Bowling Green State University Athletics
Saturday, October 10
Bowling Green, Ohio
2:00 p.m. ET
Bowling Green State University
vs
UMass
Falcons Return Home To Host UMass On Hall Of Fame Weekend
October 06, 2015 | Football
Bowling Green Falcons (3-2, 1-0 MAC)
vs.
UMass Minutemen (1-3, 0-0 MAC)
vs.
UMass Minutemen (1-3, 0-0 MAC)
| GAME INFORMATION | Saturday, Oct. 10, 2:00 pm |
| LOCATION | Bowling Green, Ohio (Doyt L. Perry Stadium) |
| TELEVISION | ESPN3 |
| RADIO | Falcon Radio Network (Todd Walker, John Gibson) |
| LIVE STATS | BGSUFalcons.com |
| WATCH ONLINE | ESPN3.com/WatchESPN |
| LISTEN ONLINE | BGSUFalcons.com |
| GAME NOTES | BGSU | UMass | MAC |
Falcons Return Home To HosT UMass On Hall Of Fame Weekend
Following a hard-fought 28-22 road win over Buffalo last weekend to open Mid-American Conference play, the Bowling Green State University football team returns home to host the UMass Minutemen this weekend. After playing four of their first five on the road, the Falcons will play at home in back-to-back weeks for the only time this season. BGSU enters the game with a 3-2 record overall, 1-0 in MAC play. UMass, ,who will be playing their MAC opener this weekend, is 1-3 overall coming off a 24-14 win over FIU last weekend at home - their first nonconference win since 2011. Saturday's game will be part of BGSU's Hall of Fame Weekend, which will see five new members inducted into the BGSU Athletics Hall of Fame.
A Win Against UMass Would...
• Make the Falcons 4-0 all-time against the Minutemen
• Improve BGSU's overall record to 4-2 on the season and make them 2-0 in MAC play
• Mark the Falcons' 14th straight win over a MAC East Division opponent
• Be the third straight season that BGSU has started MAC play at least 2-0 and also the fourth straight year in which the Falcons have won their MAC home opener
Falcon Facts From Buffalo
• Despite the wind and rain on Saturday, Bowling Green's offense totaled 536 yards on just 71 total plays.
• Matt Johnson completed an efficient 23-of-29 passes for 324 yards in Saturday's win. His 29 attempts were 15 fewer than any other game this season. It was the sixth time in six starts under Dino Babers that Johnson has passed for more than 300 yards in a game.
• Travis Greene rushed 17 times for a season-high 119 yards in the game. It was his 15th 100-yard rushing performance in his career, but his first this season.
• Roger Lewis caught 10 passes for 201 yards and a touchdown. It was his third 200-yard receiving performance in the last four weeks. No BGSU receiver has ever had three 200-yard receiving games in their career.
• James Sanford had 13 tackles and an interception in the win. It was the second consecutive MAC opener in which he has shined, totaling nine tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in the 2014 opener at UMass.
• The win marked Dino Babers' 30th career victory. In just his fourth season as a head coach, Babers reached 30 wins in just his 45th career game.
• The 28-22 win over Buffalo marked the Falcons' fifth consecutive in the series and their 13th straight over MAC East foes.
• The 212 rushing yards for the Falcons on 42 attempts marked the first time this season that the Falcons' rushing attack has surpassed the 200-yard mark.
• Although just four players caught passes, Moore (21), Burbrink (20) and Lewis (19) all extended streaks for consecutive games with a catch.
Head Coach Dino Babers
• Dino Babers is in his second season at the helm of the Orange and Brown, and his fourth season overall as a head coach. He has a career record of 30-15 and has won a championship in all three seasons thus far.
• Babers has impressed in his Bowling Green tenure to date, compiling a record of 11-8 in just his second season.
• In his first season, Babers led a team which lost its starting QB in week one, winning eight games. In those eight wins were a victory over a Big Ten foe (Indiana), a MAC East Division championship, and Bowling Green's first bowl win since the 2004 season.
• The Falcons went 2-2 through one of the nation's toughest nonconference schedules this season, defeating two Big Ten Conference opponents on the road.
• In just his second season on the BGSU sideline, Babers has compiled an impressive 3-1 record against Big Ten opponents - defeating Indiana, Maryland and Purdue.
The Ziggy Warriors Are Road Warriors
• With their 28-22 win on the road at Buffalo Saturday, the Falcons are now 3-0 this season in road games.
• Bowling Green is one of just three teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision with three road wins to date, joining Temple and Memphis.
School Road Wins in 2015 Opponents
Bowling Green 3 at Maryland, at Purdue, at Buffalo
Memphis 3 at Kansas, at Bowling Green, at South Florida
Temple 3 at Cincinnati, at UMass, at Charlotte
BGSU Among Group Of Five's Most Impressive Early Season Teams
• The Falcons are one of just three teams among members from the Group of Five conferences (MAC, CUSA, AAC, Sun Belt, MWC) to have multiple wins this season over Power Five conference opponents.
• Bowling Green's two road wins over Big Ten Conference opponents lead the Group of Five teams with multiple wins against Power Five conference teams. Toledo and Boise State have also defeated two Power Five opponents.
• However, the Falcons are the only team from the Group of Five to have both of their Power Five wins on the road.
School (P5 wins in 2015 Opponents
Bowling Green 2 at Maryland (2-2), at Purdue (1-3)
Boise State 2 Washington (2-2), at Virginia (1-3)
Toledo 2 vs. Arkansas (1-3), Iowa State (1-2)
Babers' #FalconFast Clicking In 2015
• The Falcons' offense has been good in each of the past two seasons, but it is already showing why expectations were so high entering the 2015 season with every offensive starter back from the 2014 campaign.
• Bowling Green had their fifth consecutive 500-yard offensive performance Saturday at Buffalo, and now has 11 such performances in just 19 games under Babers.
• In the first game of the season against No. 25 Tennessee, the Falcons racked up 557 yards of total offense. BGSU followed up that week two performance with 692 yards in week two on the road at Maryland, just 14 yards shy of the school record. The Falcons scored 48 points in the win, tied for the most points in a game under Babers. In week three against Memphis, the Falcons averaged 7.8 yards per play and had 579 yards on just 74 total plays.
• During the first four weeks of the 2015 season, the Falcons had four of their top six offensive performances during Babers' tenure.
• So far in 2015, the Falcons are averaging 36.4 points per game and 580.6 yards per game.
Johnson A Star In Babers' Offense
• Quarterback Matt Johnson (Harrisburg, Pa.) has been a star in his six starts under head coach Dino Babers. Despite missing 13 games a season ago due to injury, Johnson has passed for 2,397 yards in just six starts under Babers.
• To start the 2015 season, Johnson passed for 400 yards in each of his first four starts. He is the first player in school history to ever pass for 400 yards in back-to-back games, three times in a season, and four times in a career.
• Although Johnson's streak of consecutive 400-yard games ended at four, only three players have ever had a longer streak within the same season.
• In his six starts under Babers, Johnson has completed 182-of-273 (66.7%) passes for 2,397 (399.5 ypg) yards and 15 touchdowns. More impressively, Johnson has just two interceptions in six starts under Babers.
Johnson game-by-game under Babers
Opp. Cmp. Att. Pct. Yds. TD INT
at WKU 25 36 .694 313 1 0
at Tennessee 27 49 .551 424 2 0
at Maryland 36 55 .655 491 6 1
Memphis 28 45 .622 443 4 0
at Purdue 43 59 .729 402 1 1
at Buffalo 23 29 .793 324 1 0
TOTAL 182 273 .667 2,397 15 2
Falcon Teammates On Historical Pace
• Johnson and wide receiver Roger Lewis are both on a historical pace through the first five games of the season.
• Johnson has passed for an FBS-leading 2,084 yards in five games this season and is just 1,967 yards away from the school record with at least seven games left to play in the regular season.
• Johnson's passing yardage is sixth-most in the NCAA for a players' first five games of a season since the year 2000.
• Additionally, Johnson is just 595 passing yards away from breaking into BGSU's top 10 for a single-season.
• Lewis leads the nation with 760 receiving yards through just five games this season.
• He is just 202 yards shy from breaking into BGSU's top 10 all-time, and 1,010 yards away from the school record with at least seven regular season games remaining.
• Lewis' 760 yards through five games are the sixth-most in the NCAA since 2000 for players first five games of a season.
Sanford Shines In Second Straight MAC Opener
• Linebacker James Sanford (Xenia, Ohio) came up big for the second straight season in the Falcons' MAC opener on Saturday at Buffalo, recording a career-high 13 tackles with 1.0 tackle for loss, a pass breakup and his first career interception.
• It wasn't the first time in which Sanford has shined in a MAC opener, especially on the road, as he came up huge a season ago in a win at UMass to begin MAC play.
• Last season, Sanford had nine tackles, 2.0 sacks, a pass breakup, a fumble forced and a fumble recovery.
Lewis Goes For 200 Yards For Third Time In 2015
• Wide receiver Roger Lewis caught 10 passes for 201 yards on Saturday at Buffalo, the third time this season he has surpassed the 200-yard mark in a game.
• Lewis, who currently leads the nation with 760 receiving yards, is the only player to ever have three 200-yard games in a season and a career. He has done so in three of the last four games.
• In the first half against Buffalo, Lewis had nine catches for 195 yards and a touchdown.
•Two weeks ago, Lewis caught seven passes for a career-high 261 yards and three touchdowns against Memphis. The 261 yards were second-most in school history and seventh-most in MAC history.
• It was Lewis' second-straight 200-yard receiving performance, the first player in BGSU football history to ever accomplish that feat in consecutive games.
• Since the year 2000, Roger Lewis is the only player in the NCAA to have three 200-yard receiving games in the first five games of a season.
Trio Of Falcon Receivers Are Streaking
• Three Bowling Green receivers are riding impressive streaks, as all three have caught a pass in at least 19 consecutive games. In two cases, those streaks stretch back to the 2013 season.
• Ronnie Moore leads the trio with a reception in 21 straight games dating back to the MAC Championship Game in 2013. On Saturday, Moore had five catches for 31 yards.
• Sure-handed Ryan Burbrink has caught a pass in 20 consecutive games dating back to the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl in 2013. Burbrink registered four receptions for 68 yards against Buffalo.
• Roger Lewis also has an impressive streak going, having caught a pass in all 19 career games he has played in. He caught 10 passes for 201 yards and a touchdown in the win at Buffalo last week.
Lewis Already In The Record Books
• Dating back to 2000, only six receivers have ever had three 200-yard receiving games in a season, according to sports-reference.com.
• No player has done so in the first five games of a season, and nobody has had more than three 200-yard games in a given season.
• BGSU's Roger Lewis joins an impressive list of wide receivers to have had three 200-yard receiving games in the same season since 2000. That list includes: Amari Cooper (Alabama, 2014), Davante Adams (Fresno State, 2013), Stedman Bailey (West Virginia, 2012), Danario Alexander (Missouri, 2009) and Ashley Lelie (Hawaii, 2001).
2015 #GutGang Feasting At The All-You-Can-Eat Pancake Buffet
• Bowling Green features one of the most experienced offensive line units in the entire country, and it has showed thus far.
• The Falcons' have 150 offensive line career starts on the roster, second-most in FBS football. Alex Huettel (46), Logan Dietz (33), Jacob Bennett (33), Tim McAuliffe (19), Ben Steward (14) and Ryan Hunter (5) make up the 145.
• Bowling Green was one of just nine schools in the entire country to start the same five players on the offensive line every game last season. The Falcons were joined by Fresno State, UL-Lafayette, Northern Illinois, Ohio State, Rutgers, Tulane, Wisconsin and Rice. BGSU is the only one of those nine that returns all five starters in 2015.
Greene Running Towards History In 2015
Redshirt senior Travis Greene is in his third season at running back for the Falcons in 2015, after coming to BGSU and playing wide receiver his first two years on campus. Greene has set the school record for most rushing yards in a season and nearly broke 1,000 yards a season ago despite missing two games because of injury. What will his third year bring? He is chasing several milestones in the Orange and Brown in 2015, including:
• Currently sits 4th all-time with 2,904 rushing yards...just 519 yards shy of the all-time career record currently held by Dave Preston (1973-76)
• Could become just the second Falcon player ever, behind Paul Miles, to lead Bowling Green in rushing in three consecutive seasons
• Comes into 2015 with 15 career 100-yard rushing games...the school record is 20 held by Dave Preston.
• Last week at Buffalo, Greene rushed 17 times for a season-high 119 yards.
Unchartered Territory
• In it's 96-year history of football, BGSU has only had 36 players rush for 1,000 yards and 36 players have 1,000 receiving yards in their careers. The current roster is loaded, however, as four receivers and two running backs have more than 1,000 career yards.
• Running back Travis Greene has rushed for 2,904 yards in his career (4th all-time), while Fred Coppet has 1,277 rushing yards (26th all-time) for his career.
• Four receivers - Ryan Burbrink, Roger Lewis, Ronnie Moore, and Chris Gallon - have more than 1,000 career receiving yards.
• Ryan Burbrink currently leads the receivers with 1,870 career yards, good for 15th-most in school history.
• Burbrink is followed by Roger Lewis (16th all-time), who currently has 1,853 yards in just 19 career games.
• Ronnie Moore has 1,580 career receiving yards - 20th-most in school history - while Chris Gallon has 1,032 (36th-most).
• Redshirt junior Gehrig Dieter is not far from joining the 1,000 career receiving yards club, currently sitting at 740 yards.
Babers Against The Big Ten
• Head coach Dino Babers is 3-1 during his tenure at Bowling Green against opponents from the Big Ten Conference, following Saturday's 35-28 win at Purdue.
• During his first season, Babers and the Falcons split a pair of games against Big Ten foes, defeating Indiana before losing to Wisconsin.
• This season, Babers and the Falcons defeated Maryland 48-27 on the road during week two before beating the Boilermakers over the weekend.
• The two road wins against a Big Ten team in 2015 marked the first time in school history a team has accomplished that feat.
Johnson Nearing Career Marks
• Quarterback Matt Johnson is nearing several career marks when the Falcons take to the field this Saturday against UMass.
• Johnson enters with 5,983 passing yards in his career, just 17 yards shy of surpassing the 6,000-yard mark for his career. He would become the eighth player in school history to pass for 6,000 yards in a career.
• Johnson is also just two touchdowns away from reaching the 50 touchdown milestone for his career. He has passed for 41 in his career (7th in school history) and rushed for seven more.
Falcons Have Been Beasts Of The East
• Since the start of the 2012 season, Bowling Green has a combined record of 17-1 against foes from the MAC's East Division.
• More impressively, the Falcons have won 13 straight games against MAC East opponents, dating back to a 2012 win over Buffalo in the regular season finale.
• With that success has come results, as the Falcons have won back-to-back MAC East Division titles.
• Bowling Green is undefeated against teams from the MAC East in each of the past two seasons (2013, 2014), directly leading to two MAC Championship Game appearances as the East Division representative.
Falcon Receivers Among Country's Best
• Bowling Green's offense is one of the best in the nation to date, ranking sixth in total offense and second in passing offense.
• More impressively, the Falcons have four of the nation's top 94 individual receivers in terms of receiving yards.
• Roger Lewis is first in the country with 760 receiving yards. He is joined in the top 94 by Ronnie Moore (56th with 343 yards), Ryan Burbrink (90th with 284 yards) and Gehrig Dieter (94th with 280 yards).
• The Falcons are one of just seven programs in the country to have at least four receivers with 15-or-more catches this season. BGSU has six receivers with 10-or-more catches and four with 20-or-more receptions.
Former Falcons In The NFL
• Eight former Falcons were on preseason NFL rosters this season, including four who have played a significant role with NFL teams over the past several years.
• Kory Lichtensteiger is the starting center for the Washington Redskins. He has started every game since the 2010 season.
• Both Chris Jones (PUP list) and Shaun Suisham (IR) have had significant impacts in past seasons for the Patriots and Steelers, respectively. Jones won a Super Bowl last season with the Patriots, while Suisham is signed through 2018 and was a Special Teams captain last season for the Steelers.
• Jude Adjei-Barimah made his debut with the Tampa Bay Bucs over the weekend against the Carolina Panthers, playing on special teams and defense.
• Two other Falcons - Alex Bayer (San Diego Chargers) and Gabe Martin (Arizona Cardinals) - are on NFL practice squads.
Falcons On National TV This Season
• The Orange and Brown are currently scheduled to appear on National TV seven times this season, with every game expected to be broadcast to a national audience.
• The first two games of the season were on national TV, while the game at Purdue was on Big Ten Network.
• This week's game against UMass is scheduled to air on ESPN3.
• In addition, the season's final four regular season games are all expected to air nationally: Ohio (ESPN2), at Western Michigan (ESPN2/ESPNU), Toledo (ESPN2/ESPNU) and Ball State (ESPNU/ESPN3).
Falcons' Red Zone Defense Sharp Saturday
• Bowling Green's red zone defense was sharp on Saturday, allowing Buffalo's offense to score just 22 points on six trips into the red zone. The BG defense held the Bulls to three field goals and two hard-earned touchdowns on the day.
Head Coaches On The Rise
• During the month of June, Athlon Sports named several head coaches who were rising stars in the profession. In just his fourth season as a head coach, Dino Babers made the list.
• Babers is 27-13 in his three year career as a head coach, including an 8-6 record during his first season on the sideline at Bowling Green.
• Despite losing his starting quarterback in the season opener last year, the Falcons still managed to claim the MAC East Division and win the inaugural Camellia Bowl over South Alabama.
Ready To Play At The Doyt
• After playing four of the first five games this season away from home, the Bowling Green football team is ready to return home to play in front of their home fans at Doyt L. Perry Stadium.
• The Falcons are 3-0 in true road games this season, but will certainly welcome playing in front of their loyal fans in the Orange and Brown each of the next two weeks.
Players Mentioned
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