BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Justin Pegues returned the game's opening kickoff for a touchdown, and the Bowling Green State University football team never looked back. The Falcons opened the 2024 season with a 41-17 win over Fordham University on Thursday night (Aug. 29) at Doyt L. Perry Stadium.

Terion Stewart ran for 161 yards and three touchdowns for the Falcons, who scored on three-straight possessions after the Pegues kickoff return. BGSU scored the game's first 27 points, and the Falcons were never headed.

The win was the program's 175th-ever victory inside Perry Stadium.

BGSU scored 20 first-quarter points, rolling up 171 yards of offense in that quarter alone.

Connor Bazelak threw for 168 yards in the game, and ran for a score. Harold Fannin Jr. caught six passes for a game-high 67 yards, while Jamal Johnson had four receptions for 54 yards in the win.

HIGHLIGHTS/HOW IT HAPPENED
• Justin Pegues, on his first play as a Falcon, received the opening kickoff at the goal line and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown. With 12 seconds gone, the Falcons had a 6-0 lead.
• Fordham's opening drive netted a total of negative-five yards. A third-down sack by Anthony Hawkins and a penalty forced the Rams to punt on a fourth-and-15 play, giving the ball back to BG at the 12:59 mark.
• Then, the Falcons proceeded to go 78 yards in 10 plays, with Terion Stewart carrying the ball the final seven yards for a touchdown. Jackson Kleather's point-after try was good, giving the hosts a 13-0 lead.
• BGSU had three plays pick up double-digit yard totals on that drive. Quarterback Connor Bazelak hooked up with Harold Fannin Jr. for a pair of 18-yard completions, with Jaison Patterson rushing for 13 yards on an additional play.
• The Rams picked up three first downs on the next drive, moving into BGSU territory. But, a pair of sacks – one by Hawkins, one with Hawkins teaming up with Avi McCary – forced Fordham to punt the ball away again, and the Falcons took over at the BGSU 7-yard line.
• Bazelak found Jamal Johnson for a 32-yard gain on a third-down play, setting up the Falcons near midfield. Then, three plays later, a pass to Fannin resulted in a 21-yard pickup, before Stewart's 11-yard run put BG in the red zone.
• On the next play, Lucian Anderson III rushed left for 13 yards and a touchdown. Kleather's PAT gave the Orange and Brown a 20-0 lead with nine seconds left in the opening quarter.
• BGSU got the ball right back after a three-and-out, and the Falcons systematically moved down the field. Bazelak took the ball the final eight yards for a TD with 9:54 left in the half. Kleather's kick gave the hosts a 27-0 lead.
• That 38-yard scoring drive was set up by a 25-yard punt return from Pegues.
• Fordham put together a five-minute, 74-yard drive that culminated in a field goal on the final play of the half.
• The Rams used a pair of big plays to find the end zone early in the third quarter, as C.J. Montes found Cole Thornton for the final 30 yards and a touchdown, cutting the BG lead to 27-10.
• BGSU answered late in the third quarter as Stewart scored on a seven-yard run. That drive, a 94-yard drive, was aided by a 29-yard fourth-down run by John Henderson on a fake punt
• The Rams drove inside the red zone, but on a third-down play, Montes was sacked by Joseph Sipp Jr. Fordham went for it on fourth down, but Sipp stopped a receiver after a short gain, and BGSU took over on downs with 8:51 to go.
• Just over a minute later, Stewart took a pitch, broke through a would-be tackle and motored 73 yards down the left side for his third TD of the night to give the Falcons a 41-10 lead.
 

— BGSU Football (@BG_Football) August 29, 2024

GAME NOTES
• The win was BGSU's 175th all-time at Doyt Perry Stadium
• BGSU won its season opener for the first time since 2019 when the Falcons beat Morgan State in the first game of the Scot Loeffler era. 
• BGSU opened the game with a 100-yard kick return for a touchdown. It was the first time BGSU returned a kick for a touchdown since the 2022 Quick Lane Bowl (75 yards). The 100-yard kick return was a school record. 
• BGSU had its streak of consecutive games forcing at least one turnover snapped at 14 games.
• Eleven Falcons made their collegiate debut: ILB David Afogho, WR Caleb Goodloe, CB Jace Henry, WR Trey Johnson, CB Kal-El Pascal, S RB Mar'Kel Porter, ILB Dorian Pringle, S Tracy Revels, WR Winn Sharp,  OL Rico Steele, OLB Alijah Williams.
• RB Terion Stewart finished with 161 rushing yards and three touchdowns. The three touchdowns tied his career high. 
• The 161 rushing yards is the seventh time in his career he surpassed 100 yards. 
• The 161 rushing yards is the second-most by a Falcon against an FCS opponent. P.J. Pope had 162 against Liberty in 2003.
• With 26 rushing yards, Jaison Patterson surpassed 1,000 for his career. He is the 40th Falcon to do so.
• RB Justin Pegues set a school record on the first play of the game when he returned the opening kick 100 yards for a touchdown. It was his first touch as a Falcon. The previous long kick return was 96 yards by Clint Stephens against Ball State in 2014.
• With six receptions, TE Harold Fannin Jr. has had at least one catch in 19-straight games. 
• Fannin now has 908 career receiving yards, which makes him pass Quintin Morris for No. 5 all-time at BGSU for tight end career receiving.
• DL Anthony Hawkins notched a career-high 2.0 sacks. 
• TE Elijah Boyd notched his first career reception. 
• WR Malcolm Johnson Jr. had a career-high three receptions. 

FROM THE LOCKER ROOM
"[I'd] like to first thank all the students for coming out," said head coach Scot Loeffler. "That crowd that we had was awesome. It was electric for our kids to play in front of as many students as we got out. I really appreciate the community coming out. It's great to get our first win, and whenever you look at this game, there was some positives, but when you look at it we have a lot to work on too. I think if this team can continue to be selfless [and] continue to be one unit, I think this team is going to be a really good football team, but we have a long way to go. I like this team. I like our kids, but we need to clean some things up [and] just keep moving the needle in a positive direction." 

UP NEXT
• The Falcons begin the road portion of the schedule next weekend, taking on Penn State on Saturday, Sept. 7. That game will begin at 12 p.m.