Falcon quarterback Omar Jacobs threw four touchdown passes and ran for another as Bowling Green (4-2, 2-1) cruised past Ball State (1-6, 1-3) 51-13 on Saturday.
Jacobs completed 19 of his 25 passes for 279 yards and threw four touchdown passes for the third consecutive game.
“I thought Omar was outstanding,” BG head coach Gregg Brandon said, “The first half we pretty much moved the ball at will, which we knew we could do if we executed.”
The Falcons scored on five of their first six possessions with Jacobs leading the Falcon attack on a 2-yard touchdown run on their first drive.
After that, the amazing arm of Jacobs took over. Jacobs threw consecutive touchdown passes on the next two Falcon drives; a 29-yard touchdown pass to running back P.J. Pope and a 4-yard touchdown pass to receiver Cole Magner. Magner’s touchdown came after defensive back Keon Newson blocked the Cardinal’s punt attempt.
Brandon said it was important to get points early on and keep the defense on the sidelines.
“We felt that we needed to set the tempo early, at least give our defense a big lead and that’s what we did,” Brandon said.
Jacobs managed to get others involved in the scoring surge as well, connecting with receivers Charles Sharon and Steve Sanders on an 11-yard pass and 18-yard touchdown passes respectively, and Pope added his second touchdown of the day in the second quarter on a 1-yard run.
But as soon as BG’s offense got hot – the Falcon’s defense took over.
After sacking opposing quarterbacks a total of five times this season BG’s defense got sack happy with Cardinals quarterback Cole Stinson, sacking him eight times for losses totaling 61 yards. Defensive linemen Mike Thaler and Devon Parks each had two sacks.
“The defense dominated,” Brandon said. “Our fourth string defense was in there for the last drive so that was really encouraging.”
The Falcon defense held the Cardinals scoreless until the final 26 seconds of the first half when kicker Brian Jackson converted a 39-yard field goal to end the half 35-3.
Despite the tough BG defense, the Cardinals managed to run the ball effectively. Ball State running back Adell Givens rushed 23 times for 123 yards. However Brandon said it didn’t matter since the running game failed in the end zone.
“I think we did a good job shutting the run down,” Brandon said. “We kept (Givens) out of the end zone. That’s been the trademark of our defense. We’ve given up 43 points in the last three games so our defense is doing a nice job keeping people out of the end zone.”
Falcon running back B.J. Lane sealed the victory with the second longest kickoff return in school history, sprinting 93-yards for a touchdown with just under eight minutes left in the game.
“A hole opened up big for me,” Lane said. “I just hit it and took it over to the end zone.”
Yet after all the positives that went the Falcon’s way, Brandon said he was unhappy with the overall fan turnout for homecoming.
“Our student’s showed up but where was everybody else,” Brandon said. “We’ve only lost two times in this place in the last four years so I don’t care how cold and rainy it was–its football weather; let’s go! Get your tails to the Doyt and support us!”
The Falcons continue MAC play in Athens next Saturday against the Ohio Bobcats.
