Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
Kent State
Falcons Fly East for More MACtion at Kent State on Wednesday
November 03, 2023 | Football
Falcons Fly East for More MACtion
• Bowling Green State University returns to the road on Wednesday night as the Falcons visit the Kent State Golden Flashes.
• This is BGSU's second of four games to close the regular season that will be played as mid-week MACtion games.
• The game will kick at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network.
Bowling Green vs. Kent State
• Bowling Green and Kent State are meeting for the seventh time in MACtion. BGSU is 3-3 against Kent State in mid-week games, but KSU has won the last three (2018, 2020, 2022) mid-week meetings.
• BGSU and KSU also met in mid-week games in 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2020. Only the 2014 and 2022 meetings were on a Wednesday, while the other four were on a Tuesday.
• Bowling Green has lost the last five meetings with Kent State.
• Wednesday is the 91st all-time meeting between Bowling Green and Kent State. BGSU has played no opponent as much as it has played the Golden Flashes.
Five Top Storylines
• A win for the Falcons would give Bowling Green its first four-game winning streak since winning seven games (Sept. 26-Nov. 11) in a row during the 2015 season.
• RB Terion Stewart is No. 1 in the nation in broken tackles (75) and yards per carry after contact (4.81) among all FBS players with 100+ carries. He is No. 4 in the nation in rushes of 10+ yards (31) He has rushed 105 times for 654 yards and six touchdowns over BGSU's last six games. Stewart averages 6.3 yards per rush for his career, which ranks No. 1 in program history.
• Bowling Green is No. 1 in the nation in takeaways (22). The Falcons are No. 1 in fumble recoveries (10) and No. 5 in interceptions (12). BGSU is the only team in the nation in the top-10 in both categories.
• CB Jalen Huskey is No. 7 in the nation with four interceptions and DL Dontrez Brown is No. 6 in the nation with two fumble recoveries.
• BGSU is the only program in the nation to have returned at least one blocked field goal (Liberty) and one blocked punt (Buffalo) for touchdowns.
The Battle for Turnovers
• While BGSU is No. 1 in the nation in takeaways, it will be a battle for takeaways on Wednesday as Kent State is No. 1 in the MAC and No. 24 in the nation with fewest offensive turnovers (8).
• Kent State has five interceptions and three fumbles lost through nine games. Five of those eight turnovers have come in KSU's last four games.
• Bowling Green has 15 takeaways over its last five games.
Bowling Green vs. Kent State
• Wednesday is the 91st all-time meeting between Bowling Green and Kent State, a series BGSU leads 60-24-6. However, Kent State has won five in a row after a BGSU five-game winning streak in the series. It is Kent State's longest winning streak in the series.
• Bowling Green and Kent State will battle it out for the annual Anniversary Award, a traveling award that goes to the winner of this contest. Established in 1985 by the respective alumni departments at BGSU and KSU, the Anniversary Award commemorates the founding of BGSU and KSU in 1910. The Anniversary Award commemorates the founding of both institutions, which occurred in 1910 because of the Lowry Bill. The award was first given out in 1985 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of each school. The rivalry has overall been lop-sided, with Bowling Green winning 25 of the 35 meetings.
• Bowling Green has won three of its last five games in the series at Dix Stadium.Â
Bowling Green - KSU connections
• Kent State's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach is Matt Johnson, who is a 2016 graduate of Bowling Green. Johnson set numerous records as the Falcons' quarterback and helped lead Bowling Green to a pair of Mid-American East Division and Conference titles. The 2015 MAC Player of the Year, he set the school record with 73 career touchdown passes and was named honorable mention All-America by Sports Illustrated.
Bazelak On Point in BGSU winsÂ
• QB Connor Bazelak has been impressive in the four BGSU wins he appeared in. He is 63-of-92 passing (68.5 percent) for 779 passing yards, seven touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Fannin the Pass-Catching Tight End
• TE Harold Fannin Jr. is No. 1 in the MAC and tied for No. 17 in the nation among tight ends with three receiving touchdowns.
• His 293 receiving yards are also No. 1 in the MAC and No. 22 in the nation among tight ends.
• His 22 receptions is No. 2 in the MAC and tied for No. 27 in the nation among tight ends.
Anders Climbs the Career Games Played Ledger
• Last time out against Ball State Darren Anders played his 50th career game at BGSU. It also was his 40th career start.Â
• Anders was the 16th Falcon to play in his 50th career game for Bowling Green. The record for career games played is held by Alex Huettel (OL, 2012-15).
• If Anders plays in all remaining regular season games, he will be tied for No. 3 in program history with 53 games played. His next game played puts him tied for No. 9 in program history with 51 career games.
Goal-To-Goal for the Falcons
• Bowling Green has scored touchdowns on 84.6 percent of its goal-to-goal situations.Â
• BGSU has had 15 goal-to-goal situations and has scored 13 touchdowns and two field goals for a 100 percent goal-to-goal scoring rate.Â
• BGSU's defense has held opponents to 11-of-13 on goal-to-goal situations with 10 touchdowns and one field goal. More information on page 17.
Dontrez Brown on the Line for BGSU
• DL Dontrez Brown has broken up three passes at the line of scrimmage.
• He is tied for No. 5 in the nation in the category among defensive linemen. He trails only Middle Tennessee's Quindarius Dunnigan (6), Florida State's Patrick Payton (5), Ohio State's Tyleik Williams (4) and Oregon's Brandon Dorlus (4). Brown is one of 20 defensive linemen with three pass breakups tied for the No. 5 spot.
• Brown had two fumble recoveries against Akron last time out. He is the only player in the nation this year with two fumble recoveries in a game and he is No. 6 overall in the nation in that category for the season.
Milestone Watch
• WR Odieu Hiliare needs 18 receiving yards to become the 41st Falcon to reach 1,000 receiving yards.Â
• Hiliare needs 17 receptions for 200 career receptions. He needs 19 receptions to reach 100 receptions as a Falcon.
• WR Abdul-Fatai Ibrahim needs 21 receptions to reach 200 catches for his career.
Ball Hawks In The Secondary
• Bowling Green is No. 5 in the nation and No. 1 in the MAC with 12 team interceptions.
• CB Jalen Huskey leads BGSU with four, which ranks No. 7 in the nation and No. 2 in the MAC in interceptions.
• Davon Ferguson, Avi McGary and Jordan Oladokun all rank No. 63 nationally with two each.
• Michigan's J.J. McCarthy threw three interceptions against Bowling Green on Sept. 16. Those are the only three interceptions he has thrown this year. McCarthy's three interceptions were a career high. His 143 yards passing was also his worst passing day of the season.Â
• BGSU also held Michigan to 312 yards of total offense, its worst of the season and only game under 400 yards of total offense.
Carry On Terion
• Bowling Green's Terion Stewart is enjoying a career year for the Falcons.
• Stewart already has career highs in rushes (125), rushing yards (762) and rushing touchdowns (8).
• Stewart is No. 4 in the nation with 31 rushes of 10+ yards.Â
• Stewart also is No. 1 in the nation in broken tackles (75) and yards per carry after contact (4.81) for those with 100+ carries.
• He is No. 7 in total rush yards after contact (596), No. 23 in yards per carry (6.1), No. 23 in rush yards (762) and No. 24 in rushing touchdowns (8).
