Bowling Green State University Athletics
Saturday, September 16
Ann Arbor, Mich.
7:30 p.m.
Bowling Green State University
at
Michigan
Falcons Soar North to Ann Arbor to Face No. 2 Michigan
September 11, 2023 | Football
Falcons Soar North to Ann Arbor
• Bowling Green State University returns to the road to face the No. 2 Michigan Wolverines of the Big Ten Conference.
• The game will kick at 7:30 p.m. and will be televised live on the Big Ten Network.
Bowling Green vs. Michigan
• Bowling Green and Michigan are meeting for the third time in series history. The Wolverines are 2-0 in an all-time series that dates to 2000.Â
• The 2000 meeting was the largest crowd ever to see a Bowling Green football game when 110,585 fans crowded into Michigan Stadium. The 2010 game attendance was 109,933.
• Saturday is BGSU's first night game in the "Big House" as the previous two meetings were noon starts.
• Michigan offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore will be acting head coach against Bowling Green due to UM's self-imposed suspension of Jim Harbaugh for violating NCAA rules.
Five Top Storylines
• As the No. 2 ranked team in the nation, Michigan is the second highest-ranked opponent Bowling Green has ever faced. The highest is Ohio State in 2006.Â
• BGSU head coach Scot Loeffler is a 1998 graduate of Michigan. He played quarterback from 1993-96 and from 1997-99, 2002-07 he was part of Lloyd Carr's UM coaching staff in various roles including quarterbacks coach.
• Michigan assistant head coach Jack Harbaugh is a Bowling Green State University
graduate ('61, '63) and was a member of BGSU's 1959 National Championship squad.
• RB Ta'ron Keith (123) and TE Harold Fannin Jr. (109) each surpassed 100+ receiving yards last time out against Eastern Illinois. Of all the schools in the nation that have had two players with 100+ receiving yards in the same game this season, BG boasts the only duo that didn't include a wide receiver.
• Of Keith's 123 receiving yards against Eastern Illinois, all came after the catch. No other player in the nation this year has 100+ YAC in a single game.
Bowling Green vs. B1G
• Bowling Green is 9-20 all-time against current members of the Big Ten Conference, which includes games against Indiana (1-1), Maryland (1-1), Michigan (0-2), Michigan State (0-3), Minnesota (2-2), Northwestern (2-1), Ohio State (0-5), Penn State (0-2), Purdue (3-0) and Wisconsin (0-3).
• BGSU's most recent game against a Big Ten Conference foe was in 2021 at Minnesota. The Falcons' 14-10 victory over the Golden Gophers was one of the biggest upsets of the season.
• Bowling Green is scheduled to play at Penn State in 2024, at Minnesota in 2025 and at Ohio State in 2027. The 2027 Ohio State game is a reschedule from the game canceled due to the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic.
Bowling Green Coaching Staff with Wolverine Blood
• BGSU head coach Scot Loeffler (1998), co-defensive coordinator (ILBs) Steve Morrison (1994), and passing game coordinator (WRs) Erik Campbell are all Michigan alums and all three were all on staff with each other at UM under former head coach Lloyd Carr.Â
• From 2002-07, Loeffler coached quarterbacks for the Wolverines. Chad Henne became the first true freshman quarterback to lead his team to a Big Ten title and start in a BCS game, while John Navarre became Michigan's first All-Big Ten first-team quarterback since 1997.
• From 1996-99, Loeffler was a graduate assistant and student assistant at Michigan, working with Tom Brady and Brian Griese. He was part of the Wolverines' undefeated national championship season in 1997.
• Morrison played inside linebacker at Michigan from 1990-94, serving as a team captain in 1994. In 1990, he became the first true freshman to start on defense at Michigan since 1987, but a season-ending injury cut that campaign short and he was awarded a medical redshirt. Due to the medical redshirt, Morrison was a rare five-year varsity letter winner for the Wolverines, earning Big Ten Conference Championships from 1990-92 and playing in the Rose Bowl in 1991 and 1992. At the time of his graduation, Morrison ranked third in career tackles at Michigan with 220. His 23 tackles in a single-game still stands as the school record.
• Morrison began his college coaching career at Michigan in 2002, serving in various roles over three seasons, including quality control coach and graduate assistant coach for the outside linebackers.
• As a player at Michigan from 1984-87, Campbell started 30 career games, including the final 25 games of his career, as a defensive back. He is the only player in Michigan history to start all four secondary positions in one year.Â
• A great developer of wide receivers, Campbell had a 1,000-yard receiver for an NCAA-record eight straight seasons and mentored two of the most successful receivers in Big Ten history (Braylon Edwards at Michigan and Marin McNutt at Iowa).
• At Michigan, Campbell was a part of the 1997 national championship team, coaching three All-Americans (David Terrell, Marquise Walker and Braylon Edwards) and 18 All-Big Ten selections.
• Campbell returned to Michigan in 2015 as the recruiting coordinator for Jim Harbaugh.
• BGSU head football sports performance coach Kevin Tolbert was on staff at Michigan from 2001-07 as an assistant strength coach.
Bazelak vs. Michigan
• BGSU quarterback Connor Bazelak started against Michigan in 2023 while at Indiana.
• Bazelak was 25-of-49 for 203 yards, one touchdown and one interception in Indiana's 31-10 loss in
Bloomington.
Schembechler and Bowling Green
• Michigan College Football Hall of Fame coach Bo Schembechler was an assistant coach at Bowling Green for College Football Hall of Fame coach Doyt Perry in 1955. He coached the interior linemen in his lone season at BG.
• Schembechler was the first assistant coach hired by Doyt Perry upon being named head coach in March 1955. Both Perry and Schembechler were previously assistant coaches together on Woody Hayes' first Ohio State team in 1951.
• Schembechler was a graduate of Barberton High School in Barberton, Ohio, which is also where current BGSU head coach and UM alum Scot Loeffler graduated from.
He Said It ...
• "Lloyd is like a second father to me." - Scot Loeffler on former Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr
• Loeffler has an 8x10 framed picture of Lloyd Carr in his office inside Doyt Perry Stadium.
Loeffler and the Lombardi Trophy
• Bowling Green head coach Scot Loeffler has coached seven quarterbacks who went on to play in the NFL. Those seven quarterbacks have gone on to win a combined nine Super Bowl championships (Tom Brady - 7; Brian Griese - 1; Chad Henne - 1)
• All the Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks coached in college by Loeffler came in his time at Michigan.
BGSU-Michigan Week
• Saturday's football game at Michigan isn't the only meeting this week between the Falcons and Wolverines.
• On Friday (Sept. 15), BGSU hosts Michigan in women's volleyball at the Stroh Center (7 p.m.). On Sunday (Sept. 17), UM hosts the Falcons in Ann Arbor (2 p.m.).
• BGSU's men's soccer team beat Michigan on Sept. 4 at Cochrane Stadium in Bowling Green, 2-1.
Bowling Green - UM connections
• Michigan recruiting coordinator and defensive line coach Mike Elston and BGSU head coach Scot Loeffler were both student assistants on the 1997 Michigan staff. They later were both graduate assistants in 1999. They were also roomates while at UM.
• Loeffler recruited UM run game coordinator and running backs coach Mike Hart to Michigan. Also coached him and UM wide receivers coach Ron Bellamy during their time at Michigan.
• BGSU co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Greg Nosal played his last college game at Virginia Tech against Michigan in the 2012 Sugar Bowl.
Bowling Green Against Ranked Opponents
• Bowling Green is playing a team ranked by the Associated Press for the first time since
playing then-No. 9 Notre Dame in 2019.
• Bowling Green's last win over a ranked opponent came in the 2013 MAC Championship game when the Falcons faced No. 16 and undefeated Northern Illinois. BGSU beat the Jordan Lynch-led Huskies 47-27.
• BGSU has a history of wins over ranked opponents. Amongst the wins over ranked opponents include victories over then-No. 25 Pitt (2008), then-No. 12 Northern Illinois (when ESPN's College GameDay aired from Bowling Green) in 2003 and then-No. 16 Purdue in 2003.
• Some BG victories under current head coach Scot Loeffler over some schools who nearly were ranked at the time of the game include last year against Marshall (34-31, OT) who came in at No. 26 after beating Notre Dame the week prior and an eventual nine-win Minnesota (14-10) team in 2021.
• Bowling Green is 4-9 all-time against teams ranked by the Associated Press.
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Looking Back at the Eastern Illinois Win
• The win for Bowling Green was the 175th win all-time for the Falcons at Doyt Perry Stadium.
• Bowling Green finished with 509 yards of total offense. It was the first time the Falcons had over 500 yards of total offense since the 2019 opener against Morgan State when BG had 620 yards of total offense.
• The Falcons scored on each of their first three possessions of the second half. The fourth and final possession BGSU ran out the clock.Â
• BGSU scored on six-of-nine possessions with only two punts. The final possession of the game the Falcons ran out the clock.Â
• BGSU had two players finish with 100 receiving yards (Fanning Jr. and Keith). It was the first time since the 2021 Buffalo game (Oct. 30).
• QB Connor Bazelak was 6-of-6 passing for 86 yards and one passing touchdown on BGSU's opening drive of the game. Bazelak started the game completing 12-straight passes. During the streak he accrued 163 passing yards and one touchdown.
• Bazelak finished with 319 passing yards. It is the ninth time in his career he surpassed 300 passing yards and 24th time he has surpassed 200 passing yards.
Rushing Game Improvement in 2023
• The Bowling Green rushing attack has taken a big step forward two games into 2023. Bowling Green is tied for No. 15 in the nation with 16 rushes of 10+ yards, which is 30 percent of its 2022 output of 53.
• Bowling Green already has three rushing touchdowns by running backs which is one more than all last season. BGSU only had eight rushing touchdowns in 2022 with two by quarterbacks and four by tight end Harold Fannin Jr.Â
• With 332 rushing yards through two games, BGSU is already 25.5 percent to its 2022 total of 1,304 rushing yards.
• The return of RB Terion Stewart has bolstered the rushing game. Stewart sat out 2022 to focus on mental health and academics. He currently is No. 1 in the BGSU record book for career yards per carry at 6.6.
• The Falcons averaged 6.2 yards per rush in the season opener at Liberty on 191 rushing yards. Both numbers are the best for the BGSU ground game since the 2021 season when the Falcons played at Buffalo. In that game the Falcons rushed for 221 yards on 8.19 yards per carry.
Sipp Jr. is Filling Up the Middle on DefenseÂ
• ILB Joseph Sipp Jr. is No. 24 in the nation and No. 3 in the MAC with 10.0 tackles per game.
• Sipp had a career-high 12 tackles in the season opener at Liberty. It is the second year in a row he led the team in tackles in the season opener. Sipp had 10 stops at UCLA to open 2022 when he became the only freshman in the nation to notch 10+ stops in a collegiate debut last year.Â
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• Bowling Green State University returns to the road to face the No. 2 Michigan Wolverines of the Big Ten Conference.
• The game will kick at 7:30 p.m. and will be televised live on the Big Ten Network.
Bowling Green vs. Michigan
• Bowling Green and Michigan are meeting for the third time in series history. The Wolverines are 2-0 in an all-time series that dates to 2000.Â
• The 2000 meeting was the largest crowd ever to see a Bowling Green football game when 110,585 fans crowded into Michigan Stadium. The 2010 game attendance was 109,933.
• Saturday is BGSU's first night game in the "Big House" as the previous two meetings were noon starts.
• Michigan offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore will be acting head coach against Bowling Green due to UM's self-imposed suspension of Jim Harbaugh for violating NCAA rules.
Five Top Storylines
• As the No. 2 ranked team in the nation, Michigan is the second highest-ranked opponent Bowling Green has ever faced. The highest is Ohio State in 2006.Â
• BGSU head coach Scot Loeffler is a 1998 graduate of Michigan. He played quarterback from 1993-96 and from 1997-99, 2002-07 he was part of Lloyd Carr's UM coaching staff in various roles including quarterbacks coach.
• Michigan assistant head coach Jack Harbaugh is a Bowling Green State University
graduate ('61, '63) and was a member of BGSU's 1959 National Championship squad.
• RB Ta'ron Keith (123) and TE Harold Fannin Jr. (109) each surpassed 100+ receiving yards last time out against Eastern Illinois. Of all the schools in the nation that have had two players with 100+ receiving yards in the same game this season, BG boasts the only duo that didn't include a wide receiver.
• Of Keith's 123 receiving yards against Eastern Illinois, all came after the catch. No other player in the nation this year has 100+ YAC in a single game.
Bowling Green vs. B1G
• Bowling Green is 9-20 all-time against current members of the Big Ten Conference, which includes games against Indiana (1-1), Maryland (1-1), Michigan (0-2), Michigan State (0-3), Minnesota (2-2), Northwestern (2-1), Ohio State (0-5), Penn State (0-2), Purdue (3-0) and Wisconsin (0-3).
• BGSU's most recent game against a Big Ten Conference foe was in 2021 at Minnesota. The Falcons' 14-10 victory over the Golden Gophers was one of the biggest upsets of the season.
• Bowling Green is scheduled to play at Penn State in 2024, at Minnesota in 2025 and at Ohio State in 2027. The 2027 Ohio State game is a reschedule from the game canceled due to the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic.
Bowling Green Coaching Staff with Wolverine Blood
• BGSU head coach Scot Loeffler (1998), co-defensive coordinator (ILBs) Steve Morrison (1994), and passing game coordinator (WRs) Erik Campbell are all Michigan alums and all three were all on staff with each other at UM under former head coach Lloyd Carr.Â
• From 2002-07, Loeffler coached quarterbacks for the Wolverines. Chad Henne became the first true freshman quarterback to lead his team to a Big Ten title and start in a BCS game, while John Navarre became Michigan's first All-Big Ten first-team quarterback since 1997.
• From 1996-99, Loeffler was a graduate assistant and student assistant at Michigan, working with Tom Brady and Brian Griese. He was part of the Wolverines' undefeated national championship season in 1997.
• Morrison played inside linebacker at Michigan from 1990-94, serving as a team captain in 1994. In 1990, he became the first true freshman to start on defense at Michigan since 1987, but a season-ending injury cut that campaign short and he was awarded a medical redshirt. Due to the medical redshirt, Morrison was a rare five-year varsity letter winner for the Wolverines, earning Big Ten Conference Championships from 1990-92 and playing in the Rose Bowl in 1991 and 1992. At the time of his graduation, Morrison ranked third in career tackles at Michigan with 220. His 23 tackles in a single-game still stands as the school record.
• Morrison began his college coaching career at Michigan in 2002, serving in various roles over three seasons, including quality control coach and graduate assistant coach for the outside linebackers.
• As a player at Michigan from 1984-87, Campbell started 30 career games, including the final 25 games of his career, as a defensive back. He is the only player in Michigan history to start all four secondary positions in one year.Â
• A great developer of wide receivers, Campbell had a 1,000-yard receiver for an NCAA-record eight straight seasons and mentored two of the most successful receivers in Big Ten history (Braylon Edwards at Michigan and Marin McNutt at Iowa).
• At Michigan, Campbell was a part of the 1997 national championship team, coaching three All-Americans (David Terrell, Marquise Walker and Braylon Edwards) and 18 All-Big Ten selections.
• Campbell returned to Michigan in 2015 as the recruiting coordinator for Jim Harbaugh.
• BGSU head football sports performance coach Kevin Tolbert was on staff at Michigan from 2001-07 as an assistant strength coach.
Bazelak vs. Michigan
• BGSU quarterback Connor Bazelak started against Michigan in 2023 while at Indiana.
• Bazelak was 25-of-49 for 203 yards, one touchdown and one interception in Indiana's 31-10 loss in
Bloomington.
Schembechler and Bowling Green
• Michigan College Football Hall of Fame coach Bo Schembechler was an assistant coach at Bowling Green for College Football Hall of Fame coach Doyt Perry in 1955. He coached the interior linemen in his lone season at BG.
• Schembechler was the first assistant coach hired by Doyt Perry upon being named head coach in March 1955. Both Perry and Schembechler were previously assistant coaches together on Woody Hayes' first Ohio State team in 1951.
• Schembechler was a graduate of Barberton High School in Barberton, Ohio, which is also where current BGSU head coach and UM alum Scot Loeffler graduated from.
He Said It ...
• "Lloyd is like a second father to me." - Scot Loeffler on former Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr
• Loeffler has an 8x10 framed picture of Lloyd Carr in his office inside Doyt Perry Stadium.
Loeffler and the Lombardi Trophy
• Bowling Green head coach Scot Loeffler has coached seven quarterbacks who went on to play in the NFL. Those seven quarterbacks have gone on to win a combined nine Super Bowl championships (Tom Brady - 7; Brian Griese - 1; Chad Henne - 1)
• All the Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks coached in college by Loeffler came in his time at Michigan.
BGSU-Michigan Week
• Saturday's football game at Michigan isn't the only meeting this week between the Falcons and Wolverines.
• On Friday (Sept. 15), BGSU hosts Michigan in women's volleyball at the Stroh Center (7 p.m.). On Sunday (Sept. 17), UM hosts the Falcons in Ann Arbor (2 p.m.).
• BGSU's men's soccer team beat Michigan on Sept. 4 at Cochrane Stadium in Bowling Green, 2-1.
Bowling Green - UM connections
• Michigan recruiting coordinator and defensive line coach Mike Elston and BGSU head coach Scot Loeffler were both student assistants on the 1997 Michigan staff. They later were both graduate assistants in 1999. They were also roomates while at UM.
• Loeffler recruited UM run game coordinator and running backs coach Mike Hart to Michigan. Also coached him and UM wide receivers coach Ron Bellamy during their time at Michigan.
• BGSU co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Greg Nosal played his last college game at Virginia Tech against Michigan in the 2012 Sugar Bowl.
Bowling Green Against Ranked Opponents
• Bowling Green is playing a team ranked by the Associated Press for the first time since
playing then-No. 9 Notre Dame in 2019.
• Bowling Green's last win over a ranked opponent came in the 2013 MAC Championship game when the Falcons faced No. 16 and undefeated Northern Illinois. BGSU beat the Jordan Lynch-led Huskies 47-27.
• BGSU has a history of wins over ranked opponents. Amongst the wins over ranked opponents include victories over then-No. 25 Pitt (2008), then-No. 12 Northern Illinois (when ESPN's College GameDay aired from Bowling Green) in 2003 and then-No. 16 Purdue in 2003.
• Some BG victories under current head coach Scot Loeffler over some schools who nearly were ranked at the time of the game include last year against Marshall (34-31, OT) who came in at No. 26 after beating Notre Dame the week prior and an eventual nine-win Minnesota (14-10) team in 2021.
• Bowling Green is 4-9 all-time against teams ranked by the Associated Press.
Â
Looking Back at the Eastern Illinois Win
• The win for Bowling Green was the 175th win all-time for the Falcons at Doyt Perry Stadium.
• Bowling Green finished with 509 yards of total offense. It was the first time the Falcons had over 500 yards of total offense since the 2019 opener against Morgan State when BG had 620 yards of total offense.
• The Falcons scored on each of their first three possessions of the second half. The fourth and final possession BGSU ran out the clock.Â
• BGSU scored on six-of-nine possessions with only two punts. The final possession of the game the Falcons ran out the clock.Â
• BGSU had two players finish with 100 receiving yards (Fanning Jr. and Keith). It was the first time since the 2021 Buffalo game (Oct. 30).
• QB Connor Bazelak was 6-of-6 passing for 86 yards and one passing touchdown on BGSU's opening drive of the game. Bazelak started the game completing 12-straight passes. During the streak he accrued 163 passing yards and one touchdown.
• Bazelak finished with 319 passing yards. It is the ninth time in his career he surpassed 300 passing yards and 24th time he has surpassed 200 passing yards.
Rushing Game Improvement in 2023
• The Bowling Green rushing attack has taken a big step forward two games into 2023. Bowling Green is tied for No. 15 in the nation with 16 rushes of 10+ yards, which is 30 percent of its 2022 output of 53.
• Bowling Green already has three rushing touchdowns by running backs which is one more than all last season. BGSU only had eight rushing touchdowns in 2022 with two by quarterbacks and four by tight end Harold Fannin Jr.Â
• With 332 rushing yards through two games, BGSU is already 25.5 percent to its 2022 total of 1,304 rushing yards.
• The return of RB Terion Stewart has bolstered the rushing game. Stewart sat out 2022 to focus on mental health and academics. He currently is No. 1 in the BGSU record book for career yards per carry at 6.6.
• The Falcons averaged 6.2 yards per rush in the season opener at Liberty on 191 rushing yards. Both numbers are the best for the BGSU ground game since the 2021 season when the Falcons played at Buffalo. In that game the Falcons rushed for 221 yards on 8.19 yards per carry.
Sipp Jr. is Filling Up the Middle on DefenseÂ
• ILB Joseph Sipp Jr. is No. 24 in the nation and No. 3 in the MAC with 10.0 tackles per game.
• Sipp had a career-high 12 tackles in the season opener at Liberty. It is the second year in a row he led the team in tackles in the season opener. Sipp had 10 stops at UCLA to open 2022 when he became the only freshman in the nation to notch 10+ stops in a collegiate debut last year.Â
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Players Mentioned
QB
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ILB
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RB
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