Tuesday, Nov. 5 | 7:30 p.m. | Kelly/Shorts Stadium | Mount Pleasant, Mich.
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BOWLING GREEN FALCONS (4-4, 3-1 MAC) |
at | CENTRAL MICHIGAN CHIPPEWAS (3-5, 1-3 MAC) |
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Falcons Are Mount Pleasant Bound
• Bowling Green State University returns to the road for its first midweek MACtion game of the season, traveling to Mount Pleasant, Mich., to take on the Central Michigan Chippewas.
• BGSU will be playing on Election Night for only the second time in program history, having previously played at Akron (W, 27-10) during the 2014 midterm election (Nov. 4).
• Kick is set for 7:30 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN2.
Bowling Green vs. CMU
• Bowling Green and Central Michigan will meet for the 10th time this century, with Tuesday marking the seventh meeting at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. BGSU has only hosted CMU three times (2003, 2009, 2019) since 2000, with the last game at CMU occurring in 2022.
• The Falcons have won five of their last six trips to Kelly/Shorts Stadium in games dating back to 2002.
• Tuesday will be the 44th all-time meeting between Bowling Green and Central Michigan. The Falcons lead the all-time series 24-19.
• During BGSU's 2018 trip to Mount Pleasant, the Falcons held CMU to just 29 total offensive yards in the second half.
• Since 2000, Bowling Green is 3-0 against CMU when holding the Chippewas below 300 total offensive yards and 3-0 when gaining 400+ yards of offense. Additionally, BGSU is 4-1 against CMU when winning the turnover battle, 2-2 when not, and 0-0 when turnovers are even.
Five Top Storylines
• TE Harold Fannin Jr. leads all tight ends nationally in receptions (66), receiving yards (947), yards after catch (533), first downs (46), and broken tackles (23). He's tied for first in receiving touchdowns (6). According to Pro Football Focus, Fannin has the nation's highest overall grade (95.6) and ranks No. 1 in pass routes grade (96.1) among all receivers. He's also No. 3 in receptions, No. 4 in receiving yards, No. 1 in broken tackles, No. 1 in yards after catch, and No. 2 in first downs.
• Fannin needs 53 receiving yards to become the 12th player in program history to surpass 1,000 receiving yards in a season. The last Falcon to do so was current Pittsburgh Steeler Scotty Miller in 2018, with 1,148 yards. Fannin would also be the 16th tight end in FBS history to reach this milestone in a season.
• QB Connor Bazelak ranks No. 13 nationally (No. 1 in the MAC) with a 68.8 percent completion rate in 2024. He is also No. 2 in the MAC with 1,815 passing yards.
• Bazelak needs 185 passing yards to achieve his fourth season with 2,000+ passing yards, which would tie him for third all-time. He fell just 65 yards short of 2,000 in 2023, and had he reached it, he would have tied Bo Nix and Dillon Gabriel for the FBS record with five 2,000+ yard seasons.
• CB Jordan Oladokun recorded a career-high two interceptions in his last game at Toledo, returning one 61 yards for a touchdown. Per Pro Football Focus, his defensive grade of 90.3 was the second-highest among the nation's corners in Week 9. Oladokun allowed just one reception for six yards in coverage against the Rockets.
Return to the Great Lakes State
• Eleven Falcons played high school football in Michigan.
• Returning to their home state are: RB Nakai Amachree (Haslett), TE Ocean Brabbs (Ann Arbor), S CJ Brown (Canton), TE Caden Campbell (Rochester), WR Finn Hogan (Maple City), ILB Brock Horne (Romeo), PK Travis Kenner (Temperance), DL Davonte Miles (River Rouge), RB Cameron Pettaway (Farmington Hills), DL Jordan Porter (Muskegon), and DL Ali Saad (Dearborn HS).
Bowling Green - CMU connections
• WR Finn Hogan spent two years at Central Michigan (2021-22). The Maple City, Mich., native appeared in 15 career games with six starts.
• Hogan appeared in all 12 games with six starts in 2022, recording 19 receptions for 155 yards and a one-handed touchdown at Penn State.
• Hogan caught one pass for three yards for CMU in the 2022 meeting with Bowling Green.
• Hogan has 41 career receptions for 418 yards and two touchdowns between CMU and BGSU.
• Bowling Green head coach Scot Loeffler was the quarterbacks coach at Central Michigan from 2000-01, between his GA stint at Michigan and his role as the Wolverines' quarterbacks coach.
• Bowling Green wide receivers coach Erik Campbell was the recruiting coordinator at Michigan in 2015 when CMU's defensive backs coach Mike Zordich held the same position for the Wolverines.
Facts About The Toledo Win
• With BGSU's 41-26 win over Toledo in the Glass Bowl on Oct. 26, it was the first time BGSU has won in back-to-back trips to the Glass Bowl since 1992 and 1994.
• BGSU head coach Scot Loeffler is the first BGSU coach since Gregg Brandon to beat Toledo three times over a six-year span.
• Scot Loeffler is the first BGSU coach since Gary Blackney to win multiple games at the Glass Bowl against Toldeo.
• Scot Loeffler is 2-1 against Toledo at the Glass Bowl and is the first BGSU coach to have a winning record against Toledo in the Glass Bowl since Doyt Perry went 5-0 (Gary Blackney started out 2-0 and finished 2-3 all-time).
• Over the last three meetings, Toledo has only led for 3 minutes and 18 seconds.
• The Falcons have scored 114 points against Toledo the last three years, which comes out to 38 points per game.
Stewart is Hard to Bring Down
• RB Terion Stewart is tough to bring down. Despite missing game No. 2 at Penn State and the Akron game, Stewart is No. 21 in the nation for those with 100 carries in yards per attempt after contact at 3.85.
• Stewart is No. 4 in the nation with 6.8 broken tackles rushing per game. He has broken 41 tackles over six games. Stewart forced 11 missed tackles rushing the ball in the opener against Fordham, which was the fourth most in the nation after one week.
When it comes to Fannin, The Numbers Don't Lie
• TE Harold Fannin Jr. is playing the 2024 season at an elite level.
• Heading into Week No. 11, Fannin is No. 1 in the nation among tight ends in receptions (66) receiving yards (947), first downs (46), YAC (533) and tackles broken (23). He is tied for No. 1 in receiving touchdowns by a tight end with six.
• The 947 receiving yards ranks No. 4 in the nation among all receivers, the 66 receptions are r No. 3 among all receivers, the 533 YAC is No. 1 among all receivers and the 23 broken tackles are No. 1 among all receivers. The 46 first downs is No. 2 among all receivers.
• Per Pro Football Focus, Fannin has the No. 1 overall grade in FBS at 96.2 and No. 1 among all receivers with a grade of 96.5 for pass routes.
• Entering Week 10 of the College Football Season, Fannin's days at then-No. 8 Penn State (137) and then-No. 25 Texas A&M (145) are still the most receiving yards those teams have allowed in 2024 to an opponent.
• Fannin has recorded five games of 100+ receiving yards this year and has six for his career. Fannin owns six of the nine all-time BGSU games where a tight end has 100+ receiving yards.
• Fannin is is No. 1 in the nation with three receptions of 60+ yards. He is No. 2 in the nation with 39 receptions that have gone for 10+ yards. The next closest tight end has 25. Fannin is No. 1 in the nation with 14 receptions that have gone for 20+ yards. Fannin is No. 3 in the country with nine receptions that have gone 30+ yards. The next closest tight end has four. Fannin is also No. 15 in the nation with four receptions of 40+ yards (most by a tight end) and No. 8 in the nation with three receptions of 50+ yards (most by a tight end).
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- Harold Fannin Jr. Selected by the Cleveland Browns in the 2025 NFL DraftBOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Bowling Green junior tight end Harold Fannin Jr. (Canton, Ohio) was selected by the Cleveland Browns during Friday's third round of the National Football Draft. Fannin was the 67th overall pick and the first tight end from Bowling Green since Greg Meczka was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the 15th round of the 1974 NFL Draft.
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