BGSU football opened up its 2024 football season against the Fordham Rams in the first matchup ever between the two programs.
The Falcons concluded last season with a final record of 7-6, while the Fordham Rams finished with a 6-5 record. This game was an offensive masterclass by the Falcons, dominating the Rams scoreboard.
Junior running back Terion Stewart highlighted their massive victory with 161 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns.
First Quarter
Before kickoff, Fordham won the coin toss and chose to kick to start the game. On the opening kickoff, the Falcons returner, Justin Pegues, took it for a touchdown. He went all 100 yards down the field. This return marks a record as the longest kick return in school history. After only 12 seconds of game time, the Falcons had a lead of 6-0.
On BG’s first defensive drive, Fordham quarterback CJ Montes was sacked by Anthony Hawkins and Ali Saad. This sack forced the Rams to punt.
After getting the ball on offense, BG drove right down the field and scored another touchdown. A couple of key throws by Connor Bazelak and an impressive hurdle by Harold Fannin Jr. brought them down to the red zone. The drive was capped off by a Stewart 7-yard touchdown rush. The score was 13-0 with 8:20 remaining in the quarter.
Fordham was once again driving down the field, but two big plays by the BG defensive front put a stop to it.
On Bowling Green’s second offensive drive, it was the passing game that was extremely successful. Two big passes to Jamal Johnson and Fannin put the Falcons in prime position to score. Stewart ran the ball once again, putting them on the 13-yard line. The Falcons then switched quarterbacks, putting in Lucian Anderson III, who ran the ball into the endzone for the touchdown.
At the end of the first quarter, Bowling Green’s lead grew to 20-0.
Second Quarter
After being given a short field, the Falcons found themselves with the ball on the 38-yard line. The Falcons converted two very important first downs by Fannin and Jaison Patterson. With the offense threatening, Bazelak took it in the endzone himself for the rushing touchdown from 8 yards out. This fourth touchdown by BG brought the score up to 27-0.
The Rams had gotten the ball with 5:16 to go in the half, and after a couple of minutes, they were in the red zone. However, Montes was sacked again by Charles Rosser, resulting in a five-yard loss. Despite this, Fordham got the ball to the eight, where they were able to kick a field goal to end the half.
Halftime
The Orange and Brown’s lead was 27-3 after two quarters of action.
After the first half, it was the passing attack that was pushing the ball downfield. Bazelak was 11/13 and threw for 125 yards, but the running game was where the points came from. The Falcons had three touchdowns on the ground, with each one coming from a different player.
Third Quarter
Fordham received the ball for the opening possession of the second half, and it was very productive. A 44-yard shovel pass from Montes to Julius Loughridge put them on the BG 30. From there, Montes threw a touchdown pass to wide receiver Cole Thornton. This score cut into their deficit, 27-10.
Late in the third, BG had the ball, and it looked like their drive was all but over. A face mask penalty on the offensive line had their offense facing a 4th and 25. The Falcons lined up in punt formation but faked it. Their punter, John Henderson, ran for 29 yards, getting them the first down. A shovel pass to Fannin got them 7 yards from the endzone, and Stewart punched it in for the score. The BG advantage was 34-10.
Fourth Quarter
The Rams had the ball at the end of the third and continued to hold onto it until 8:51 in the fourth. Throughout their drive, Montes had a few productive scrambles to continue to give them first downs. However, Fordham found themselves in a fourth-and-14 situation on the BG 16-yard line. They elected to go for it and failed to convert, turning the ball over on downs.
Bowling Green didn’t hold onto the ball for very long, however, as they scored in only three plays. Stewart ran for 73 yards all the way to the endzone. That was Stewart’s third rushing touchdown of the game, putting the Falcons up 41-10.
With only 0:32 remaining in the game, Fordham was able to score a touchdown. Montes threw a 60-yard pass to Jack Betten to bring the score to 41-17.
Wrap Up
The Falcons came away from this game with a blowout victory and a final score of 41-17. Bowling Green’s ground game was stifling, with a total of 305 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns. These stats were spread out between nine different ball carriers.
In the postgame press conference, Head Coach Scot Loeffler talked a lot about the selfless nature of the team’s culture.
“When BG’s won here, we’ve been selfless… We’ve been a group that’s gonna play for each other. We’re gonna build on that,” said Loeffler.
Pegues, who scored the kickoff return, also mentioned how the team played for each other and that they’re a family.
“Probably one of the best running back rooms in the country; we all play together, and we’re all a family,” said Pegues.
Bowling Green begins the season 1-0 for the first time since 2019. Next up, the Falcons travel to Happy Valley to take on the Penn State Nittany Lions, with kick-off set for noon.
