This past Saturday, BGSU Football (7-4, 6-1 MAC) returned to action as they traveled to Muncie, Indiana, to matchup against the Ball State Cardinals (3-8, 2-5 MAC) looking for their fifth straight win, earning a 38-13 victory and moving them one step closer to the 2024 MAC Championship in Detroit.
First Quarter:
The start of the game was a bit of a slow one as both the Falcon’s and Cardinals ’ defenses were making big-time efforts to stop either offense from scoring.
That was until Bowling Green drew first blood with just 4:46 left in the first. Senior quarterback Connor Bazelak drove the offense down the field and threw a four-yard touchdown pass to none other than junior tight end Harold Fannin Jr, marking his ninth touchdown reception on the season.
Ball State would regain possession after the score but would punt it away with just 1:35 remaining; the quarter would end with BG leading 7-0.
Second Quarter:
The start of the second is when Bowling Green’s defense set the town early, including a sack from junior linebacker Joseph Sipp Jr.
This trend would continue throughout the majority of the second. While the defense was standing their ground, the same couldn’t be said for the offense as junior running-back Terion Stewart would fumble with less than five minutes to go before the end of the half.
For a split second, it looked like the Cardinals would put some of their points on the board. That was until Bowling Green got the ball back as senior cornerback Jordan Oladokun picked it off from Ball State QB Kadin Smeonza.
After the 2-minute timeout, BG would continue to drive down the field until the Ball State defense would force a stop with just over a minute to play.
The Falcons would then kick a 43-yard field goal attempt from junior kicker Zach Long. Making the score a two-possession lead 10-0.
Then, with exactly 37 seconds remaining in the half, Ball State would finally strike as Smeonza drove the offense down the field, throwing a 51-yard touchdown pass to running-back Vaughn Pemberton. A mistake that would leave the Falcons and head coach, Scot Loeffler, scratching their heads.
The half would end with Bowling Green leading 10-7.
Third Quarter:
The second half would start with the Falcons receiving first.
Bazelak and the offense would try to drive down the field once again. As soon as the Falcons would get into the red zone, the Cardinals would once again make a crucial stop by forcing an incompletion as Bazelak looked for Fannin in the endzone, Ball State would hold them to just three. Long would hit a 35-yard field goal to make it 13-7.
Then, with just less than six minutes to go, Fannin would once again make a big-time reception that would get Bowling Green into the red zone. However, Fannin was a bit shaken up after the play and headed to the locker room as the game continued.
Bowling Green would finally punch it in for their first touchdown of the second half, Handing the ball off to junior receiver Rahkeem Smith on a reverse sweep. Then, coach Loeffler decided to stretch out the deficit a little bit more by going for a two-point conversion when Bazelak found senior running-back Jamal Johnson on a roll-out style play.
Initially, it looked as if Johnson didn’t maintain possession when he was knocked out of bounds, but the call on the field would end up standing. Making it a two score game 21-7.
After Ball State once again punted away, Smith would score his second consecutive touchdown after Bazelak set up the play nicely with a screen pass with amazing blocking out in front. This was the second passing touchdown on the afternoon for Bazelak.
Fourth Quarter:
The 4th quarter would start out with Ball State’s struggles continuing as they barely got away from having a blocked punt on a 4th & 32 play.
Bowling Green would once again drive down the field but would be stopped around Ball State’s 30-yard line. Zach Long would end up kicking his longest field goal of the day at just 48 yards, 31-7 BG.
The Cardinals were trying to salvage what time they had left in the game, as Smeonza threw his second passing touchdown to receiver Qian Macwood to cut the deficit down to a two-score game. The offense attempted a two-point conversion but failed to convert 31-13.
The Falcons would continue to pile on what has already been a dominant performance with another passing touchdown, this time from backup freshman QB Lucian Anderson III, who gave Smith his third touchdown of the game.
Bowling Green will look for their sixth straight win, and a chance to book their ticket to the MAC Championship game at Ford Field, as they return home to Doyt L. Perry Stadium on Black Friday, Nov. 29, facing off against the Miami Redhawks. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.
