After putting together quite the performance last Thursday against Fordham, it’s nose to the grindstone once more for Bowling Green, with a large matchup looming on the horizon. On September 7, Bowling Green will take on the #8 Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium.
Falcon Media Sports Network’s Sean Connelly, Tyler Kavalecz, and Rhys Patrykus will have the call, starting around 11:45 a.m. for pregame and noon for kickoff.
Series History:
It’s the second time these two teams have matched up in each program’s history and their first meeting since the 1998 season.
Penn State leads the series, 2-0.
The Lowdown:
After starting the season off with a bang, taking down the Fordham Rams, 41-17, Bowling Green is faced with a real test in week two: on the road, with an early kickoff, in one of the biggest and loudest stadiums in the country.
Playing in big and loud environments isn’t something that Bowling Green isn’t accustomed to, especially in the Loeffler era.
Since 2019, they’ve traveled to Notre Dame, Tennessee, UCLA, Michigan, and Georgia Tech, to name a few.
Head coach Scot Loeffler spent a lot of time during his Monday presser comparing the Michigan game last year to Saturday.
“The good thing is just like you said. A lot of our team has been there before. We played in some really great places [like] Tennessee, the Big House and now going to Happy Valley. There’s a lot of challenge to it. There’s a lot of challenge with communication,” he said. “We have to be on point. We have to know exactly what to do because it is hard to hear. It’s a loud place. The student section will be rocking and rolling. There’ll be an unbelievable amount of people when you’re just warming up. I remember always taking the quarterbacks out to warm up there and the entire student section is packed whenever we were the first people to go out to warm up. [Football’s] important there. They do a great job with supporting their team, very similar to us.”
However, the team is treating it like it’s just any other game.
“I think, obviously last year, our team showed that we can go into a crowd of 100,000 and play really well against the eventual national champions,” starting quarterback Connor Bazelak said. “We try to practice the same every single week. I thought we had a really, really good week of practice last week and I believe that’s part of why we went out and played really well against Fordham. We have to have great practice Tuesday and Wednesday, but that only gives you the chance to play well on Saturdays. No matter who it is, no matter who you’re playing, you always want to practice well.”
When you look good and feel good, you play good – and Bowling Green must’ve looked and felt really good last week.
Against Fordham, the offense put together almost 500 yards of total offense (305 rushing, 170 passing). Terion Stewart led the way with 161 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries. Bazelak was surgical, completing 15 of his 22 pass attempts for 168 yards. He also ripped off an eight-yard touchdown run and finished with 27 yards on two carries.
“You look at them offensively, it’s essentially [Loeffler’s] offense. He calls the offense. Has done that for most of his career and they did a really good job and put up big numbers this past week,” Penn State head coach James Franklin said. “They’re a run-first offense, predominantly, but do a good job at the quarterback position and taking shots where appropriate. Been impressed with their tight end Harold Fannin; running back, Terion Stewart; and then their quarterback, Connor Bazelak, who also has some history here in the Big Ten as well.”
That history that Coach Franklin refers to is the 2022 season, Bazelak’s lone year with Indiana University, where he threw for 2,312 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions on 235-of-426 (55.2%) passing. His head coach at the time, Tom Allen, is now the defensive coordinator for Penn State.
Bowling Green’s defense was strong, only allowing the Rams to pass into Falcon territory five times, and only scoring three times. They got to Fordham’s CJ Montes five times and held him to 159 yards and a touchdown on 13 of 21 passing.
“Then defensively, Steve Morrison and Sammy Lawanson running the defense over there, from what we’ve seen on tape so far, they’re going to create some challenges. I would say looking at their team in general, they’re a bigger, more physical team than what I anticipated,” Franklin said. “You look at them on film but also their numbers, they’re a big, physical group. This is a team that’s going to play combination and odd and even front. They’re primarily a middle-of-the-field open defense but will close it up and play some zone, cover three, and a decent amount of pressure as well. Guys we been impressed with, cornerback, No. 1 [Jordan Oladokun]; defensive end, No. 5 [Anthony Hawkins]; and then their linebacker, No. 3 [Joseph Sipp Jr.].”
The big story coming out was that for the first time since November 22, 2022, against Ohio, the Bowling Green defense did not force a turnover.
Fordham has done a great job of not turning the football over in the past. Just last year, Montes only threw one interception on 375 pass attempts, and Penn State’s Drew Allar is much of the same.
The Medina, Ohio native threw two interceptions in 2023 on 349 pass attempts.
“That’s [forcing turnovers] what gave us a chance in the first half [of the Michigan game] last year,” Loeffler said. “We’ve got to find a way to either punch the ball out, get a strip sack from behind, being able to force an interception – all of which are very difficult versus this team. To give yourself a chance in that type of environment, the turnover war, like anything else, like any other game, is critical. But really, when you’re going in and you’re such an underdog, you’ve got to be able to create some turnovers and create some momentum swings very early in that football game.”
There’s always a chance, however.
In last week’s 34-12 victory against West Virginia, Penn State starting center Nick Dawkins had some issues with snaps – some sailed high, some were low, and one in the first quarter resulted in a turnover.
That was their only turnover of the game. Allar finished the game with 216 yards and three touchdowns on 11-of-17 passing, Nick Singleton had 114 yards and a score on 13 carries, and the Penn State offense combined for 457 yards of total offense.
Defensively, holding the Mountaineers to just 12 points was just the base of their success.
West Virginia’s quarterback, Garrett Greene, was kept on the run for a lot of the game, though was only sacked twice. He finished 15-of-28 passing for 161 yards. Backup Nicco Marchiol threw the game’s only interception.
On the ground, they were held to 85 yards on 23 carries (2.3 yards per carry).
Both coaches, Loeffler and Penn State’s Franklin had high praise for each other.
“For this week and Bowling Green, Scot Loeffler, the head coach there, we know Scot pretty well,” Franklin said. “Been a guy that’s been in this conference. Obviously, played at Michigan, we know them very well. Frank Leonard and him were on staff together at Boston College, so got a ton of respect toward him and his career and what he’s been able to do.”
“I think Coach [James] Franklin and his staff have done an unbelievable job. You look at their talent, and it’s as good a Penn State team as I’ve seen in a long time,” Loeffler said. “They don’t have too many holes at all, if any, and I think he’s done a super job recruiting [and a] super job developing the team. They’re really well coached, super talented and they’ll make a run in my opinion for the Big 10 championship. I think that’s the type of caliber team that we’re facing this weekend.”
A victory on Saturday would be Bowling Green’s first over a ranked opponent since 2008, when they beat #25 Pittsburgh at Heinz Field, 27-17.
Maybe a trip back out to Pennsylvania is what the team needs to find their first 2-0 start since 2013.
