating back to 2011. All four of those wins came on the road. The Falcons are 4-3 in conference openers on the road since 2011, which includes wins at Miami (OH) (2011), Kent State (2013), UMass (2014) and Buffalo (2015).
• Saturday's game is the fourth time Bowling Green has opened league play on the road since 2015.

Five Top Storylines
• Bowling Green is looking to win its MAC opener for the first time since 2015 when the Falcons won on the road at Buffalo, 28-22.
• The Falcons have 10-different players that have recorded at least 1.0 sack this season, which is the most in the nation. They share the spot with Ole Miss.
• QB Matt McDonald is one of three FBS quarterbacks with 10+ passing touchdowns and zero interceptions. He joins Dillon Gabriel (Oklahoma) and Todd Centeio (James Madison), who both have 11 passing touchdowns. McDonald is No. 1 in the MAC and tied for No. 18 in the nation with 10 passing touchdowns. His 24.0 points responsible per game ranks No. 1 in the MAC and No. 6 in the nation. Three of his passing touchdowns have come in overtime.
• RB Ta'ron Keith is No. 6 in the nation among running backs with 16 receptions. 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 4.3 receptions per game.
• WR Odieu Hiliare has a catch in 26-straight games, which includes his career at Alabama A&M. It is tied for the 16th-best active streak in the nation. The Alabama A&M transfer has 116 career receptions for 1,529 career receiving yards and 16 receiving touchdowns.

Bowling Green vs. Akron
• Bowling Green opens the home portion of its Mid-American Conference action on Saturday against Akron.
• BGSU leads the all-time series with Akron, 18-10, who joined the MAC in 1992.
• Since 2000, Bowling Green is 5-1 against Akron when the Falcons hold the Zips below 300 yards of total offense. The lone win for the Zips was in 2020.
• Since 2000, Bowling Green is 8-4 against Akron when the Falcons accumulate 350+ yards of total offense.
• Since 2000, Bowling Green is 7-1 against Akron when the Falcons win the turnover battle.

Loeffler Returns to Home Area
• Bowling Green head coach Scot Loeffler hails from Barberton, Ohio, which is roughly eight miles from Akron's InfoCision Stadium.
• Loeffler is a 1993 graduate of Barberton High School.

Bowling Green - Akron Connections
• Akron OL Brian Kilbane played in three games for Bowling Green in 2020 before transferring to Akron in 2021.
• Akron head coach Joe Moorhead was the quarterback coach at UConn in 2011 when BGSU defensive run coordinator/defensive line coach Julian Campenni was redshirting for the Huskies.
• Akron defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Tim Tibesar was a student assistant at San Diego State from 1997-98 while Bowling Green defensive coordinator Eric Lewis was a DB for the Aztecs.

Fannin's Day at Mississippi State
• Harold Fannin's five receptions at MSU last time out are the second most single-game catches by a true freshman tight end in the nation this season. They are the most by a true freshman tight end this season against an FBS opponent.
• Ball State's Tanner Koziol made six catches against Murray State on Sept. 17.

Jakari Robinson Cleared to Play
• C Jakari Robinson learned upon the team planning landing in Mississippi on Sept. 23 that the NCAA granted his transfer waiver from Memphis. Robinson made his BGSU debut to start the second quarter and promptly helped lead the Falcons on a 97-yard drive that resulted in a Camden Orth to Tyrone Broden touchdown pass (25 yards).
• Robinson made 24 career starts at Cincinnati and was part of its 2020 AAC championship team. A graduate of UC, Robinson transferred to Memphis in 2021 and appeared in seven games last season.
• Robinson, who enrolled at BGSU in January, received the second most votes for captain on the offense behind Matt McDonald.
• Robinson and his wife, Gabrielle, have one daughter, Rhythm.

The Sack Game and the Bowling Green Falcons
• Bowling Green is tied for No. 5 in the nation with 14 team sacks. The Falcons are also tied for No. 22 in the nation with six sacks allowed.
• Bowling Green is one of five teams in the nation to have 14+ sacks and allow six or fewer sacks. The other teams are Arkansas, Southern Miss., Temple and Washington.

Bowling Green in the Plus on Turnover Margin
• Bowling Green is +4 in the turnover margin through four games. The Falcons had also forced 2+ turnovers in four-straight games dating back to 2021 until the streak was snapped at MSU.
• Bowling Green's first two turnovers are both errant snaps over the quarterback's head.
• The Falcons are No. 13 in the country in turnover margin and are No. 1 in the MAC.

More McDonald Nuggets
• QB Matt McDonald also ranks nationally:
- T15 in first down passes on 3rd down and 10+ yards to go (4)
- No. 1 on 4th down passing yards (88)
- No. 1 on 4th down passes of 25+ yards (3)
- No. 1 in passing comp. % (80.0) of QBs with at least five attempts on 4th down
- No. 1 in QB rating (359.84) of QBs with at least five attempts on 4th down
- No. 3 in passing TDs (2) on 4th down
- No. 1 in overtime passing touchdowns (3)
- No. 2 in overtime QB rating (316.64)
- T1 for passing touchdowns while trailing by 1-7 points (4)
-T3 for passing touchdowns while trailing 8-14 points (3)

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 23 tackles and second with 3.0 tackles for loss.

Hiliare on Fourth Down
• WR Odieu Hiliare is tied for No. 7 in the nation with two receptions on fourth down.
• Both his catches went for a first down and one went for 25 yards, which is tied for the nation's lead in 25-yard+ catches on fourth down.

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