Week four of the college football season is upon us, and boy do we have a fun one in College Station.
BGSU football (1-1) heads down to the Lone Star state to face off against the #25 team in the country, the Texas A&M Aggies (2-1).
Series history:
While this will be the first time that these two squads will face off against each other, BG has had its fair share of competing all over the Lone Star State.
This is just the 10th time the Falcons have traveled to the state of Texas. Saturday will mark the first time since 1988 that Bowling Green will play a game in Texas, as their last matchup was against TCU in a game where the Falcons lost 49-12.
Breakdown:
History aside, let’s talk some football. It feels like forever ago that we were talking about the Falcons’s impressive performance at Penn State, where they lost by just a touchdown to at the time the #8 team in the country.
A bye week can feel like an eternity, especially with how good the Falcons played last Saturday. Bowling Green will face two ranked opponents in three weeks for the first time since 2009. That year the Falcons faced off against #25 Missouri in their backyard and then hosted #8 Boise State. Ironically, they have the same rank as both Penn State and A&M this season.
Texas A&M comes into this game with first-year head coach Mike Elko, who has some BG background as he served as a defensive coordinator for five seasons from 2009-2013.
“Bowling Green, obviously a school that’s very dear to me, spent five years at Bowling Green as a defensive coordinator. My family absolutely loved that town; we have a lot of really fond memories and still a lot of really good friends that live up in Bowling Green. So a lot of respect for that school, and a lot of respect for that university and their program.”
Head coach Scot Loeffler has mutual respect and knows the challenge that lies ahead on Saturday.
“I think [Mike Elko] has done a great job; they’ve got talent. I think upfront they’re the most powerful and big, strong group that we’ll play this year. They’re really big and physical upfront on the defensive line. I think the offensive line is the same. So we’re gonna have our hands full. And then obviously dealing with the crowd noise. The good thing is that we were able to be in a really hostile environment last Saturday.”
Loeffler mentions the defensive line and how powerful they are and knows they’re no joke. This is a D-Line from the Aggies that is led by Nic Scourton, Shermer Stewart, Shermer Turner, and Chasius Howell.
Wait, Cashius Howell?
Howell should be a name all Bowling Green fans should remember, as Howell was a Falcon for three seasons from 2021-2023.
Here’s what Howell had to say about playing his former team and wants to note there will never be bad blood between him and his former teammates.
“Those are my best friends; a lot of those guys, they’re going to be at my wedding. So, you know, obviously, no bad blood. I still keep in contact, even when I first left BG. So I still have a good relationship with them. So, you know, it’s exciting to be able to play them.”
Howell also mentions to the media that during his time at BG, he was a part of some fun upsets and wanted to let his teammates and coaches know about the potential this game holds.
“Every year I was at BG, we had an upset against a bigger conference school or like a higher-ranked school. So they’re gonna come in here ready to work and get after us. So I’ve for the longest time liked Bowling Green; do not take them lightly.”
This caught the wind of coach Elko, as he mentioned on the Aggie football hour talk show that this team shouldn’t be taken lightly.
“I think I read somewhere that Scott Loeffler, in his time at Bowling Green, has played in five of the 10 largest stadiums in the country after Saturday night. They’re not gonna be intimidated coming in here. They’re gonna be coming in, and they’re gonna play their best game of football.”
This is a Falcon team that has played in some tough and, more importantly, loud stadiums. Beaver Stadium just two weeks ago, The Big House a year ago, and Neyland Stadium in Knoxville back in 2021.
Noise won’t be a problem for Loeffler, but a headache or two might be.
“Well, you really get a huge headache each day. You know, you’re blasting the music. You got golf carts with speakers running around. You got the music playing in the stadium as loud as it can play,” said Loeffler. “Thank goodness this isn’t a residential area because I’ve been at places where it has been a residential area, and they’re not happy at 7 o’clock in the morning when they’re hearing Tupac and all this other stuff.”
As for Texas A&M, they come into this matchup ranked as the 52nd total offense and 60th ranked total defense. But don’t let those numbers fool you for an SEC team.
Last week they had their hands full as they had to go into the swamp and play a tough Florida team in which they came out victorious with a 33-20 win.
Also last week, news broke that starting quarterback Connor Weigman was ruled questionable for the Florida game.
The sophomore QB has thrown for 225 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions in two games played this season.
Weigman ended up not being 100 percent last Saturday, so freshman Marcel Reed took the reps in his place. Reed went 11/17 with 178 yards and two touchdowns while guiding them to a 13-point win.
As for Weigman’s availability for Saturday? That’ll be another game-time decision for Elko.
“Connor is gonna be listed as day to day and week to week. We’ll kinda get him through and see where he’s at with everything. We’ll continue to manage the quarterback room very similar to how we have and play the guy on Saturday that we think gives us the best chance to win.”
No matter who’s playing quarterback for the Aggies this weekend, the test Bowling Green is facing is top-notch.
But you saw what Northern Illinois did to Notre Dame two weeks ago and what Toledo did last Saturday against Mississippi State.
The next upset from the MAC may be on the horizon, and it all starts at 7:30 on Saturday night in College Station.
