After what head coach Scot Loeffler called an “unbelievable wakeup call” loss to Old Dominion on Homecoming, the Bowling Green football team has been given a clean slate with the beginning of Mid-American Conference (MAC) play.
On Oct. 5, BGSU (1-3, 0-0 MAC) has the opportunity to right the ship against the Akron Zips (1-4, 0-0 MAC).
Falcon Media Sports Network’s Kaden Knapp and Holden Ruck will have the call, going live on Falcon Radio at 3:15 p.m. with kickoff around 15 minutes later.
MATCHUP HISTORY
Bowling Green and Akron have met 30 times dating back to the 1941 season, with BG leading the series, 20-10.
The Falcons have won two straight games against Akron, one on the road in 2022 and one at home last season.
THE LOWDOWN
Both coaches are currently in the middle of some self-reflection after tough losses in week five. Akron, who trailed Ohio by just four points at the start of the second half, unraveled, allowing the Bobcats to score 16 unanswered points across the final 30 minutes.
“One score game, 16-10 for a majority of the 4th quarter until it got away a little bit at the end,” Akron head coach Joe Moorhead said at his weekly presser. “At the end of the day, we didn’t get it done, and that responsibility falls to me. You’ve got to look at the mirror, not out the window, and point thumbs and not fingers. We got outcoached, we got outplayed, and I’ve got to find a way to get it fixed.”
Loeffler, on the other hand, is hoping that last Saturday’s loss against Old Dominion, which he called one of the most painful of his career, helps the team wake up as they enter into their real season.
“I think, as much as I hate to say this, because I hate losing, this might have been the best wake-up call for us this early in the season, because the fact of the matter [is] if you look at college football right now, it’s happening everywhere,” he said. “Across the board, teams are losing to teams because they’re worried about the dang logo, and they’re not showing up and they’re not doing their jobs.”
Akron has also been keeping a close eye on what Bowling Green has been able to do in their “pre-season” schedule.
“Did you have to remind me?” Moorhead joked. “They had the lead for different portions of the [Penn State] game, [I] never lost a home game up there, so I know the environment. It’s tough there – particularly for a Mid-American Conference team and, you know, the same thing can be said for Kyle Field. I think those are two of the top five environments in the country.”
Both teams are also struggling with injury issues, but who isn’t by this point?
Akron standout receiver Alex Adams hasn’t seen the field since Sept. 7 against Rutgers and has yet to record a statistic in 2024.
California transfer Ben Finley has been hobbled since the team’s season opener against Ohio State and has been sacked 3.3 times per game in 2024.
On the other end of the spectrum, Bowling Green should get some help back within the next 14 days: Kansas State transfer wide receiver RJ Garcia II, who has yet to appear in a game this season, has a shot to return this week, according to Coach Loeffler.
“RJ Garcia will be back here soon if not this week, for sure next week,” Loeffler said. “I’m hoping to get him some snaps this week, which will be a huge help for us.”
When it comes to the Zips, Coach Loeffler didn’t hold back when it came to praising Coach Moorhead and his staff.
“No. 1, I think [Akron head coach] Joe [Moorhead] does an unbelievable job. He is a great football coach,” said Loeffler. “There’s a reason that he’s won every place that he’s been. He is a really good offensive mind. He has a great staff. He has a very good defense. [They’re] very athletic up front. The MAC is the same. I don’t care what anyone says.”
The Zips’ defense, led by junior linebacker Bryan McCoy, has given up 209.6 rushing yards per game and over 40 points per game in 2024 but has played against some of the top offenses in the nation.
“[If] you look at their schedule, they’ve played some savages. Lord knows the effects that playing an Ohio State [or] playing a South Carolina has when you play Ohio U,” Loefler said. “I lived that life. We lived that life right out here last year whenever we didn’t practice [for the] OU [game] until Thursday, because we were so beat to hell from the Michigan game. So, you really can’t judge anything about the OU game, because you don’t know their health.”
With both schools on multiple-game losing streaks, a win for either of these squads could be the push they need in the right direction.
Kickoff from InfoCision Stadium is set for 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 5.
