The winless Falcons will travel to Akron to take on the winless Zips on Saturday at 2 p.m. The game will be aired on ESPN3.
Akron is currently on a 21-game losing streak. Their last win was against Central Michigan on Oct. 27, 2018.
Both programs are currently going through a rebuild. BGSU Head Coach Scot Loeffler knows a win against Akron won’t speed up this rebuild.
“Right now, beating Akron is important. There’s no question about it, we want to win. There’s no doubt about it, but that doesn’t solve our problems right now. We’ve got a lot of things that we’ve got to correct,” Loeffler said.
Last week, quarterback Matt McDonald struggled against Ohio. After a good game against Buffalo, McDonald went 9-for-21 with 125 yards and a touchdown. He also threw for three interceptions.
The running game has been the biggest asset for the Falcon offense. As a team, they rush for 190 yards a game. That is ranked sixth best in the conference. Last week, running back Andrew Clair rushed for 118 yards. Clair along with fellow running back Terion Stewart has been a bright spot for the team as a whole.
The offense will have a great chance to improve against Akron. A constant struggle for the Falcons have been converting third down. They rank last in the conference in third down conversion, only converting 20.4% of their third downs. There is no sole reason for the offense to struggle on third down.
“It’s multiple, multiple things. It’s not one thing, it’s not one position group. It is multiple. But that goes back to where we need to get, disciplined,” Loeffler said.
Akron has a defense that ranks last in third down conversions on defense. They let their opponents convert 58.7% of their third downs. Akron also has a defense that ranks in the bottom third in all major defensive categories.
As an offense Akron struggles in the passing game. Their freshman quarterback Zach Gibson averages 159.5 yards a game through the air. On the season, he has three touchdowns and five interceptions.
The Bowling Green passing defense ranks second in the conference in yards given up with 185.3 yards per game. However, they are tied for last with Akron in touchdowns given up through the air with 11. This could be a product of the run defense being very poor this season.
Last week the Falcon defense allowed 355 yards on the ground and four total rushing touchdowns against Ohio. The cancellation of spring football and with little time to workout during the offseason has led to the defense tackling poorly.
“A lot of it is out of our control and the teams that are developmental or are behind what have not, it just gets exploited even more,” Loeffler said.
Akron averages 140.8 yards a game on the ground. Their junior running back Teon Dollard leads the team in rushing with 456 yards on the season with four touchdowns. The Akron rushing attack ranks ninth in the conference.
This is a chance for each team to show they are capable of playing winning football.
