MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Seventeen-mile an hour winds and driving rain could not stop the Bowling Green football team, as they slugged their way to a 23-13 victory over the Central Michigan Chippewas, on Tuesday night, at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. The Falcons move to 5-4 on the season and hold steady in second place in the Mid-American Conference at 4-1. CMU falls to 3-6 on the year and 1-4 in league play.

In a MACtion game on ESPN2 that took place in front of a national television audience, the Falcons showcased their strength upon the Chippewas by possessing the ball for 35:53, forcing three fumbles and piling up 388 yards of total offense. 

The Falcons forced a turnover on a strip sack by Anthony Hawkins on Central Michigan's first drive of the second half and Levi Gazarek scored his second career touchdown in as many games, while Jaison Patterson put the game away with a one-yard plunge in the fourth quarter. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Bowling Green opened the game with a 32-yard Zach Long field goal on a drive that took 12 plays and chewed 5:49 off the clock, their longest time of possession on a drive of the game.
• Long tacked on another field goal, this time from 40 yards out, to make it 6-0 early in the second quarter.
• Three drives later, Long added a 37-yard kick to make it a two-score game with 2:28 left in the first half.
• On the ensuing drive, CMU notched a one-yard touchdown to make it 9-7 with 31 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
• The Falcon defense stepped up big on the first play of the second half, as Anthony Hawkins notched a strip sack as the Chippewa's left-handed quarterback was throwing the ball that was recovered by Joseph Sipp Jr. BGSU capitalized on the turnover, as Levi Gazerek scored on a nine-yard touchdown pass off play action from Connor Bazelak.
• As the rain continued to pour, Central Michigan had a 26-yard punt that put the ball at the CMU 33-yard line. The Falcons took advantage of the field position and punched it in on a one-yard touchdown run off the left side by Jaison Patterson to make it 23-7.
• The Chippewas started to play with more pace and posted a one-yard scoring run with 1:50 left in the game. Their two-point conversion and onside kick attempts failed.

— BGSU Football (@BG_Football) November 6, 2024

STAT LEADERS

• Connor Bazelak: 19/30, 207 yards, 1 TD
• Terion Stewart: 20 attempts, 117 yards (5.9 avg.)
• Jaison Patterson: 9 attempts, 75 yards (8.3 avg.), 1 TD
• Harold Fannin Jr.: 7 receptions, 86 yards (12.3 avg.)
• Joseph Sipp Jr.: 6 tackles
• Tracy Revels: 6 tackles
• Ali Saad: 6 tackles, 2.0 TFL
• Anthony Hawkins: 3 tackles, 1.0 sack, 1 FF

GAME NOTES

• BGSU is 2-0 all-time on Election Day, including a road win at Akron during the 2014 mid-term election.
• BGSU is 25-19 all-time against Central Michigan, including 12-9 in Mount Pleasant. 
• BGSU scored a field goal on its opening drive of the game. It is the sixth time this season the Falcons scored on their opening drive and the first time it was a field goal.
• BGSU scored a touchdown on its opening drive of the second half for the second time this season. 
• TE Harold Fannin Jr. finished the game with seven receptions. He broke the BGSU single-season record for receptions in a season by a tight end, which was previously held by Mark Dowdell (70, 1983). He now has 73 receptions which ranks tied for No. 15 all-time in FBS history by a tight end. 
• Fannin finished with 86 receiving yards, pushing him past 1,000 for the season. He is the 16th tight end in FBS history to surpass 1,000 receiving yards in a season. He is the 12th Falcon all-time to accomplish the feat and the first since Scotty Miller in 2018 (1,148).
• Fannin is the second receiver this season in college football history to surpass 1,000 receiving yards in the season. He joins Arizona's Tetairora McMillan (1,066). Fannin now has 1,033 receiving yards on the season, which ranks No. 11 all-time in the nation for a tight end.
• QB Connor Bazelak finished with 207 passing yards, surpassing 2,000 for the season. It is his fourth career season of 2,000+ passing yards or more. He is tied for No. 3 all-time FBS history with career 2,000+ passing seasons.
• Bazelak threw for 200+ yards for the sixth time this season and the 34th time in his career. 
• PK Zach Long made a career-high three made field goals (32, 40, 37).
• P John Henderson had a career-long 66-yard punt and his average of 52.3 yards per punt was also a best for a career. It currently is the tenth-best punting average by a Falcon in a game. 

FROM THE LOCKER ROOM
"[It was] an unbelievable win. [Central Michigan is] a tough place to play. [It was] terrible weather. We knew defensively they were going to give us a challenge. They completely changed the majority of what they did [in the past] completely, but we adapted and adjusted. We still found ways to get Harold [Fannin Jr.] the ball, even though they played coverages they've never played on first and second down. I thought we finally started running the ball better in the second half. [In the] first half, we did not run the ball well at all. I was really happy with our defense. I thought our defense kept us in it. We said it all week long that we had to pack our defense. Our defense really came to play. Offensively, we figured it out at the end and were able to finish the game. To come up here on the road in our first MACtion game, I'm happy with it." - BGSU head coach Scot Loeffer

UP NEXT
BGSU will be back in MACtion next Tuesday, November 12 at Doyt Perry Stadium against Western Michigan. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. TV broadcast assignment will be announced at a later date.