The Greatest BGSU Football Games of the Past Decade

[gmartin]

Surprised no one has mentioned the CMU game when the fat punter ruined our season. Bad outcome memorable game.

[Schadenfreude]

Surprised no one has mentioned the CMU game when the fat punter ruined our season. Bad outcome memorable game.

Ugh. I was there that day.

I was also in Amherst, N.Y., in 2000 when the Buffalo Bulls got their first ever win over an FBS opponent. Gary Blackney announced his resignation, effective season's end, two days later.

Those are two of the most humbling moments I can remember as a fan.

I suppose that sparsely attended, cold, windy home game several years back against Buffalo -- when BG blew a three-touchdown lead and the division title -- belongs on a list like this, but I wasn't there in person to see it.

[jpfalcon09]

Ah the Monsoon Bowl, my first ever road trip for a BGSU sporting event. Will always be a memorable one. Took a student bus down and want to say we got back to campus between 4 and 5 in the morning. Safe to say I didn't make it to my 8:30a and 10:30a classes that Wednesday morning.

I went on that trip as well, such a long night but it was so much fun. I remember that Rece Davis, Craig James and Lou Holtz were covering that game and were sitting only a few rows away from us in the gym while the Miami volleyball team played Buffalo. It was a surreal night that ended in happiness and exhaustion.

[BGSUFootballFan7]

Best game by far was 27-26 win over ranked Purdue in 2003. 2 of the craziest 4th down conversions I have ever seen from J5 and then an impressive defensive stand. Found a rare video of Charles Sharon's catch in the back of the endzone. This is from my local news station here in Lafayette/West Lafayette lol!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16zTW2w9XR8" target="_blank

[kdog27]

Best game by far was 27-26 win over ranked Purdue in 2003. 2 of the craziest 4th down conversions I have ever seen from J5 and then an impressive defensive stand. Found a rare video of Charles Sharon's catch in the back of the endzone. This is from my local news station here in Lafayette/West Lafayette lol!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16zTW2w9XR8" target="_blank

Welcome back?

Think you use to post here under a similar name.

[BGSUFootballFan7]

Yup it's me! Just forgot my password and e-mail to BGSUFootballFan lol. Actually I think it may have been an old verizon e-mail which no longer exists!

[bgsufalcon24]

Well I lost a few days here, so you'll get some double features here the next few days before gameday!

Game #6 - Bowling Green 26 - Ohio 14 - November 7, 2012 - Peden Stadium, Athens, Ohio

The 2012 season was a mixed bag early on for BGSU. The Falcons started out by playing very strongly against the Florida Gators, and indeed might've gone on to win that contest had it not been for a dropped pass interception inside the Florida 10 that was returned into BGSU territory early in the 4th quarter. BG beat Idaho, then got dumped by Toledo in part due to some staggeringly bad mathematics following a third quarter touchdown in which the Falcons went for 2 when trailing by 9. Ridiculous. But I digress. The Falcons ripped off 4 straight in conference play after that, beating up on Akron, Umass, EMU, and Miami to get into conference contention. Their week 10 opponent, the Ohio Bobcats, were having a season of outright magic. They started the season by knocking off Penn State, and then ripped off 6 more wins to start 7-0 and crack into the top 25 rankings. The Bobcats were surprisingly stung by rival Miami, but were still in strong position at 4-1 in MAC play.

The Bobcats coming into this game had won 3 straight against BG, quite possibly their longest such streak in school history vs the Falcons. But they committed an almost universally fatal flaw before the game even started. I don't have any true scientific data on this, but to me, having a "blackout" at your stadium when black is not one of your team's primary colors, is usually a recipe for disaster. (Georgia famously did this for a game against Alabama around the same timeframe and was down 31-0 at halftime en route to slaughter). The move along with the team's strong play though had the fans fired up, drawing nearly 20,000 on a cold weekday night. Ohio drew first blood in the game with a first quarter touchdown. However, BG would respond and do so without prejudice. The Falcon offense would put up 19 points in the second quarter, keyed by several big plays in the passing game as well as some well timed play calls that had the Ohio defense off their guard. Not to be outdone, the Falcon defense was in the backfield constantly through the middle part of the game, stopping the Bobcats' running game and forcing the Ohio QB to try to beat them with his arm while under pressure. The Bobcats stuck to their game plan though, and scored late in the 3rd to make the score 19-14. However, BG would respond the next possession with a long touchdown drive to restore the 2 possession lead and take valuable minutes off the clock. Not really a quick strike attack, Ohio found themselves in a brutal position, having to score quickly with the Falcon pass rushers pinning their ears back. At that point, the final result was academic.

Extra Point:
The victory put BG at 5-1 in MAC play, and left Ohio 4-2 and needing a lot of help. In most years (like 2014) a 5-1 start in MAC play keyed by knocking off your main East rival with the one loss coming against a West opponent, would be tantamount to clinching the East Division. Indeed 2005 and 2008 were also years in which BG could've conceivably won the conference with just 5 regular season conference wins. However, this 2012 story still had another chapter to be written because of the unbelievable story playing out in Kent. The Golden Flashes were not only still in the mix, but were a perfect 6-0 in conference play (and had a win over a ranked Rutgers team too). So instead of basically celebrating a division title that night in Athens, BG had to get right back on the horse and gird up for an even bigger contest the next week. On an unseasonably warm and sunny November day at the Doyt, BG and Kent dueled for the division title. The game did not disappoint, and was back and forth all day long. Kent took the lead late in the 4th 31-24, and BG's final drive ended with an interception in the end zone in the final seconds. BG had been denied the East title by the most unlikely of competitors having perhaps the most unlikely, magical season in MAC history...until they themselves were narrowly beaten by Northern Illinois in the MACC, a loss that ultimately cost Kent a trip to the Bowl Championship Series. Moral of the story...in the MAC...anything, and I mean anything, can happen.

[BGSU33]

Surprised no one has mentioned the CMU game when the fat punter ruined our season. Bad outcome memorable game.

I mentioned it earlier in this thread, twice actually. It was a heck of a game, we of course came out on the bad end of it. CMU has it listed in their media guide or somewhere in some sort of list of greatest or most memorable games if I remember correctly.

[jpfalcon09]

That OU game had probably the best play in Matt Schilz's career, a ridiculous play action to John Pettigrew (who got blown up) which left Chris Gallon wide open for an easy TD.

[bgsufalcon24]

Game #5 - Bowling Green 32 - Minnesota 31 (F/OT) - September 1, 2007 - Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota

The 2006 season did not end on good terms for the Falcons. After a shocking defeat at Temple, BG lost a heartbreaker at Akron that featured some really questionable officiating on what would've been the game tying touchdown for BG. They then lost another heartbreaker in the "Mud Bowl" against Miami when Sean Ellis's game winning FG attempt went awry. It then culminated with a blowout loss at Toledo. So reasonably, expectations were pretty low going into 2007. BG's out of conference slate was ambitious, with 3 Power 5 opponents, starting with the opener at Minnesota.

Minnesota had just gone through a coaching change, which turned the offense into a spread passing game. But they were sputtering big time in the first half as throws weren't reaching the receivers and timing was way off. Meanwhile, the Falcon offense led by Tyler Sheehan was making big plays. By halftime, the Falcons were up 21-0 much to the shock of the 50,000+ in attendance at the Metrodome. Minnesota coach Tim Brewster decided to abandon the pass in the 2nd half and simply pound it with the run, and that turned out to be a very smart move as the BG defensive front was outmanned and outgunned. Minnesota slowly got back into the game, and tied the game midway through the 4th. The Falcon offense continued to be their own worst enemy, suffering multiple 3 and outs in the late going. The Gophers took the lead with a little under 2 minutes to play, leaving BG with one more shot to send it into overtime. Newly reassigned to receiver, Freddie Barnes made several huge catches to keep the tying drive alive, and in a real pressure spot, new starting kicker Sinisa Vrvilo put it through the uprights to force overtime.

Minnesota took little time scoring on their possession to make it 31-24. BG came right back with a 25-yard TD pass of their own. Double overtime right? Wrong. BG coach Gregg Brandon decided to roll the dice and go for the 2-point conversion and the win. The Falcons lined up in shotgun. As Todd Walker called it, "Sheehan in the gun, he's got Bullock on his right. Winovich goes in motion over to the right side of the tight end. Now Barnes in motion left to right. Sheehan, takes the snap. He rolls over to the right side, Barnes! Two points! Two points BGSU and the Falcons steal it in overtime!"

This play is perhaps one of the most memorable in Falcon football history, and it gave the Falcons their first win over a Power 5 opponent since 2003, when they beat Northwestern and Purdue.

Extra Point:
Bowling Green has defeated 2 teams from the B1G over the past decade, beating Minnesota in 2007 and beating Indiana in 2014. Within the decade they also played Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, and Wisconsin, losing to the first three once and losing to the Badgers 3 times. Coupled with BG's loss to Indiana in 2013, that's an aggregate mark of 2-7. Not great really, but nothing to sneeze at given the level of competition and given that almost all of these games are on the road...7 were road, 1 home, and 1 a BG-leaning neutral site.

[MarkL]

I know I'm in the minority here but I actually put the Minnesota win as my #1 memory of the past decade for a few reasons. Here's my list ...
- 2006 was a rough season. Lots of potential but nothing worked out right.
- The win kicked off 2007 in a HUGE way. In 2007 our team flipped from 4-8 to 8-4 and began with an exclamation mark.
- Everything that BG did wrong the previous year they did right against Minnesota. They passed well. They defended well (until they wore out). They fought hard in the fourth quarter instead of giving out.
- The game effectively began the careers of both Sheehan and Barnes (as receiver) and the 2 point conversion play was a sign of things to come for future legends.
- Anybody remember this play?

That play goes down as perhaps the most fun BG play I've ever seen.
- I drove up to Minneapolis for the game. The atmosphere was electric for BG fans! I had decided to do a "complete" season in 2007. My car racked up a ton of miles driving from Minneapolis to Boston and damn near everywhere in the state of Ohio. It was a fun season. This game kicked it off in a BiG way!
- I was just sensing positive signs from the team in the offseason. Better conditioning, better attitude, emerging leadership, and it all paid off week 1. Anybody besides me sensing the same positive signs from the current team?

[BGFalconfromCincy]

I know I'm in the minority here but I actually put the Minnesota win as my #1 memory of the past decade for a few reasons. Here's my list ...
- 2006 was a rough season. Lots of potential but nothing worked out right.
- The win kicked off 2007 in a HUGE way. In 2007 our team flipped from 4-8 to 8-4 and began with an exclamation mark.
- Everything that BG did wrong the previous year they did right against Minnesota. They passed well. They defended well (until they wore out). They fought hard in the fourth quarter instead of giving out.
- The game effectively began the careers of both Sheehan and Barnes (as receiver) and the 2 point conversion play was a sign of things to come for future legends.
- Anybody remember this play?

That play goes down as perhaps the most fun BG play I've ever seen.
- I drove up to Minneapolis for the game. The atmosphere was electric for BG fans! I had decided to do a "complete" season in 2007. My car racked up a ton of miles driving from Minneapolis to Boston and damn near everywhere in the state of Ohio. It was a fun season. This game kicked it off in a BiG way!
- I was just sensing positive signs from the team in the offseason. Better conditioning, better attitude, emerging leadership, and it all paid off week 1. Anybody besides me sensing the same positive signs from the current team?

I have this game as my #3 of the decade, but could easily be number 1. A really exciting game to be at and one I will always remember. Thank goodness for you so we can go back and rewatch the winning 2 point play, and the crazy play at the end of regulation you just showed.

Interested to see what 24 has in his top 4, I think I know 3 of the 4 (08 Pitt, 13 MAC title game, 14 IU), just not sure we he may have as the fourth, I got a couple ideas but really can't pinpoint down on one.

[Siborg]

Game #5 - Bowling Green 32 - Minnesota 31 (F/OT) - September 1, 2007 - Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota

The 2006 season did not end on good terms for the Falcons. After a shocking defeat at Temple, BG lost a heartbreaker at Akron that featured some really questionable officiating on what would've been the game tying touchdown for BG. They then lost another heartbreaker in the "Mud Bowl" against Miami when Sean Ellis's game winning FG attempt went awry. It then culminated with a blowout loss at Toledo. So reasonably, expectations were pretty low going into 2007. BG's out of conference slate was ambitious, with 3 Power 5 opponents, starting with the opener at Minnesota.

Minnesota had just gone through a coaching change, which turned the offense into a spread passing game. But they were sputtering big time in the first half as throws weren't reaching the receivers and timing was way off. Meanwhile, the Falcon offense led by Tyler Sheehan was making big plays. By halftime, the Falcons were up 21-0 much to the shock of the 50,000+ in attendance at the Metrodome. Minnesota coach Tim Brewster decided to abandon the pass in the 2nd half and simply pound it with the run, and that turned out to be a very smart move as the BG defensive front was outmanned and outgunned. Minnesota slowly got back into the game, and tied the game midway through the 4th. The Falcon offense continued to be their own worst enemy, suffering multiple 3 and outs in the late going. The Gophers took the lead with a little under 2 minutes to play, leaving BG with one more shot to send it into overtime. Newly reassigned to receiver, Freddie Barnes made several huge catches to keep the tying drive alive, and in a real pressure spot, new starting kicker Sinisa Vrvilo put it through the uprights to force overtime.

Minnesota took little time scoring on their possession to make it 31-24. BG came right back with a 25-yard TD pass of their own. Double overtime right? Wrong. BG coach Gregg Brandon decided to roll the dice and go for the 2-point conversion and the win. The Falcons lined up in shotgun. As Todd Walker called it, "Sheehan in the gun, he's got Bullock on his right. Winovich goes in motion over to the right side of the tight end. Now Barnes in motion left to right. Sheehan, takes the snap. He rolls over to the right side, Barnes! Two points! Two points BGSU and the Falcons steal it in overtime!"

This play is perhaps one of the most memorable in Falcon football history, and it gave the Falcons their first win over a Power 5 opponent since 2003, when they beat Northwestern and Purdue.

Extra Point:
Bowling Green has defeated 2 teams from the B1G over the past decade, beating Minnesota in 2007 and beating Indiana in 2014. Within the decade they also played Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, and Wisconsin, losing to the first three once and losing to the Badgers 3 times. Coupled with BG's loss to Indiana in 2013, that's an aggregate mark of 2-7. Not great really, but nothing to sneeze at given the level of competition and given that almost all of these games are on the road...7 were road, 1 home, and 1 a BG-leaning neutral site.

Not a big difference but you forgot the return game in BG with Minnesota. It was a good game until we gave a couple TDs at the end after turnovers inside our own 25. 42-17 was the final score but we were driving down 21-17 in the fourth quarter when we went TO crazy. A pic and 2 fumbles.

[unfalconbelievable]

I've got two that were memorable but we lost them both at home.

vs. Boise State at home ( 2011) or around there. Atmosphere - great, fans -great, crowd - sold out (only game I actually saw scalping at BGSU). Tickets were being sold for $50 each. Then we had to play the game.............. not sure of the final but it was ugly.

Nov 15, 2006 vs. Miami (last game on the natural grass - boy was it memorable)
2nd game we lost as well. But those that were there in that driving cold rain on a week night espn game will never forget. Never see a game like that game again in BG. Enjoy the video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UOZwFhxYkY" target="_blank

[bgsufalcon24]

Game #5 - Bowling Green 32 - Minnesota 31 (F/OT) - September 1, 2007 - Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota

The 2006 season did not end on good terms for the Falcons. After a shocking defeat at Temple, BG lost a heartbreaker at Akron that featured some really questionable officiating on what would've been the game tying touchdown for BG. They then lost another heartbreaker in the "Mud Bowl" against Miami when Sean Ellis's game winning FG attempt went awry. It then culminated with a blowout loss at Toledo. So reasonably, expectations were pretty low going into 2007. BG's out of conference slate was ambitious, with 3 Power 5 opponents, starting with the opener at Minnesota.

Minnesota had just gone through a coaching change, which turned the offense into a spread passing game. But they were sputtering big time in the first half as throws weren't reaching the receivers and timing was way off. Meanwhile, the Falcon offense led by Tyler Sheehan was making big plays. By halftime, the Falcons were up 21-0 much to the shock of the 50,000+ in attendance at the Metrodome. Minnesota coach Tim Brewster decided to abandon the pass in the 2nd half and simply pound it with the run, and that turned out to be a very smart move as the BG defensive front was outmanned and outgunned. Minnesota slowly got back into the game, and tied the game midway through the 4th. The Falcon offense continued to be their own worst enemy, suffering multiple 3 and outs in the late going. The Gophers took the lead with a little under 2 minutes to play, leaving BG with one more shot to send it into overtime. Newly reassigned to receiver, Freddie Barnes made several huge catches to keep the tying drive alive, and in a real pressure spot, new starting kicker Sinisa Vrvilo put it through the uprights to force overtime.

Minnesota took little time scoring on their possession to make it 31-24. BG came right back with a 25-yard TD pass of their own. Double overtime right? Wrong. BG coach Gregg Brandon decided to roll the dice and go for the 2-point conversion and the win. The Falcons lined up in shotgun. As Todd Walker called it, "Sheehan in the gun, he's got Bullock on his right. Winovich goes in motion over to the right side of the tight end. Now Barnes in motion left to right. Sheehan, takes the snap. He rolls over to the right side, Barnes! Two points! Two points BGSU and the Falcons steal it in overtime!"

This play is perhaps one of the most memorable in Falcon football history, and it gave the Falcons their first win over a Power 5 opponent since 2003, when they beat Northwestern and Purdue.

Extra Point:
Bowling Green has defeated 2 teams from the B1G over the past decade, beating Minnesota in 2007 and beating Indiana in 2014. Within the decade they also played Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, and Wisconsin, losing to the first three once and losing to the Badgers 3 times. Coupled with BG's loss to Indiana in 2013, that's an aggregate mark of 2-7. Not great really, but nothing to sneeze at given the level of competition and given that almost all of these games are on the road...7 were road, 1 home, and 1 a BG-leaning neutral site.

Not a big difference but you forgot the return game in BG with Minnesota. It was a good game until we gave a couple TDs at the end after turnovers inside our own 25. 42-17 was the final score but we were driving down 21-17 in the fourth quarter when we went TO crazy. A pic and 2 fumbles.

I do have a vivid recollection of that game, it was a Saturday night, the Doyt was probably the most packed I'd ever seen it, to the point that there were actually scalpers spotted outside the stadium...which was a first in my BG existence. The crowd was loud, the students were crazy (actually a little too crazy as the free seat cushion giveaway ended up turning into a competition to see which students could hurl them the farthest onto the field). The game itself was a good one too, 21-17 after 3 quarters, and you could swear that we were going to beat the Gophers again, but as you alluded to, the turnovers just killed us late. Still a great atmosphere, probably only duplicated by Boise State in 2009, and probably not since although IU in 2014 probably would have had that game not been at noon where most of the students were probably still hung over from the night before and a lot of them no-showed. That was the difference between Minnesota 2008 and Indiana 2014...the townies and out of towners will generally show up for a name opponent anytime...the students seem to need the mid-afternoon or nighttime start to really get going.