Bowling Green earned a dominant 49-19 win Wednesday night over the Kent State Golden Flashes, punching their ticket to bowl eligibility with sixth win of the season, and fourth straight victory.
The Falcons did so without the cornerstone of their offense, running back Terion Stewart, who sat out with a lower leg injury.
Who propelled them to their second straight year of bowl eligibility? The next man up, Ta’ron Keith.
Keith came into the game with 29 rushes for 157 yards and a touchdown. He left with his name in the Bowling Green record book.
He rushed for 103 yards for one rushing touchdown on nine carries, including a 30-yard-burst.
But that’s not all. Keith tacked on another 130 yards and another touchdown receiving, including a 45-yard touchdown catch and run in the second quarter to boost the Falcon lead to 15.
Based on available records, Keith is the first Falcon to ever achieve a stat line with over 100 yards receiving and rushing in one game.
Scot Loeffler praised Keith for his playmaking ability and dedication to the game.
“He’s not the biggest guy, he’s not the fastest but he finds ways to make plays,” Loeffler said. “He’s a very very intelligent football player. He works at it, he’s in the office all the time. He loves football and he’s just got a knack for the game.”
“He’s one of those players that comes to the sideline and tells you what he’s seen and when you watch the film, he’s right,” Loeffler added.
Camden Orth, one of three quarterbacks who saw the field against Kent State, noted Keith’s versatility.
“He’s so versatile that it’s so hard to defend him,” Orth said after the game “He can obviously run the ball and also catch the ball as well, so he’s just a freak.”
Orth added on that Keith did a fantastic job as the “next man up” in Terion Stewart’s absence.
“Terion’s a baller so we knew we had to make up for that and obviously TK [Ta’ron Keith] did that tonight.”
Keith chose the right time to show the MAC what he’s made of as the Falcons are set to face the top team in the MAC and their arch-rivals, the 9-1 Toledo Rockets Tuesday for yet another edition of the Mid-American Conference’s richest rivalry, The Battle Of I-75.
