Scot Loeffler’s football team is 1-1 following a 38-15 home opener victory over Eastern Illinois on Saturday.
However, the next test in front of them is quite the daunting one.
Who is it? None other than the number two team in the country: the Michigan Wolverines.
“This will be an amazing opportunity for our team, an amazing opportunity to show where we are, and an amazing opportunity for our players to test their skills,” said running back Terion Stewart during Monday’s press conference.
Bowling Green heads to Ann Arbor this weekend to face off with the back-to-back Big Ten Champions on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in the Big House.
But for Loeffler and many others on the coaching staff, this is not just a football game; it’s also a homecoming.
“There’s a lot of guys on our staff that had an opportunity to go to Michigan and the way we look at it is we’re super grateful for giving us an opportunity to earn a degree, super grateful to play a game we love and tremendously grateful for all the relationships we have from that place” said Loeffler.
For Loeffler, he attended the University of Michigan from 1993-96. But Loeffler wasn’t finished at Michigan after his playing career was done, as he became a graduate assistant on the team from 1996-99, being a part of the 1997 national championship team.
So it’s safe to say that maize and blue still remain in his blood. But what makes Ann Arbor special?
The people.
“It all started with Coach (Bo) Schembechler; he’s from my hometown (Barberton, OH) and it’s probably the biggest reason that I went to Michigan,” said Loeffler. Then obviously Coach (Gary) Moeller recruited me, as well as Lloyd Carr, who I consider a father figure without a doubt.”
Loeffler is not the only bond between Bowling Green and Michigan. Schembechler, whose legendary head coaching career amassed a record of 234-65-8, had a close relationship with Doyt Perry, the most successful coach in BGSU Football history.
When Perry took over the job at Bowling Green in 1955, he hired Schembechler as an assistant coach, who stayed with the Falcons for a year before leaving for a job at Northwestern.
Then there is Jack Harbaugh, current Michigan assistant coach and father to head coach Jim Harbaugh. Jack played college football for BGSU from 1957-60, where he was a three-time letterman. In his junior year, the Falcons finished the season 9–0 and were named the 1959 small college division national champions.
“The ties that Schembechler had to Doyt Perry I think are really cool,” said Loeffler. “You look at the Harbaugh family, Jack Harbaugh was here, and Jim and John lived some of their youth here. And my roommate from college is the defensive line coach (Mike Elston) there now who is a great man and there’s a lot of great memories.”
Going back to Jack Harbaugh, he began his coaching career as an assistant coach to Jerry Nowak at Perrysburg High School. Both sons were born while Harbaugh was in Perrysburg, and today, Jim is at Michigan leading the Wolverines, while John has won a Super Bowl while being the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens.
So with all this history realistically flooding back into Loeffler’s mind this week, how does he get his team to still be laser focused?
Having a great week of practice.
“It’s a special week but at the end of the day it’s a football game and you gotta go in and prepare like heck,” said Loeffler. “The challenge we’re gonna have is that I want to have the best Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday practice we’ve had up to this point.”
Although it’s been 16 years since Loeffler has coached the Wolverines in some form, he still uses messages and pieces he learned at Michigan to further this Falcon team.
“I learned this from Gary Moeller my first week I was in camp, you’ll never be able to repay Michigan for what Michigan can do for you,” said Loeffler. “And that’s the message we want to teach our players here; at the end of the day, the things that are still important in college football are education, playing as a team, and winning championships.”
Loeffler may always think highly of Michigan, but come Saturday night, he will have one goal in mind: shock the world.
Join Reese Lannon, Tyler Kavalecz, and Brandon Loe on Saturday starting at 7 p.m. on Falcon Radio, as they have the call of the game from the Big House.
For more stories related to BGSU Athletics, follow Falcon Media Sports Network on X (@bg_fmsn).
