Well, folks, the wait is finally over; week one of the college football season is upon us. The Bowling Green Falcons will battle Fordham on Thursday night at Doyt L. Perry Stadium to kick off the 2024 season.
Falcon Media Sports Network’s Rhys Patrykus and Caden Knapp will have the call of the game on Falcon Radio, starting at 6:45 for pregame and 7 p.m. for kick-off.
Series History:
Thursday will mark the first time the Falcons and Rams have met on the gridiron.
The game will also be Bowling Green’s first ever against a Patriot League opponent.
Bowling Green:
The Falcons are coming off their first winning season in nine years, finishing last year 7-6 and ending their campaign with a 30-24 loss to Minnesota in the Quick Lane Bowl.
Bowling Green is ready to roll this season as they have 32 seniors on their team [sixth in the nation], with 16 at starting positions.
Last year, the Falcon defense shined its way into becoming one of the hallmarks of the team’s success. BGSU finished in the top four in the country in total interceptions (17) and seventh in the nation in fumbles recovered (11).
So, how does BG head coach Scot Loeffler prepare to maintain that dominance?
“We have two to three periods a practice, that all we’re doing is concentrating on how to get the ball back and how to protect the ball,” Loeffler said. “So that’s gotta carry over, all those great drills and all those things that we do year in and year out about the ball has to show up this fall.”
You really know football is back when you hear Loeffler talking about consistency.
Consistency is one of the most important things for a football coach to have for their team, and Loeffler is no different.
“It’s the message I’ve sent to my team daily, and it’s consistency. Day in and day out, how we do business will determine how many games we win,” Loeffler said. “If you’re inconsistent, if you’re indisciplined, you’ll get what you deserve.”
A reason why he preaches consistency so much? Distractions, name, image and likeness (NIL), conference realignment and so many more things that change in a blink of an eye in college football nowadays.
“There’s so many things right now in college football that’s out there that are distractions. We’ve gotta be disciplined enough to worry about what’s important and put the other things to rest that aren’t important,” Loeffler said. “Come out and be selfless, be a team, and everything will take care of itself.”
Fordham:
Don’t let the “FCS” tagline fool you one bit.
Fordham comes into this game off a 6-5 2023 season, which included a win over fellow Mid-American Conference (MAC) team, the Buffalo Bulls. Fordham defeated the Bulls 40-37 and barely lost to Ohio University 59-52 in 2022, as a late touchdown with 53 seconds left by OU lifted the Bobcats over the Rams.
Lucky for us, this isn’t getting past Loeffler and the Falcons.
“I think this Fordham team is a great challenge. This team knows how to win; they’ve got a great program,” Loeffler said. “So very impressed with what they do, we’re gonna have to play our best football like normal. The great thing about college football these days is anyone can win at any moment, so we’ve got to bring our A game like we’ll have to do all 12 weeks.”
Fordham is coming off a season where they finished 13th in the FCS in total offense, scoring at least 40 points more than four times, including their win against Buffalo.
This team is nowhere near shy of a good ol’ shootout if it’s sprung upon them. This is something that BG struggled with a year ago, as anytime their opponent scored more than 30 points, it resulted in a loss.
Falcon Four Players To Watch:
CJ Montes (Fordham junior quarterback, #8)
This will be Montes’ second year starting for the Rams.
Montes comes into this season after a top -10 finish in passing yards in the FCS a season ago totaling 3,000 yards, 26 touchdowns and just one interception. Montes has been named to the third team all-american for the FCS and will be a force to be reckoned with when it comes to passing the ball.
Julius Loughridge (Fordham senior running back, #15)
Similar to Montes, Loughridge comes into this game off a very impressive 2023 season in which he finished just outside the top ten in rushing yards at the FCS level. He totaled 1,146 yards and eight rushing touchdowns.
The Loughridge-Montes duo will be as tough as any duo the Falcons will have to face this season, as they have combined for 33 games played in a Rams uniform.
Connor Bazelak (Bowling Green senior quarterback, #7)
The senior quarterback will be in the middle of the spotlight in the first game of the season against the Rams.
He is coming off a shaky and inconsistent first season with the Falcons in which he finished with 1,935 passing yards, 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
In order for the Falcons to start the season with a win against Fordham and have a successful year, Bazelak will need to shine for the Orange and Brown.
Terion Stewart (Bowling Green junior running back, #4)
Stewart is the workhorse of the Bowling Green offense.
He enters the 2024 season as a Phil Steele and Athlon preseason First Team All-American, and is on the Doak Walker, Walter Camp and Maxwell Award watch lists.
The Memphis, Tennessee native averages 6.3 yards per carry in his collegiate career with the Falcons, the most in Bowling Green history.
