BGSU rolls along with 388 yards of offense in miserable conditions to triumph over Central Michigan.
Saturday’s game was not the prettiest display of gridiron football, but the Bowling Green Falcons (5-4, 4-1 MAC) will go home happy after picking up a vital 23-13 victory over the Central Michigan Chippewas (3-6, 1-4 MAC) at Kelly/Shorts Stadium in the league’s first weeknight matchup of 2024.
The first half of action wasn’t much to write home about for either side, with CMU mustering 45 yards of offense prior to their last drive of the first half and suffering a targeting ejection on linebacker Lawai’a Brown, while BGSU committed seven penalties in the game’s first 30 minutes— including a handful which wiped out positive plays— and scored just nine points despite dominating the pace of play.
The second half of the game was severely weather-affected, a fact which was evident from the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter. Central Michigan quarterback Tyler Jefferson attempted to throw the ball away due to incoming pressure, but the ball was stripped out of his hands by BG’s Anthony Hawkins before he could go into a throwing motion, with Joseph Sipp Jr. recovering the errant ball to give the Falcons the ball right back at the CMU 39-yard line.
The Falcons would convert the turnover into points on a Levi Gazarek touchdown form nine yards out on a hard play-action look to put the BGSU lead at 16-7 early in the third quarter.
CMU looked once again towards their defense for some momentum, stopping the BGSU offense inside the redzone yet again for a field goal attempt from 27 yards out. Da’Raun McKinney would get the initial pressure and Jonah Pace blocked the kick to snuff out the danger and give the Chippewas a chance at getting back into the game.
True freshman Jadyn Glasser would lead the CMU offense onto the field with 5:35 to go in the third quarter to replace Tyler Jefferson— who was 1-of-7 passing for six yards— sparking CMU to their best drive of the night to that point, getting all the way to the BGSU 26-yard line on fourth-and-two near the end of the third quarter.
Marion Lukes seemingly converted on the fourth-down attempt, picking up 22 yards to get to the BGSU six-yard line, but a block in the back penalty on the debutante Glasser forced a re-try from the BGSU 30-yard line. Lukes’ Wildcat run up the middle would be stopped, gifting BGSU the ball.
The Central defense came to the rescue, forcing a four-and-out punt— but the offense would go three-and-out on three consecutive runs and David Chapeau’s punt was shanked, floating jsut 26 yards to put the Falcons at the 33-yard line.
BGSU found paydirt over five minutes later, with Jaison Patterson running the ball in from one yard out to put the score at 23-7 with 5:42 remaining. Central would respond back with an up-tempo rally, finally finding their passing stride (5-of-7 for 57 yards) before Glasser scored his first collegiate touchdown on a speed option run from one yard out to get the score to 23-13.
Marion Lukes would get the hand off on the delayed draw on the two-point attempt, but was stuffed quickly at the line, ripping the chance of a one-score game away.
CMU would attempt an onsides kick, but the Falcons would recover and kneel the ball out after a 29-yard run by Terion Stewart to effectively put the game away.
The Falcons didn’t have the most disciplined game, with 12 accepted penalties for 88 yards, but it didn’t come back to bite them, as they held the ball for over 35 minutes of game action, forced three fumbles (recovering one) and outgained CMU by a margin of 388 to 250 yards.
Connor Bazelak had a quiet game after the first half due to game flow, but still finished 19-of-30 for 207 yards and a touchdown through the air. Terion Stewart crossed the century mark late in the proceedings, finishing with 117 yards on 20 attempts, while Jaison Patterson (nine carries, 77 yards) scored the lone rushing touchdown.
All eyes were on hybrid tight end Harold Fannin Jr., and he came through for the Falcons, especially early on, finishing with eight receptions for 86 yards— including five catches for 65 yards in the first quarter before the weather arrived— to set several personal records.
Fannin Jr. set the program record for receptions for a tight end, previously held by Alex Bayer (2010-2013; 115 receptions), while also eclipsing the 1,000+ receiving yard mark on the season. Fannin Jr. now sits at 1,033 yards with three games remaining.
Defensively, Ali Saad highlighted for BGSU, with six tackles— including two assisted tackles-for-loss and a solo TFL, while Anthony Hawkins’ 13-yard strip sack was vital to the Falcons’ victory. Defensiver back Jordan Oladokun notched an important pass break-up on an endzone shot by Tyler Jefferson.
Palcekicker Zach Long was BG’s highest scorer, with 11 points on three field goals and two extra points.
CMU, which was already down to depth-stringers on offense, struggled mightily in the elements, with six passing yards and 120 overall in the first half.
Tyler Jefferson, who scored a rushing touchdown but was also responsible for two fumbles, was benched late in the third quarter after finishing 1-of-7 for six yards passing. Jadyn Glasser, in his first appearance as a Chippewa, would finish 5-of-7 for 57 yards and a rushing touchdown.
Marion Lukes finished with 72 yards on 20 carries, while Jefferson was the team’s second-leading rusher with 65 yards. Chris Parker was the only receiver with multiple catches (three catches for 25 yards), while Gavin Harris caught a 25-yard pass from Glasser to stop CMU’s passing drought late in the game.
It was a busy day on the stat sheet for a CMU defense which was asked to compete in less-than-ideal circumstances.
Safety Da’Raun McKinney led the Chips’ effort with 12 total tackles and three pass break-ups— including one on an endzone shot by Connor Bazelak— while Jordan Kwiatkowski once again cleared double-digit tackles to add to his totals with 11 stops and a TFL. Jonah Pace picked up three tackles, two TFLs and 1.5 sacks in addition to his blocked kick.
CMU must win out to qualify for a bowl game at 3-6, and will face Toledo on the road next Tuesday at 7 p.m. Eastern to try and get the rally started.
BGSU kept their title hopes alive and now sit at 4-1 in league play with the win. Their next contest is against the undefeated in-league Western Michigan Broncos— the very team they need to beat in order to grab hold of the league’s top spot. Their game will also be played Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. Eastern time.