The Red Wolves and Falcons meet for only the second time ever, looking to break their bowl victory droughts
Bowling Green is in a bowl game for the third consecutive season. They will travel down to Mobile for the 68 Ventures Bowl to face the Arkansas State Red Wolves of the Sun Belt.
Game notes
- Time and Date: Thursday, December 26th at 9:00 p.m. Eastern time
- Location: Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Alabama
- Gambling considerations: Bowling Green (-7.5), over/under 53 per DraftKings.
- Viewing options: The game will be available on ESPN. A valid cable subscription is required for viewing. Clay Matvick (play-by-play) and Roddy Jones (color) will provide commentary.
- Radio options: Todd Walker (play-by-play) and John Gibson (color) will provide the call on Eagle FM 99.
- All-time series: Bowling Green leads 1-0 (def. Arkansas St. 17-0 on 11/9/1974)
Bowling Green, Alabama?
This is the fourth appearance in Mobile bowl games for the Falcons. It is now their most traveled bowl destination, surpassing Detroit and Fresno, California.
They’ve participated in the 2004 and 2008 editions of the former GMAC Bowl, and the 2015 GoDaddy Bowl as well. The Falcons have gone 1-2 in Mobile, contributing to the MAC’s 9-11 record in Alabama’s southern hub city. The Red Wolves have gone 2-2 in bowl games in Mobile. The Falcons will look to get the MAC’s first win in a Mobile bowl since Toledo beat Arkansas State 63-44 in the 2015 GoDaddy Bowl.
Getting to know the Falcons
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The Falcons are looking to bounce back after a disappointing showing against Miami in the final game of the regular season to deny them a spot in the MAC title game.
It’s not all bad though; Scot Loeffler has brought Bowling Green to bowl games for three consecutive seasons, something which felt like a distant dream almost a decade ago. The next step of the rebuild would be for the Falcons to win a bowl game, after having failed to win their last two in the Loeffler era. The Falcons are 1-1 against the Sun Belt in bowl games all-time.
Connor Bazelak has one last game with the Falcons. He finished the regular season with 2,654 yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions, averaging 221.2 yards per game. The Red Wolves allowed an average of 234.8 pass yards/game.
Terion Stewart finished the regular season with 890 rushing yards and six touchdowns. Stewart, who recently committed to Virginia Tech, has been seen traveling with the team depsite his portal entry, an indication he could play this week. He may see a big workload, but Jaison Patterson may also see a good chunk of minutes. Patterson has 411 yards and five touchdowns, and has seen a high amount of snaps over his college career.
Harold Fannin Jr. is just eleven yards away from breaking Jace Amaro’s NCAA single-season record for receiving yards by a tight end, and should he earn it, would be a lovely consolation prize for missing out on the John Mackey Award.
Fannin will easily attract the most attention of any individual athlete in the game, after a 2024 campaign which saw him become the first football Falcon to ever be named aconsensus All-American.
Defensively, the Falcons will still have their core. Sacks leader and co-leading tackler Joseph Sipp, Jr. will play in the bowl game after committing to play for Lance Leipold in Kansas. The Falcons allow an average of 331.1 yards per game. With the Red Wolves offense averaging 386.4 yards per game, the Falcons will have to play a good game on defense.
Getting to know the Red Wolves
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Arkansas State is back in a bowl game for the second consecutive season. Head Coach Butch Jones, who recently signed a five-year extension through 2029, has brought them to consecutive bowls after going a combined 5-19 in 2021-22. The Red Wolves will be playing their eighth bowl game in Alabama since 2012 (and their fifth bowl game in Mobile). The Red Wolves are 2-3 in bowl games against the MAC.
Quarterback Jaylen Raynor finished the regular season with 2,562 yards (fifth in Sun Belt), 14 touchdowns (t-eighth in Sun Belt) and nine interceptions. He’s also run for 392 yards and two touchdowns.
Zak Wallace (622 yards, 10 touchdowns) and Ja’Quez Cross (600 yards, two touchdowns) have each seen opportunities running the ball this year.
The receiving corps is led by Corey Rucker. He finished the regular season with 946 yards and five touchdowns. Courtney Jackson follows up with 445 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensively, safety Trevian Thomas leads the team with five interceptions (t-fifth in FBS). The Red Wolves have a stud in the defensive backfield that the Falcons need to watch out for. Jayden Jones and Bryan Whitehead lead the team with four sacks each.
What Each Team Needs
Bowling Green will need to play with a lot of fight. The Falcons fell flat in the regular season finale, and they certainly don’t want a repeat performance.
Arkansas State needs a complete defensive performance to limit the Falcon offense. They rank last in the Sun Belt for yards allowed.