For those who haven’t heard of Morgan State before, you’re not alone. The school belongs to the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), one step below the level BG plays at.
Add to the fact that the Bears struggle in their own league, it wouldn’t be surprising if few people have heard of them.
BG is the only FBS team Morgan State faces this year. However, they have faced an FBS team every season since 2007, having little success in those games. The Bears have played four FBS teams since 2002, losing each of those games.
In those games, against San Jose State, Rutgers, Akron and Maryland, the Bears have been outscored an average of 39 points per game. Overall, the Bears are 21-24 their past four seasons.
While the Falcons got their season off to a strong start against Idaho, the Bears struggled against Towson, a team that went 1-10 last season and hasn’t won more than three games since 2006.
Morgan State was outgained 534-160 in their season opening 42-3 loss, and out-possessed nearly 2-to-1. They averaged only 1.7 yards per rush, 5.6 yards per pass and gained only six first downs all game.
The Bears will hope to stop a BG offense that exploited Idaho for 478 total yards, including 291 through the air. However, Morgan State fared poorly in all aspects of defense against Towson, allowing 270 yards through the air (to a quarterback making his first collegiate start) and 264 yards on the ground.
The Bears split reps at quarterback in the first game, with neither player doing any better. Junior Donovan Dickerson started the game for Morgan State and led the Bears on a scoring drive early in the first quarter. However, those were the only points produced in the game, and Dickerson finished 6-of-10 passing for 40 yards and an interception.
Freshman Robert Council replaced him in the game, and he completed 4-of-10 passes for 72 yards.
Jourdan Brooks paced the Bears rushing attack with 48 yards on 15 carries. Brooks is a former Rutgers player who transferred in January 2010 after running for 346 yards as a sophomore for the Scarlet Knights. He rushed for 266 yards on 95 carries for the Bears last season.
Despite completing only 10 passes last weekend, the Bears hit five different receivers in the process. Lamont Bryant and Chris Flowers each caught three passes. Bryant had 61 yards, while Flowers had 32 – totals that accounted for all but 19 of the Bears’ receiving yards.
The Falcons and Bears have never previously met. In fact, the teams’ meeting this weekend is a rare occurrence for the Falcons. They have not played an FCS team since defeating Southeast Missouri State 49-10 in 2004.
In that game, Omar Jacobs threw for 285 yards and four touchdowns, en route to setting a Mid-American Conference record with a 10.25-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio, and future NFL player Shaun Suisham hit three field goals for the Falcons.
