The Greatest BGSU Football Games of the Past Decade

[bgsufalcon24]

Game #4 - Bowling Green 27 - Pittsburgh 17 - August 30, 2008 - Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The Falcons entered the 2008 season having had a mostly successful campaign in 2007, but ending in an incredibly ugly bowl loss to Tulsa. The team had most of its stars back and was geared up for another run at MAC supremacy. Their opponent for week 1 was Pittsburgh, a team with two really strong RBs in Lesean McCoy and Larod Stephens Howling, as well as a sturdy defensive unit. They were also ranked 25th in the nation. This would be a major test for the Falcons.

Early on, it looked as though BG would be swept aside. The Panthers ran it right down the throat, scoring easily on the first possession, and after the BG offense stalled, the Panthers came roaring back again to go up 14-0 before the first quarter was over. But BG didn't panic. Slowly but surely the Falcon offense began to click as Tyler Sheehan found open receivers and the run game even got going a little bit too with Willie Geter, Chris Bullock, and Eric Ransom sharing duties. BG ripped off two scoring drives to tie the game before a Pittsburgh field goal right before half made it 17-14.

Pittsburgh began to shoot themselves in the foot in the third quarter. They had false start and holding penalties, the latter caused largely by DE Diyral Briggs, who was in the backfield constantly causing problems. Dropped passes by wideouts also came back to haunt Pittsburgh. BG took advantage, taking the lead in the 3rd quarter before leading another long scoring drive in the 4th, culminating on a touchdown pass from Sheehan to TE Jimmy Schiedler in which no Pitt defender was even on the television screen when Schiedler pulled it in. By this point, Pitt fans were headed for the exits, and BG was headed for their first victory over a ranked opponent since 2003.

Extra Point:
The Falcons had a ridiculous non-conference slate in 2008, opening the season against Pittsburgh, Minnesota, and Boise State. They also had a long trip to Wyoming in there. The team came out of this stretch 2-2 with the win at Pitt. The season later took a disastrous turn on homecoming weekend with a loss to Eastern Michigan (which I rank as the #3 worst game of the past decade), but prior to that, you had the sense that the 2008 team was capable of really being special. That season was a case study in real ups and downs. BG beat Toledo by 28 and beat a ranked opponent, two items that are basically dreamland for any falcon fan, and yet the team only finished 6-6 with a loss to EMU (as well as a really bad Miami team). Some things just can't be explained.

[bgsufalcon24]

Game #3 - Bowling Green 36 - Kent State 35 - October 10, 2009 - Dix Stadium, Kent, Ohio

Heading into the 2009 season, BG was a team without an identity. Gregg Brandon was gone, replaced by Dave Clawson. Many of the players from the previous season were gone as well, but the team still retained a large amount of talent. The team opened the season against a fairly tough opponent in Troy, and beat them up 31-14, but the schedule was ruthless and included a road contest at Missouri and home date against juggernaut Boise State. After losing badly to Boise, BG lost a heartbreaker at home to Ohio 44-37 to drop to 1-4. The next game was a contest at Kent State. Outside of a bizarre 38-3 drubbing in 2006, BG had dominated the series with KSU in recent seasons. Yet on this day, the Golden Flashes came to play. They kept the Falcon defense off balance and forced the BG offense into mistakes throughout the first half. BG trailed by multiple scores for most of the game. They trailed 35-16 with about 9 minutes to play.

There was so much on the line. A 2nd straight loss inside the East Division would put BG 0-2, and probably dead in the water in terms of MAC contention, and another loss overall would drop the team to 1-5. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say the season was probably over if the score remained. Perhaps sensing this, Clawson turned his men loose. BG turned to the deep ball, the reverse run, pretty much every play at the end of the playbook to turn the momentum. Tyler Sheehan was laser accurate, finding receivers all over the place en route to a touchdown that cut the lead to 13 (the XP was missed). Up 13 with 4:30 left, the Flashes tried not to make a mistake. They ran it twice up the middle then went incomplete on third down and punted. BG came back down the field. Then, Freddie Barnes made what has to be one of the greatest individual plays in BGSU history. Sheehan threw a screen to Barnes in the left flat, and Barnes stiff armed, spun away from, juked, and knocked over about 7 Golden Flash defenders en route to the end zone. If there was a single play that should've won Barnes the Biletnikoff Award, that was it. Now at 35-29, Kent really started to get the yips. There was a bad QB-center exchange on first down, and a run on 2nd down didn't gain much. The Falcon defense did its job and forced an incompletion on 3rd down to get the ball back. BG drove down the field again, getting inside the Kent 30 with :40 left. A pass down the middle put BG inside the 5 for first and goal, but an incompletion followed by a sack forced BG to call their final timeout with :15 left. On third down, Sheehan looked to pass, found nobody open, and instead of throwing it away or trying to thread the needle, he did something downright dastardly...he took off running up the middle, where there were acres of space. Sheehan, a notoriously slow runner, was gambling that he could make the end zone. If he was wrong, the time would likely run out before BG could get off a 4th down play. Two Kent defenders arrived just as Sheehan lunged for the goal line, breaking the plane of the end zone. An extra point later, the biggest, most crucial comeback win of the decade was complete.

Extra Point:
BG would turn it around following this game, ultimately winning 6 games in MAC play, and finishing off a 7-5 regular season with a win over Toledo (their only other defeat was against eventual MAC Champion Central Michigan). Without this win, the season likely would've gone down the drain instead, which is the reason I have it so high on the list.

[Beaker]

The Pittsburgh game is a great pick for the countdown. I was there for that one and I've never seen so many fans with such a stunned "deer in the headlights" look as I saw walking out of that stadium that day. What I loved most about that game is that we were on the road against a heavily favored "power 5" opponent and when we got down 14-0, we fought right back, instead of packing it in. A very satisfying win, indeed.

Apologize for nitpicking, but the writeup mentioned Eric Ransom. I believe he was lost for the year (and his career) after suffering a 2nd major knee injury in practice before that season started and never saw game action after he was hurt in the Michigan State game the prior season. He was one of those guys that could have had a major impact if not for the injuries.

[BGFalconfromCincy]

Game #3 - Bowling Green 36 - Kent State 35 - October 10, 2009 - Dix Stadium, Kent, Ohio

Heading into the 2009 season, BG was a team without an identity. Gregg Brandon was gone, replaced by Dave Clawson. Many of the players from the previous season were gone as well, but the team still retained a large amount of talent. The team opened the season against a fairly tough opponent in Troy, and beat them up 31-14, but the schedule was ruthless and included a road contest at Missouri and home date against juggernaut Boise State. After losing badly to Boise, BG lost a heartbreaker at home to Ohio 44-37 to drop to 1-4. The next game was a contest at Kent State. Outside of a bizarre 38-3 drubbing in 2006, BG had dominated the series with KSU in recent seasons. Yet on this day, the Golden Flashes came to play. They kept the Falcon defense off balance and forced the BG offense into mistakes throughout the first half. BG trailed by multiple scores for most of the game. They trailed 35-16 with about 9 minutes to play.

There was so much on the line. A 2nd straight loss inside the East Division would put BG 0-2, and probably dead in the water in terms of MAC contention, and another loss overall would drop the team to 1-5. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say the season was probably over if the score remained. Perhaps sensing this, Clawson turned his men loose. BG turned to the deep ball, the reverse run, pretty much every play at the end of the playbook to turn the momentum. Tyler Sheehan was laser accurate, finding receivers all over the place en route to a touchdown that cut the lead to 13 (the XP was missed). Up 13 with 4:30 left, the Flashes tried not to make a mistake. They ran it twice up the middle then went incomplete on third down and punted. BG came back down the field. Then, Freddie Barnes made what has to be one of the greatest individual plays in BGSU history. Sheehan threw a screen to Barnes in the left flat, and Barnes stiff armed, spun away from, juked, and knocked over about 7 Golden Flash defenders en route to the end zone. If there was a single play that should've won Barnes the Biletnikoff Award, that was it. Now at 35-29, Kent really started to get the yips. There was a bad QB-center exchange on first down, and a run on 2nd down didn't gain much. The Falcon defense did its job and forced an incompletion on 3rd down to get the ball back. BG drove down the field again, getting inside the Kent 30 with :40 left. A pass down the middle put BG inside the 5 for first and goal, but an incompletion followed by a sack forced BG to call their final timeout with :15 left. On third down, Sheehan looked to pass, found nobody open, and instead of throwing it away or trying to thread the needle, he did something downright dastardly...he took off running up the middle, where there were acres of space. Sheehan, a notoriously slow runner, was gambling that he could make the end zone. If he was wrong, the time would likely run out before BG could get off a 4th down play. Two Kent defenders arrived just as Sheehan lunged for the goal line, breaking the plane of the end zone. An extra point later, the biggest, most crucial comeback win of the decade was complete.

Extra Point:
BG would turn it around following this game, ultimately winning 6 games in MAC play, and finishing off a 7-5 regular season with a win over Toledo (their only other defeat was against eventual MAC Champion Central Michigan). Without this win, the season likely would've gone down the drain instead, which is the reason I have it so high on the list.

How could I forget that game. That was such a crazy game to be at with the huge comeback and Freddie Barnes setting a school record for completions in the game.

[bgsufalcon24]

Game #2 - Bowling Green 45 - Indiana 42 - September 13, 2014 - Doyt Perry Stadium, Bowling Green, Ohio
Game #1 - Bowling Green 46 - Northern Illinois 27 - December 6, 2013 - Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan

The countdown honestly was going to come down between these two games all the way, as they were both extremely significant, extremely exciting, and extremely satisfying victories for the Falcons.

The contest between BG and Indiana was probably the most heart pounding contest I've ever seen, and right up there among the greatest games EVER played at Doyt Perry Stadium. This game featured 81 points of offense, probably 1000+ yards between the 2 teams, about 8 or 9 lead changes, and a complete back and forth battle. RB Treadwell was the player of the game for Indiana, running all over the BG defense for over 200 yards on the ground, while James Knapke had his best game ever as a BG quarterback, throwing for over 400 yards and a bunch of TDs as well. Indiana had the ball deep in BG territory up 35-31 midway through the 4th quarter. Indiana was driving for the knockout punch, but finally, the BG defense did something right, forcing a Treadwell to fumble in the red zone. BG recovered and promptly went on an 80 yard drive to take the lead at 38-35. Not to be outdone, the Hoosiers answered, getting a long kickoff return and then driving the rest of the way to score with just under 2 minutes remaining. It seemed as though BG's only path to victory given their inability to stop Indiana's offense was to score a TD with under :30 or so remaining, and that's just what BG did, Knapke leading BG down the field and finding a receiver on a fade route with 9 seconds remaining to seal the victory. The victory to a very large degree legitimized Dino Babers and his system of "Falcon Fast" offense, which had taken a huge beating in the court of public opinion following an ugly defeat at "that other Bowling Green" on opening night.

The MAC title clash between Bowling Green and Northern Illinois in 2013 was supposed to be NIU's coronation. They had won the conference 2 straight years and were looking for a 3-peat, as well as a trip back to the Bowl Championship Series, where they had lost to Florida State the prior year. NIU was undefeated and had the BCS in their pocket with a win. But BG came out swinging big time early. RB & slash player Ronnie Moore was a load for the NIU defense to handle, and he racked up all purpose yards with a vengeance. Matt Johnson meanwhile kept firing passes all over the field, most notably into the deep middle, where NIU's safeties had tons of trouble with the BG receivers all night. Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the ball, NIU QB Jordan Lynch found his running lanes not exactly wide. The BG defense played contain very well, and bottled up the Heisman finalist, only allowing him a few noteworthy plays on the night. NIU had just enough offense in the first half to keep the game interesting, but they never significantly threatened, and by the time Travis Greene bundled into the end zone midway through the 4th quarter, it was time to start celebrating. Dave Clawson got the Gatorade shower in what turned out to be his last game in Bowling Green, and BG was MAC Champs for the first time in 20 years.

Amazing that the pinnacle of this past 10 years in Falcon Football has been within the past 2 years time. If BG football was a stock, you'd have to say that 2013 was Netflix, and 2010 was Enron, with a lot of ups and downs inbetween, but mostly ups within the past 3 years. This season promises good things to come but features a very difficult schedule out of conference, and an in conference slate that features 3 tough West division opponents although the East is still crap which might be our safety net. Hopefully more great memories will be made in the coming weeks and months, and some may appear on this list in the next time it comes out.