Saturday, Sept. 28 | 5 p.m. | Doyt Perry Stadium | Bowling Green, Ohio
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BOWLING GREEN FALCONS (1-2, 0-0 MAC) |
vs. | OLD DOMINION MONARCHS (0-3, 0-0 SBC) |
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Falcons Return Home For Homecoming
• Bowling Green State University returns to the cozy confines of Doyt Perry Stadium to host the Old Dominion Monarchs on Saturday for Homecoming.
• There will be postgame fireworks as part of the celebration.
• The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and kick is set for 5 p.m.
Just Another Day in Paradise
• As part of BGSU's 2024 Homecoming celebration, award-winning country singer Phil Vassar will perform a free concert in Tailgate Park prior to the game at 2:30 p.m. Vassar's repertoire includes 10 No. 1 singles and 27 Top-40 hits.
• Tailgate park opens at 1:30 p.m. and regional sensation Mike on Sax will open for Phil Vassar at 1:45 p.m.
Bowling Gree vs. Old Dominion
• Bowling Green is facing Old Dominion for the first time in program history.
• The Monarchs are the seventh different program the Falcons have faced from the Commonwealth of Virginia. BGSU has also faced Liberty, Richmond, Virginia Tech, VMI, and William & Mary. Virginia Tech and William & Mary are the only programs on that list that have not played at Doyt Perry Stadium.
Five Top Storylines
• TE Harold Fannin Jr. is No. 1 in the nation among tight ends in receiving yards (349), YAC (227), first downs (19), and broken tackles (10). His 25 receptions are tied for No. 1 among tight ends with LSU's Mason Taylor, who has played one more game. Per Pro Football Focus, Fannin has the highest receiving grade in the nation (94.7) and ranks No. 2 for his pass routes grade (94.6), both of which are tops for tight ends.
• QB Connor Bazelak enters Saturday with 942 career completions, ranking No. 3 among active players (behind Washington's Will Rogers and Oregon's Dillon Gabriel). He needs 58 more completions to become the 41st player in FBS history to reach 1,000 career completions. He also needs 22 passing yards to reach 10,000 for his career.
• Bowling Green blocked its first punt of the season at then-No. 25 Texas A&M last time out. BGSU has eight punt blocks since the start of the 2022 season, which is tied for the most in FBS during that span, sharing the spot with Rutgers and South Carolina.
• ILB Brock Horne is tied for No. 2 in the nation with 0.67 forced fumbles per game.
• Bowling Green recorded five sacks in its season opener against Fordham, two at then-No. 8 Penn State, and one at then-No. 25 Texas A&M. Since the start of the 2022 season, BGSU has accumulated 79 team sacks, ranking 19th in the nation.
A Falcon from the 7-5-7
• Bowling Green co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Greg Nosal hails from the famous 757 region of Virginia, where Old Dominion is located.
• Nosal calls Virginia Beach home and attended Kellam High School, graduating in 2007.
• He went on to become an All-ACC offensive lineman at Virginia Tech and was part of three ACC Championship teams.
• Nosal began his coaching career at Virginia Tech as a graduate assistant from 2013-2015, serving on College Football Hall of Famer Frank Beamer's last staff.
• BGSU head coach Scot Loeffler was the offensive coordinator on those same staffs, and co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Max Warner was an offensive quality control coach in 2015 for the Hokies.
Bowling Green vs. Sun Belt
• Bowling Green is 28-12 all-time against current members of the Sun Belt, with games against Arkansas State (1-0), Georgia Southern (0-1), Marshall (22-8), South Alabama (1-1), Southern Miss (3-1), and Troy (1-1).
• Bowling Green is scheduled to travel to ODU on Sept. 13, 2031. BGSU will also visit Marshall on Sept. 25, 2027, and South Alabama on Sept. 16, 2028.
Bowling Green - ODU connections
• Old Dominion offensive line coach Alex Huettel is a BGSU alum, having earned a degree in human development and family service in 2015. He was a teammate of BGSU special teams coordinator and tight ends coach Alex Bayer.
• Huettel, a member of BGSU's 2013 and 2015 MAC Championship teams, started a program-record 55 consecutive games after redshirting in 2011. He anchored an offensive line that helped Bowling Green set program records in points (591), first downs (389), passing yards (5,135), total yardage (7,655), and offensive touchdowns (81) in 2015. Huettel earned All-MAC honors three times (2013-15) and Phil Steele first-team All-America accolades as a senior. He played at BGSU from 2011-15, participated in the 2016 East-West Shrine Game, and attended minicamp with the New York Giants in 2016. Huettel began his coaching career as an offensive graduate assistant at BGSU in 2016 and 2017.
• ODU assistant head coach and running backs coach Tony Lucas served as an assistant academic coordinator and defensive quality control coach at Bowling Green in 2010 under Dave Clawson.
Fannin On Fire at Texas A&M
• Tight end Harold Fannin Jr. had a career day at then-No. 25 Texas A&M, recording a career-high 145 receiving yards for the second consecutive game.
• The 145 receiving yards are the most allowed by the Aggies this year.
• Fannin scored on a 65-yard pass from Connor Bazelak, marking the longest offensive touchdown the Aggies have allowed since Oct. 1, 2022.
• His 145 receiving yards were the most by a tight end in the nation last week.
• It was Fannin's second-straight 100+ yard receiving game and the third of his career. He owns three of BGSU's six 100-yard receiving games by a tight end.
• He had 97 yards after the catch against the Aggies.
• Fannin was named MAC Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts.
• Over back-to-back games against ranked opponents Penn State (No. 8) and Texas A&M (No. 25), Fannin has posted a combined 19 receptions for 282 yards and two touchdowns, as BGSU lost both games by a combined 13 points.
Latest Football News
- The Falcons Nest Coaches Show with Todd Walker Returns for 2025-26 on Monday Night at Fricker’s with Eddie George and Eric NicholsBOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The weekly Falcons Nest Coaches Show, presented by Fricker's, returns Monday night on the Falcon Sports Radio Network. The Mike and Jan Wilcox Head Football Coach Eddie George and BGSU men's soccer head coach Eric Nichols will join the "Voice of the Falcons" Todd Walker from 6–7 p.m. at the Bowling Green Fricker's.
- BGSU Athletics to Host Star-Studded Panel on "The Significance of College Football in America"BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Bowling Green State University Athletics will host a special panel discussion titled "The Significance of College Football in America" on Thurs., Aug. 28, at 1:30 p.m. in the Bowen-Thompson Student Union's Lenhart Grand Ballroom. The event will take place just hours before BGSU's home opener against Lafayette at Doyt Perry Stadium, which marks the debut of Eddie George, the Mike and Jan Wilcox Bowling Green Football Head Coach.
- Bowling Green Adds Future Football Games with South Florida and Tarleton StateBOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Bowling Green announced today (Aug. 13) three future football games with two programs: South Florida and Tarleton State.
- BGSU Decades Celebration – 1985: Brian McClure Bleeds Orange & Brown
- John Henderson Named to the Ray Guy Award Preseason Watch ListBOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Bowling Green punter John Henderson has been named to the 2025 Ray Guy Award Preseason Award Watch List, as announced by the Augusta Sports Council. The Ray Guy Award honors the nation's top collegiate FBS punter. Henderson is the only player from the MAC on the list.
- Drew Pyne Named to the Preseason Wuerffel Trophy Watch ListBOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Bowling Green quarter back Drew Pyne has been named to the Allstate Wuerffel Trophy Preseason Watch List, as announced by the Wuerffel Foundation. Pyne is one of 11 players from the MAC to be named to the Watch List.
