Falcons Soar Down South to the Peach State for a Clash with Georgia Tech

Saturday, September 30

Atlanta, Ga.

3:30 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

Georgia Tech

Photo by: Scott W. Grau

Falcons Soar Down South to the Peach State for a Clash with Georgia Tech

September 25, 2023 | Football

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By: by Vincent Briedis, BGSU Strategic Communications

Falcons Soar Down South to the Peach State
• Bowling Green State University concludes non-conference play on Saturday when the Falcons travel to Atlanta to face the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
• The game will kick at 3:30 p.m. on the Flats and will be broadcast live on ACC Network.

Five Top Storylines
• Bowling Green is playing in the state of Georgia for just the second time in program history. BG also played at Georgia Tech in 2018.
• WR Odieu Hiliare has a catch in 39-straight games, which includes his career at Alabama A&M (2019-21). It is the fifth-best active streak in the nation. The Belle Glade, Fla., native has 175 career receptions for 2,291 career receiving yards and 21 receiving touchdowns.
• RB Terion Stewart rushed 12 times for 107 yards (8.9 ypr.) and one touchdown last time out against Ohio. Stewart is averaging 6.6 yards per rush for his career (139 career rushes), which currently ranks No. 1 all-time in program history.
• BGSU running backs have rushed for four touchdowns through four games, three of which are by Stewart (sat out 2022). That is already double BG's output by running backs in 2022.
• Bowling Green has limited all four of its opponents this season to under 400 yards of total offense, including Liberty (389) who currently ranks No. 11 nationally (501.0 ypg). BGSU is the only team to hold Michigan under 400 yards. Georgia Tech is No. 17 nationally in total offense at 480 total yards per game.

Loeffler and BGSU Coaching Staff to Take Part in Coach to Cure MD
• Scot Loeffler and his coaching staff will take part in Coach to Cure MD on Saturday at Georgia Tech.
• Coach to Cure MD is a nationwide project designed to build awareness and funding to support researchers trying to find a treatment and cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy research.
• The Bowling Green coaching staff will be wearing the Coach to Cure MD
patches during Saturday's game.
• This is the 15th-annual Coach to Cure MD effort and all American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) members will wear a Coach to Cure MD logo patch during games this week. Last year they took a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Coach to Cure MD is a partnership between the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD), the largest nonprofit organization in the United States focused entirely on Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, the leading childhood genetic killer of young men.

Bowling Green vs. Georgia Tech
• Georgia Tech won the only previous meeting between these two programs in a series that started in 2018.
• Bowling Green is 3-9 all-time against current schools from the Atlantic Coast Conference. BGSU is 2-0 against Syracuse, earning wins in 1973 and 1976. The Falcons also defeated then-No. 25 Pitt to open the 2008 season. BGSU's last game against an ACC team was also the last time the Falcons and Yellow Jackets met in 2018.
• BGSU is 0-1 vs. Boston College, 0-1 vs. North Carolina, 0-1 vs. NC State, 1-3 vs. Pitt, 2-0 vs. Syracuse and 0-3 vs. Virginia Tech.
• A win over Georgia Tech would be the first for the Falcons over a team while they were an active member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
• The Falcons did beat ACC-founding member Maryland in College Park, Md., in 2015, the Terrapins' first year in the Big Ten.

Scot Loeffler's time in the ACC
• BGSU head coach Scot Loeffler spent six years in the ACC as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Loeffler was Frank Beamer's last OC at Virginia Tech from 2013-15. He later served as deputy head coach and offensive coordinator for head coach Steve Addazio at Boston College from 2016-18 before taking the BGSU job in 2019.
• Loeffler's first game as the offensive coordinator at Boston College was against Georgia Tech in Dublin, Ireland, to start the 2016 season.
• Loeffler's last game at Bobby Dodd Stadium was as the offensive coordinator at Virginia Tech. In 2015 the Hokies came to Atlanta and won, 23-21, when Georgia Tech celebrated its 1990 National Championship team (25 years).
• Loeffler and the Hokies also left Bobby Dodd Stadium in 2013 with a 17-10 win, which is his only other time as a visitor at GT.
• Loeffler as an OC against Georgia Tech is 2-2 all-time with both wins coming at Bobby Dodd Stadium.

Scotty Miller Once a Falcon Always a Falcon
• Despite the one-sided affair in favor of Georgia Tech in 2018, former BGSU wide receiver Scotty Miller had himself a day.
• Miller led all players with 10 receptions for 117 receiving yards in the 2018 meeting with Georgia Tech.
• Miller signed with the Atlanta Falcons heading into the 2023 season after appearing in 50 career games with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2019-22, including being one of Tom Brady's targets during the Super Bowl LV season.

Home Sweet Georgia
• Bowling Green has five players who hail from the state of Georgia.
• QB Lucian Anderson is from Athens (Clarke Central HS), OT Darius Gaddy is from Atlanta (Meadowcreek), OLB Alijah Williams and LS Aiden Wilson are from Buford (Buford HS) and ILB Chris Williams is from Alpharetta (King's Ridge Christian).

Next Game is at Miami
• Bowling Green and Georgia Tech each will face Miami on Oct. 7. BGSU will travel to Oxford, Ohio to face the Miami University RedHawks, while Georgia Tech heads to Miami Gardens to face the University of Miami Hurricanes.
• Miami (OH) opened the 2023 at Miami, which the Hurricanes won, 38-3.

Bowling Green - GT connections
• Georgia Tech's Braelen Oliver transferred from Minnesota where he spent 2018-22. In BGSU's 2021 win at Minnesota, Oliver made three tackles, forced a fumble and had one QB hurry. In 2020 he was teammates at Minnesota with BGSU's Ali Saad.

Falcons Set to Become Road Warriors
• Bowling Green starts a three-game road swing on Saturday at Georgia Tech. The Falcons will then travel to Miami (OH) on Oct. 7 and Buffalo on Oct. 14.
• After last Saturday, Bowling Green will not play in the cozy confines of Doyt Perry Stadium until Oct. 21 when Akron comes to town. That is Week No. 8 of the college football season.
• BGSU is the only school in the nation that has just two home games through the first seven weeks of the college football season.
• Once the Falcons play on Oct. 21, only BGSU, Fresno State, Nevada, South Carolina, UTSA and Virginia will have played just three home games through Oct. 21. Nevada, South Carolina and UTSA will play home game No. 3 on Oct. 14. Virginia on Oct. 7 and Fresno State plays home game No. 3 on Sept. 30.

Milestone Watch
• RB Terion Stewart needs 78 rushing yards to become the 40th Falcon to reach 1,000-career rushing yards.
• WR Odieu Hiliare needs 74 receiving yards to become the 41st Falcon to reach 1,000 receiving yards.
• Hiliare needs 25 receptions for 200 career receptions. He needs 27 receptions to reach 100 receptions as a Falcon.
• QB Connor Bazelak needs 135 passing yards to reach 8,000 career passing yards and his next passing touchdown will be the 40th of his career.
• WR Abdul-Fatai Ibrahim needs 27 receptions to reach 200 catches for his career.

Howell Coming off the Edge
• OLB Cashius Howell has a pass rush grade of 91.0 per Pro Football Focus.
• Howell's pass rush grade is the fourth-best grade in the nation among all players with at least 10 total pressures. He trails: Ben Bell (Texas State, 92.4), Laiatu Latu (UCLA, 91.9) and Collin Oliver (Oklahoma State, 91.9).
• Howell leads BGSU with 2.5 sacks.