Being ranked in the top 25 means that Bowling Green has one of the leading football teams in the country.
The Falcons, who are now rated No. 23 in the coaches poll and No. 25 by the Associated Press, have the honors of being talked about Saturday on ESPN where highlights from the game will be shown.
“It’s exciting to go from the lowest of the low — two wins a year ago — to this,” said senior linebacker Chris Haneline. “It’s a great honor to be ranked like we are, but we also aren’t going to take it for granted because we know how easily you could slip away. If we fail to prepare for a team it could very easily knock us off.”
The last time the Falcons appeared in a major national poll was in December of 1985, when the Falcons were ranked 20th in the AP poll. However, BG was not ranked in the coaches poll at that time.
“For the first time since 1985, we are ranked,” said head coach Urban Meyer. “The poll that is most encouraging to us is the coaches’ poll. We’re honored to be in it. It’s a real honor to our players and our coaches to be ranked. Now, we need to get back to the task at hand, and find enough bodies to go out and play a game Saturday.”
Tomorrow will be the Falcons (5-0, 2-0) first-ever home game as a Division I-A nationally-ranked program. BG will face Western Michigan (2-4, 1-1) at 6 p.m.
The Falcons are 3-0 at home this season. However, they have lost the last five meetings against the Broncos. Last year, the Broncos captured a 37-28 victory in Kalamazoo.
“Western Michigan is a very good team,” Haneline said. “They are very athletic, probably one of the most athletic teams we’ll face all year. They have a really good running back who played against us last year and had a lot of success. They beat us last year and I can’t remember the last time Bowling Green has been able to beat Western Michigan.”
The Broncos are coming off a tough 31-27 loss to Central Florida. WMU’s quarterback Chad Munson threw an interception in the final seconds of the game on a quick out to the right side at the two-yard line. With this interception UCF was able to run out the clock and sustain a victory.
“We’re facing a team in Western Michigan that is more talented than we are from top to bottom,” Meyer said. “They have the number-one defense in the league. They’re a very good throwing team, and we’ve struggled against the pass.”
Last weekend, however, the Falcons didn’t have too much trouble with the pass as they defeated Central Michigan 45-35 in their closest game this season.
“We anticipated a tough, hard-nosed, physical game at Central Michigan, and it was,” Meyer said. “It was a tough environment and we paid the price [in terms of injuries].”
With all the injuries players are stepping up on both the offense and the defense.
“I think these injuries have brought us closer together as a unit and a team,” Haneline said. “The offense picks up the defense and the defense picks up the offense and special teams changes games. It’s really critical that we stick together as a team till the guys are able to heal up and come back.”
Despite the injuries the Falcons still managed to pile up 404 total net yards last weekend against Central Michigan including 176 passing yards and 138 rushing yards by junior quarterback Josh Harris. Harris had three rushing touchdowns in the game to maintain his standing as the nation’s top scorer with 15.6 points per game. He also leads the nation in points responsible for game at 24.8.
“The New York Times is doing a story on Josh Harris this week,” Meyer said. “He’s a big-time player, and I think he’s one of the top-five quarterbacks in the country. That [story] is going to help recruiting, and it’s a reward for a kid who has done a good job.”
Harris’ statistics aren’t the only ones that keep getting better. The Falcons now lead the nation in scoring offense, averaging 50.6 points per game. BG also has the nation’s most balanced offense and are the only team in NCAA I-A to average more than 240 rushing (254.6) and passing (246.2) yards.
This weekend will be a challenge for the Falcons as they will be looking to start 6-0 for the first time since they won their first 11 games in 1985.
Senior wide receiver Robert Redd will also have the opportunity tomorrow to become the Falcons’ all-time leader in receptions and total yardage. He needs only 26 more receptions and 473 yards to set both records. He also needs just five touchdowns to break the Falcons single-season and career marks.
