After back-to-back home games, Bowling Green will be traveling to Athens to take on the Ohio Bobcats.
The game will be Saturday at noon EST and will be broadcasted on ESPNU and ESPN+.
Ohio is entering the game 1-1 after their game against Miami was cancelled due to roster issues with positive COVID tests from Ohio.
BGSU Head Coach Scot Loeffler knows what makes this Ohio team dangerous.
“They’ve traditionally always had really good offensive fronts. I think they run the ball well. Defensively, they’re being very disruptive of what they do in regards to trying to stop the run, a lot of internal stunts. They’re a good, well-coached football team, they always have been,” Loeffler said.
Despite losing 42-17 to Buffalo last Tuesday, the Falcons looked better offensively. The team was able to move the ball against one of the better defenses in the MAC. They had 399 yards of total offense against Buffalo, their highest total on the season. Matt McDonald threw for 219 yards last game. McDonald had 233 passing yards in the first two games combined.
Loeffler understands where the offense needs to improve.
“We’re just not finishing, and there’s a lot of reasons for us not finishing. We need to finish drives. I mean, we’ve had opportunities, countless opportunities to put the ball in the endzone and just aren’t. That’s the frustrating part for all involved right now,” Loeffler said.
Finishing drives will be tough against Ohio. The Bobcats are second in the conference in scoring defense only allowing 20 points a game. Ohio is in the middle of the conference in yards giving up, but they do not let their opponents score often on them. A key player in the Ohio defense is sophomore linebacker Keye Thompson. So far this season, Thompson has recorded a sack and an interception along with 10 total tackles.
Bowling Green will have another tough test ahead of them defensively.
The rushing attack for Ohio will be led by senior running back De’Montre Tuggle. On the season, Tuggle is averaging 109 yards a game, which is the fourth best in the conference right now. The Bobcats will employ dual threat senior quarterback Armani Rogers in certain plays.
The majority of the passing work for the Bobcats will be led by freshman quarterback Kurtis Rourke. The top two targets for Ohio are receivers Shane Hooks and Isiah Cox. Each has over 100 yards on the season and are first and second, respectively, in receptions on the team. The success of the passing game will be dependent on the rushing attack for the Bobcats.
Bowling Green has trouble against the run defensively. They are at the bottom of the conference in rushing defense with allowing 1,001 yards on the ground in three games. The Falcons gave up 396 rushing yards last game, and 301 of those yards came from Buffalo running back Jaret Patterson.
BGSU linebacker Darren Anders knows what needs to improve for this defense to be better against the run.
“We can fill all the gaps we want, but if we don’t tackle then you know it doesn’t matter. That’s our main thing, we got to tackle better,” Anders said.
This will be the Falcons first true road game this season. Loeffler is looking at this road game as a learning opportunity for his young team.
“I’m excited that we get the opportunity to do it so our freshmen learn how to travel. I mean, everything that you do is a learning experience,” Loeffler said.Bowling Green will be trying for their first win of the season on Saturday. Ohio, however, will be looking to gain ground in the MAC with a win on Saturday
