Falcons’ Fourth Quarter Fight Narrows Gap In Loss To Louisville

Saturday, September 20

Louisville, Ky.

12 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

2-2 , 0-0

Louisville

3-0 , 0-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Bowling Green

Louisville

Falcons’ Fourth Quarter Fight Narrows Gap In Loss To Louisville

September 20, 2025 | Football

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Anderson, Harris Tally Touchdowns In Final Frame

By: by Kyle Edmond, BGSU Athletics

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Bowling Green State University football team concluded their non-conference slate on Saturday (Sept. 20) against the Louisville Cardinals. The Falcons made a strong push in the fourth quarter with touchdowns from Lucian Anderson III and Jacob Harris, but Louisville maintained their advantage for a 40-17 final. For Bowling Green, the Falcons will transition to MAC play next weekend, going on the road to face the Ohio Bobcats on Sept. 27 followed by a bye week.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Louisville won the opening coin toss and elected to defer to the second half. The Falcons opted to receive the opening kick with Louisville defending the south end zone.
On the first play from scrimmage, Chris McMillian powered forward for an 11-yard rush and first down for the Falcons. However, the Louisville defense responded by stalling the drive to force a punt.
The Bowling Green defense answered in similar fashion. After a nine-yard gain on Louisville's first play, the Falcons stood strong to force a three-and-out punt.
On a punt during BGSU's second drive, Louisville muffed the catch with Victor Vazquez pouncing on the loose ball. The fumble recovery gave the Falcons possession at the Louisville 38.
The Falcons turned the turnover into points with Jackson Kleather hitting a 49-yard field goal to put BGSU on the board first with a 3-0 lead.
The Cardinals gave their answer on the ensuing drive, finding the end zone for a 7-3 score.
Bowling Green made a few chunk plays before the end of the quarter. Drew Pyne hit Jyrin Johnson for a 21-yard gain and later scrambled for a 13-yard gain, moving into Louisville territory before the end of the first quarter with the score still at 7-3.
The first points of the second quarter came on a one-yard rush for Louisville, stretching their lead to 14-3. The Cardinals later added a punt return for a touchdown to their tally for a 21-3 count with the score holding to halftime.
Louisville opened the second half with a field goal, adding two more later in the quarter, including a 57-yarder, for a 30-3 score at the end of the third.
The field goals continued in the fourth quarter with Louisville extending their lead to 33-3.
The Falcons got back on the board with their first touchdown of the day. Lucian Anderson III found space for a 75-yard rushing touchdown, cutting the score down to 33-10.
Louisville answered on their next drive with a score of their own for a 40-10 tally.
The back-and-forth continued with Pyne finding Jacob Harris for a 38-yard receiving touchdown, bringing the score to 40-17.

HOUSE CALL for Lucian Anderson III 💪

pic.twitter.com/hBuWyWBMpN
— BGSU Football (@BG_Football) September 20, 2025

GAME NOTES

LB Caden Marshall made his first career start.
Held UL to 15 yards rushing in the first half.
BGSU finished with three sacks. The Falcons have notched at least one sack in 37 of their last 43 games.
BGSU's 75-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter was the longest scrimmage score for the Falcons this season.
Lucian Anderson III recorded a career-long 75-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter.
LB Caden Marshall notched his first career sack.
TE Jyrin Johnson finished with a reception, which increases his active game streak with at least one reception to 37 games. He entered the week with the second-longest streak in the nation.
CB Keyon Washington notched his first career sack in the third quarter.

STAT LEADERS

Drew Pyne: 12-for-22, 131 passing yards, 1 touchdown
Jacob Harris: 4 receptions, 46 receiving yards, 1 touchdown
Lucian Anderson III: 4 carries, 79 rushing yards, 1 touchdown
Gideon Lampron: 13 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss
Kal-El Pascal: 9 tackles, 1 tackle for loss
Caden Marshall: 8 tackles, 1 sack, 2 tackles for loss

FROM THE LOCKER ROOM
"We played a very talented football team, played them hard at times… this is one we knew would be a tough opponent because of the matchups. But we felt like we came in and competed at a high level. There were opportunities for us to make it a close game, again, the self-discipline issues that we've had got into a situation where we threw a pick after getting the ball on their side, I think we were down 14-3 at that point in time. We gave up seven points off of that drive and couldn't stop them on the perimeter. I thought they were going to come in and just run the ball, but they kept spitting it out there on their edges, and getting the ball to their athletes, and we had issues all day in terms of getting the ball outside. They were very efficient in that capacity, in their passing game. Penalties hurt us when we had opportunities to make it a close game. The good thing is that we are still becoming and a team that's still developing, we didn't quit… We talked about winning the fourth quarter and I believe we did that. We were able to do some good things on the ground; we go to marry that with our passing attack and not putting ourselves in positions to give up opportunities where we could have scored and turn the ball over. We lost the turnover battle, and that's where we are. We just continue to grow and grow up fast because we have the toughest part of the season coming up in the MAC as this is where it counts. Whether we had won this game or not, it doesn't change the fact that the season starts next week at Ohio, but we have to learn, we have to grow because we cannot become champions with penalties and shooting ourselves in the foot at times." --Eddie George

UP NEXT

Bowling Green will remain on the road for their next contest, traveling down to Athens, Ohio to face the Ohio Bobcats for a noon kick on Sept. 27. The game will be aired on CBS Sports Network.
BGSU's next home game will be the Battle of I-75, scheduled for Oct. 11 at Doyt Perry Stadium. The kick time will be announced closer to the game.