Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
Buffalo
Bowling Green Returns Home to Host Buffalo on Saturday Afternoon
October 03, 2022 | Football
Falcons Return Home to Host Buffalo
• Bowling Green State University returns to the confines of Doyt Perry Stadium to host the Buffalo Bulls in a meeting of MAC play unbeaten teams.
• Saturday's game is Josh Harris Bobblehead Day and Hall of Fame Day. The 2022 BGSU Hall of Fame Class will be honored after being inducted officially on Friday night.
• It is the 20th meeting between the Falcons and the Bulls and just the seventh meeting with Buffalo prior to the month of November. The 2000, 2001, 2005, 2010, 2014, 2015 and 2021 seasons are the other years.
• The game will kick at 12 p.m. and be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Bowling Green vs. Buffalo
• Bowling Green continues Mid-American Conference action on Saturday against Buffalo.
• BGSU leads the all-time series with UB, 12-7, who has been in the MAC since 2000.
• Bowling Green is 4-1 against UB when the Falcons hold the Bulls below 300 yards of total offense.Â
• Bowling Green is 10-3 against UB when the Falcons accumulate 350+ yards of total offense.
• Bowling Green is 5-1 against UB when the Falcons win the turnover battle. They are 4-4 when they don't.
Five Top Storylines
• Bowling Green is looking to start MAC play 2-0 for the first time since 2015 when the Falcons went 6-0 to start league play.
• The Falcons have 11-different players that have recorded at least one full sack this season, which is the most in the nation. They share the spot with Cincinnati.
• QB Matt McDonald is one of three FBS quarterbacks with 13+ passing touchdowns and one or few interceptions. He joins Grayson McCall (Coastal Carolina) and Drake Maye (North Carolina). McCall (14 TDs) and Maye (19 TDs) each have one interception like McDonald.
• TE Christian Sims is No. 7 in the nation among tight ends with 4.0 receptions per game.
• WR Odieu Hiliare has a catch in 27-straight games, which includes his career at Alabama A&M. It is tied for the 16th-best active streak in the nation. The Alabama A&M transfer has 120 career receptions for 1,624 career receiving yards and 17 receiving touchdowns.
The 2013 Meeting in Orchard Park
• The 2013 meeting took place at the Bills' Ralph Wilson Stadium. BGSU took home a 24-7 win to clinch a spot in the MAC Championship game.
• BGSU shut down the Buffalo offense, holding the Bulls to 236 yards of offense. UB entered the game having won eight of previous nine games, but the Falcons kept the Bulls to just one second quarter touchdown, the team's lowest scoring output of the year. Most notably, running back Braden Oliver was smothered, rushing for just 46 yards, 123 below his average in conference play entering the game.
Bowling Green - Buffalo Connections
• Bowling Green defensive coordinator Eric Lewis was the secondary coach at Buffalo in 2014, replacing current Buffalo head coach Maurice Linguist when he left for the same position at Iowa State.
• Buffalo wide receiver coach Kevin Sherman was on staff at Virginia Tech as the wide receivers coach when BGSU co-offensive coordinator/tight ends coach Greg Nosal was an All-ACC offensive lineman.
• Buffalo's linebacker coach Kevin Corless served in the same position at Samford last season when current BGSU cornerback Jordan Oladokun was on the team.
The Sack Game and the Bowling Green Falcons
• Bowling Green is tied for No. 3 in the nation with 20 team sacks. The Falcons are also tied for No. 38 in the nation with seven sacks allowed.
• Bowling Green is one of two teams in the nation to have 17+ sacks and allow seven or fewer sacks. The other team is Temple.
Bowling Green Spreading the Sacks Around
• Not only is Bowling Green tied for No. 3 in the nation with 20 team sacks. The Falcons also spread those sacks around. Bowling Green has 1 Falcons with at least one full sack on the year, which is tops in the nation with Cincinnati (who leads nation with 23 team sacks).
Bowling Green in the Plus on Turnover Margin
• Bowling Green is +6 in the turnover margin through five games. The Falcons had also forced 2+ turnovers in four-straight games dating back to 2021 until the streak was snapped at MSU.
• Bowling Green's first two turnovers are both errant snaps over the quarterback's head.
• The Falcons are No. 10 in the country in turnover margin and are No. 1 in the MAC.
McDonald In the National Rankings
• QB Matt McDonald is No. 1 in the MAC and tied for No. 14 in the nation with 13 passing touchdowns. His 22.5 points responsible per game ranks No. 1 in the MAC and No. 4 in the nation. Three of his passing touchdowns have come in overtime.
• McDonald in four played games has already passed his 2021 output of 12 passing touchdowns.
McDonald Continues to Elevate his Game
• Since throwing three interceptions in the Akron (Oct. 9, 2021) game last year, QB Matt McDonald has thrown for 2,086 yards, 20 touchdowns and only two interceptions over the past 10 games.
• McDonald had gone 241 passes between interceptions, which came on his first pass of the third quarter against Eastern Michigan and the streak ended at Akron when CJ Lewis dropped a pass and it then hit off his helmet for an easy INT by the Zips.
• However, McDonald has been sacked 22 times over the last eight games.
• McDonald is the son of former Cleveland Brown starting quarterback Paul McDonald. Paul led the USC Trojans to the 1979 National Title and was a first-team All-American and first-team academic All-American for the Trojans.Â
McDonald In The BGSU Record Book
• QB Matt McDonald is tied for No. 1 in the BGSU single-game record book with six total touchdowns against Eastern Kentucky. McDonald had five passing TDs and one rushing, matching Matt Johnson (2x, 2015), Josh Harris (2001) and Ryan Henry (1994).
McDonald Spreading the Wealth
• QB Matt McDonald has connected with 15 different receivers so far this season.
• McDonald is No. 1 in the MAC and No. 14 in the nation with 13 passing touchdowns. Seven different receivers have caught his 13 touchdown passes.
• McDonald threw five touchdown passes to four-different receivers in the Eastern Kentucky game. The five touchdowns are tied for the seventh-most in a game this season.
• McDonald missed the Mississippi State game with an injury sustained against Marshall.
JB Brown has jumped on the scene
• ILB JB Brown has jumped onto the scene in 2022.
• Brown is tied for No. 3 in the nation with two fumbles forced.
• He is third on the team with both 23 tackles and second with 3.0 tackles for loss.
Hiliare on Fourth Down
• WR Odieu Hiliare is tied for No. 10 in the nation with two receptions on fourth down.
• Both his catches went for a first down and one went for 25 yards, which is tied for the nation's lead in 25-yard+ catches on fourth down.
