Despite a great crowd for homecoming, Bowling Green suffered a heartbreaking last-minute loss
Bowling Green was welcomed back to Doyt Perry Stadium on Saturday after two great showings in Big Ten and SEC Country. Old Dominion was looking for their first win of 2024 after an inconsistent— but promising— start. Here’s what went down.
- The Falcons won the toss, and deferred to the second half.
- Grant Wilson got the start for the Monarchs, leading them to an opening drive touchdown and putting the home team behind early.
- After exchanging punts, Bowling Green marched down the field. Connor Bazelak found Harold Fannin Jr. in the end zone. 7-7 after the Jackson Kleather PAT.
- Old Dominion only needed one play to take the lead back, with Grant Wilson finding Pat Conroy in stride for a 75-yard touchdown pass.
- The Falcons responded early in the second quarter with a Jaison Patterson rushing touchdown to tir the game back up at 14-all, but Old Dominion kicker Ethan Sanchez nailed a 53-yard field goal to make it 17-14 Monarchs.
- The Falcons were at the Monarch 10-yard line, but two costly penalties would lead to a missed field goal by Kleather. The score would hold at halftime.
- After exchanging fallow drives to start the second half, Bazelak would find Fannin Jr. again, with the tight end stiff arming a defender en route to the end zone. 21-17 Falcons after the Kleather PAT.
- The Falcons were driving in the fourth quarter, but Bazelak threw a costly interception. The Monarchs would take advantage and score a touchdown. 23-21 after the missed PAT.
- With 3:01 left in the game, Terion Stewart would find the end zone. 27-23 after a failed two point conversion.
- The Falcons had to rely on a tired defense, and it ultimately cost them, as Old Dominion marched down the field to score with 24 seconds left to take the fateful 30-27 lead after the Sanchez PAT. ODU survived a failed Falcons lateral sequence, winning the game by that final score.
Takeaways
Bowling Green
This was a chance for the Falcons to show what they were made of. There were a lot of great moments, especially the Bazelak-to-Fannin connection. Fannin finished the game with 188 receiving yards and two touchdowns, his third consecutive game with 100+ receiving yards and one touchdown. In the process, Fannin broke the program record for touchdowns scored by a tight end with seven games remaining in the 2024 campaign. Bazelak finished with 303 passing yards, his highest total since week two of 2023.
The Falcons could not stop the QB runs of Colton Joseph. He had nine rushes for 65 yards with the touchdown run after the Bazelak interception. They held the Monarchs to 189 rushing yards.
The other thing that hurt the Falcons were the penalties that led to the missed field goal. If the Falcons were able to come away with points on that drive, this game could have gone the other way.
Ultimately, the Falcons have more questions than answers starting MAC play next week against Akron despite their admirable performances against Autonomous competition.
Old Dominion
Old Dominion was fantastic in that first quarter, driving down the field to start the game. Not only that, but exposing the Falcon defense with the quick one-play touchdown drive later in the same half. The Monarchs had the Falcons on their heels the entire game. Despite losing the lead a couple of times, the Monarchs figured out a way to respond.
Grant Wilson finished with two passing touchdowns, while Aaron Young and Colton Joseph each had one rushing touchdown.
The Monarchs also won the turnover battle with the timely interception of Connor Bazelak in the fourth. This game was a big boost of confidence for the Monarchs.
Play of the Game
The play of the game belongs to Harold Fannin, Jr. He is that guy, pal.
There Goes That MAN!!!
Harold Fannin Jr. goes 59 yards on the record-breaking touchdown. The junior now holds the BGSU record for receiving TDs by a tight end with 11
BGSU leads, 21-17.
ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/D8nkVocCZk
— BGSU Football (@BG_Football) September 28, 2024
Up Next
The Falcons head to Akron for the start of MAC league playt. Kickoff is set for 3:30 pm Eastern time on October 5th. Old Dominion starts Sun Belt play at Coastal Carolina. Kickoff set for 7:00 pm Eastern time on October 5th.