Falcons Roll Along to 38-15 Win over Eastern Illinois

Saturday, September 9

Bowling Green, Ohio

2 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

1-1 , 0-0

Eastern Illinois

1-1 , 0-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Eastern Ill.

Bowling Green

September 09, 2023 | Football

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BGSU rolls up 509 yards of offense in home-opening win

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Connor Bazelak completed over 80 percent of his passes, and two receivers surpassed the 100-yard mark as the Bowling Green State University football team defeated Eastern Illinois University, 38-15, on Saturday afternoon (Sept. 9) at Doyt Perry Stadium.

Bazelak was 23-of-28 through the air for 319 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in the win. Ta'ron Keith (123 yards) and Harold Fannin Jr. (109) combined to catch 13 of those passes for 232 yards.

The Falcons rolled up 509 yards of total offense in the win.

Terion Stewart ran for two touchdowns, while Fannin, Odieu Hiliare and Abdul-Fatai Ibrahim each caught one scoring toss from Bazelak.

Bazelak was 17-of-19 for 206 yards in the first half alone, as the Falcons scored on three of their first drives of the game. The Panthers scored late in the first half to cut the BGSU lead to 21-12, but the Falcons scored 10 points late in the third quarter, with Fannin's TD catch giving the Orange and Brown a 31-12 lead with 15 minutes to go.

EIU countered with a field goal early in the fourth quarter, but a 75-yard drive, capped by Stewart's second scoring run, removed any remaining doubt about the outcome.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Falcons scored touchdowns on three of their first four drives of the game, including an 11-play, 90-yard drive to begin the contest. Connor Bazelak found Odieu Hiliare for the final 10 yards, and BGSU took a 7-0 lead on Alan Anaya's PAT.
• The Panthers responded with a 10-play, 65-yard scoring drive on their opening possession. Pierce Holley completed a 15-yard TD toss to Kevin Daniels. But, the extra-point try hit the left upright and bounced away, and the Falcons remained in the lead, 7-6.
• After an exchange of punts, the Falcons went 50 yards in six plays to take a 14-6 lead early in the second quarter. Bazelak found Ta'ron Keith for 13 yards, then completed a 19-yard pass to Fannin to set BG up at the one. From there, Terion Stewart took the ball the final yard for the score. Anaya's point-after attempt was good.
• BG forced a three-and-out, then went 56 yards in eight plays to take a 21-6 lead. Bazelak threw for his second touchdown of the day, finding Abdul-Fatai Ibrahim in the right corner of the end zone on an 11-yard scoring play.
• The Panthers answered with a 90-yard scoring drive, highlighted by a 23-yard run by punter Jacob Horvath on a fake. On another fourth-down play, Holley found DeAirious Smith for a 31-yard TD, The Panthers attempted a two-point conversion, which was unsuccessful.
• EIU took the opening drive into BGSU territory, but back-to-back sacks, by Cashius Howell and Davon Ferguson, brought up a fourth-and-long play. The next play saw Jalen Huskey intercept a Holley pass in the end zone. Then, the Falcons put together a 14-play, 71-yard drive that culminated in a 27-yard field goal by Anaya with 3:23 remaining in the third quarter.
• The Falcons forced a punt, and the first play of the next drive saw Bazelak find Keith for a 58-yard catch and run. Two plays later, Bazelak and Fannin hooked up for a 19-yard scoring play.
• EIU drove to the BGSU five-yard line on the ensuing drive, but on third and goal, Anthony Hawkins and Demetrius Hardamon combined to sack Holley for a nine-yard loss, and the visitors had to settle for a field goal.
• Camden Orth engineered the Falcons' next drive, as BGSU went 75 yards in just five plays for the final score of the day. Orth's 27-yard pass to Austin Osbourne put the Falcons at the one, and Stewart scored on the next play, with Anaya's PAT capping the game's scoring with 8:35 to go.

TOUCHDOWN AFI 😤

Abdul-Fatai Ibrahim drags both feet for the #SCTop10 TD from Bazelak!

BGSU leads, 21-6. pic.twitter.com/A03C2v2dlX
— BGSU Football (@BG_Football) September 9, 2023

GAME NOTES
• The win for Bowling Green was the 175th win all-time for the Falcons at Doyt Perry Stadium.
• BGSU won its first home opener since beating Morgan State in 2019.
• 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.
• BGSU scored a touchdown on its opening drive of a game for the first time since the 2022 at Central Michigan (Oct. 22). It was the first BGSU passing TD on a game-opening drive since the 2021 Buffalo game (Oct. 30).
• BGSU scored on six-of-nine possessions with only two punts. The final possession of the game the Falcons ran out the clock.
• BGSU had two players finish with 100 receiving yards (Fanning Jr. and Keith). It was the first time since the 2021 Buffalo game.
• WR Odieu Hiliare finished with four receptions, which extends his active streak to games with at least one reception to 37 games. He entered the weekend No. 5 in the nation.
• 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.

STAT LEADERS
• Connor Bazelak 23-of-28 passing for 319 yards and three touchdowns
• Terion Stewart 10 rushes for 51 yards and two touchdowns
• Harold Fannin Jr. seven receptions for 109 yards and one touchdown
• Joseph Sipp Jr. eight tackles
• Cashus Howel 1.5 sacks

FROM THE LOCKER ROOM
"We did a much better job with protection this week. Both Connor [Bazelak] and Cam [Orth] made good decisions. We threw the ball around well and ran the ball okay. We were very efficient throwing the ball today and racked up a lot of YAC. Max called a good game and as a unit operated efficiently. We have an unbelievable stretch coming up. We had a meeting Friday and I thought it went very well. No one is good enough in college football to come in each week and expect to win. With the transfer portal and the way college football is, anyone can win at any moment. We have to win each day with this tough stretch we are going into. As a team we need to have grit, tenacity, and toughness to win." - BGSU head coach Scot Loeffler

UP NEXT
• Bowling Green heads to Ann Arbor to face the No. 2 Michigan Wolverines on Sat., September 16. Kick is set for 7:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.