Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
UMass
Bowling Green Concludes 2025 Schedule on Tuesday at UMass
November 20, 2025 | Football
Tuesday, Nov. 25 | 4:30 p.m. | McGuirk Alumni Stadium | Amherst, Mass. |
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BOWLING GREEN
FALCONS (3-8, 1-6 MAC) |
vs. | UMASS MINUTEMEN (0-11, 0-7 MAC) |
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| WATCH : WatchESPN | LISTEN : WFRO The Eagle 99 | STATS : View | ||||
Thanksgiving Tuesday in New England
• Bowling Green State University concludes the regular season on Tuesday against the UMass Minutemen.
• BGSU is playing on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving for the first time since 2023, when the Falcons faced Western Michigan.
• BGSU is 2–5 all-time when playing on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, with wins in 2023 (at Western Michigan) and 2015 (at Ball State).
• The last six times BGSU has played on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, the game has been on the road. This year's matchup at UMass marks the seventh straight road game for BGSU on this mid-week Thanksgiving date.
Bowling Green vs. UMass
• BGSU leads the all-time series with UMass, 4–0. UMass spent 2012–15 as a football affiliate member in the MAC before joining as a full member in 2025.
Five Top Storylines
• TE Jyrin Johnson ranks No. 1 in the nation with an active reception streak of 44 games. He is tied for No. 9 nationally and is No. 1 in the MAC among tight ends with 35 receptions. His 12.7 yards per reception ranks No. 4 among tight ends with at least 50 targets, while his 446 receiving yards rank No. 11 among FBS tight ends and No. 1 among MAC tight ends.
• LB Gideon Lampron ranks No. 3 in the nation in solo tackles (59) and No. 5 in total tackles (109). Lampron is also No. 5 nationally and No. 2 among linebackers with 15.5 tackles for loss. He is the only player in the nation with 100+ tackles and 15+ tackles for loss. Lampron leads BGSU with 16 third-down stops that have forced fourth down.
• CB MJ Cannon is the only cornerback in the nation with 50+ tackles (50), 1.0+ sack (1), 2+ interception (1), 1+ fumble recovery (1), and 5.0+ tackles for loss (5.0). Cannon is one of just 11 players nationally — regardless of position — to meet those standards and joins safties Ahmaad Moses (SMU) and Walker O'Steen (Jacksonville State) as the only three defensive backs on the list.
• In records dating back to 1995, RB Austyn Dendy's 378 rushing yards are the second-most in program history through a player's first four collegiate games, trailing only Anthon Samuel (428).
• TE Jacob Harris is tied for No. 4 in the nation among tight ends with five receiving touchdowns. BGSU is the only FBS program in 2025 to start four different quarterbacks and Harris has caught at least one touchdown from each of them. The four quarterbacks are: Drew Pyne (6), Lucian Anderson II (2), Hunter Najm (2) and Baron May (1).
More on the UMass Series
• In BGSU's last two meetings with UMass, the Falcons' offense broke Minutemen records for most yards allowed to an opponent.
• In 2014 at McGuirk Alumni Stadium, BGSU totaled 668 yards of offense. In 2015—just two weeks after Notre Dame posted 681 yards—BGSU reset the mark again on Oct. 10 with 725 yards of total offense, which remains a BGSU single-game record. That performance now ranks second all-time against UMass, as Liberty recorded 730 total yards in 2019.
BGSU's First Game against UMass was at Gillette Stadium
• Bowling Green played its game against UMass in an NFL stadium on Oct. 20, 2012, at Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots.
• The Falcons posted a 24-0 shutout, their first shutout at the time since 2004.
• BGSU's defense dominated, allowing just 118 total yards and holding UMass under 100 rushing yards for the fourth straight game.
• UMass went three-and-out or turned the ball over on 11-of-15 drives.
• The Falcons recorded two pick-sixes, including a 48-yard interception return by Dwayne Woods.
• Matt Schilz threw touchdown passes to Shaun Joplin (16 yards) and current BGSU special teams coordinator Alex Bayer (2 yards).
• Tyler Tate added a 42-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
• BGSU totaled 282 yards of offense (188 passing, 94 rushing).
• The game drew an announced crowd of 10,846 at Gillette Stadium.
BGSU's Last Trip to Amherst
• Bowling Green earned a 47-42 victory over UMass on September 26, 2015, at McGuirk Alumni Stadium, which is the only time BGSU has faced UMass in Amherst.
• The Falcons piled up 668 total yards of offense on 108 plays, the most yards ever allowed by UMass in program history at the time. The 2015 meeting BGSU did this again with 725 total yards. Liberty (730) passed that number in 2019.
• Sophomore linebacker James Sanford forced a fumble with 1:46 remaining that was recovered by true freshman defensive back Clinton Stephens, allowing BGSU to run out the clock and seal the win.
• Quarterback James Knapke threw for a career-high 443 yards (38-of-59, 3 TD, 3 INT), marking the fourth-most passing yards in a single game in BGSU history, and produced the program's first trio of 100-yard receivers since 2005 (Roger Lewis 148,
Ryan Burbrink 132, Ronnie Moore 109).
• Travis Greene rushed for 110 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries, surpassing 2,000 career rushing yards in the process, while Moore added a rushing and receiving touchdown.
• The BGSU defense forced four turnovers and limited UMass to only 49 rushing yards on the day.
• Five of Bowling Green's six touchdown drives took less than two minutes, showcasing the explosive nature of the Falcon offense.
• The 108 offensive plays by BGSU were the second-most in a game that season for the Falcons.
Bowling Green - UMass connections
• UMass head coach Joe Harasymiak was the co-defensive coordinator at Minnesota in 2021 when BGSU beat the Gophers, 14-13, for one of the biggest upsets of the 2021 season. BGSU was a 31-point underdog.
• UMass offensive coordinator and quarterback coach Mike Bajakian served in the same position at Boston College in 2019 when BGSU senior analyst/running backs Brian White was the running backs coach. Bajakian replaced Scot Loeffler in 2019 at BC who had left to become the head coach at Bowling Green.
Vibing with Jyrin
• TE Jyrin Johnson leads all MAC tight ends in numerous categories, including receptions (35), receiving yards (446), YAC (246), contested catches (8), first downs (21), broken tackles (7), and yards per catch among tight ends with at least 50 targets (12.7).
• Johnson also ranks highly nationally among tight ends, including No. 9 in receptions, No. 11 in receiving yards, No. 2 in contested catches, No. 13 in first downs, No. 10 in broken tackles, No. 8 in YAC, and No. 4 in yards per catch.
Harris is the Name
• TE Jacob Harris leads BGSU with five receiving touchdowns, a total that ranks tied for No. 4 nationally among tight ends. He has caught a touchdown from each of the four BGSU quarterbacks who have played this season.
• He has five contested catches, tied for No. 9 nationally among tight ends. Harris also ranks No. 7 among MAC tight ends with 17 receptions and No. 5 among MAC tight ends with 176 receiving yards.
• Harris is the son of Josh Harris, who was the first quarterback in Urban Meyer's Hall of Fame head-coaching career. The elder Harris played a key role in helping Meyer's spread-option offense gain prominence, contributing to a successful season and earning a brief NFL opportunity.
Dendy is Dandy
• RB Austyn Dendy made his collegiate debut at Kent State, rushing 20 times for 93 yards and his first career touchdown.
• Although he has played in only BGSU's last four games, Dendy already leads the team in rushes (86), rushing yards (378) and is tied for the team lead in rushing touchdowns (3).
• Dendy has rushed for 100+ yards in back-to-back games, making him the first Falcon to do so since Terion Stewart in 2023 (vs. Akron and at Buffalo).
• At one point against Akron, Dendy carried the ball nine straight times up the middle on a single drive, picking up three first downs.
• Dendy, a redshirt-freshman transfer from Missouri, leads BGSU with 23 first downs—20 rushing and three receiving.
Everybody's All-American
• LB Gideon Lampron is having a tremendous season, leading BGSU with 109 tackles and 15.5 tackles for loss.
• In records dating back to 2005, he is the first Falcon to reach 100 tackles and 10 tackles for loss by game No. 10.
• He is one of 69 FBS players to reach those numbers by game No. 10 since 2005.
• Lampron is one of 23 FBS players since 2005 to record 109+ tackles and 15.5+ TFLs through game No. 11.
• An FCS All-American at Dayton in 2024, Lampron has accumulated 208 tackles and 39 TFLs in 22 games over the last two seasons, averaging 9.5 tackles and 1.8 TFLs per game.
