In BGSU football’s 38-31 loss to Arkansas State in the 68 Ventures Bowl, two normally steady phases of the game were uncharacteristically off-kilter.
For what felt like the first time in forever under coordinator Alex Bayer, the Bowling Green special teams unit was shaky at best.
Despite one play, the coverage was less than optimal, and the kicking game especially had plenty of room for improvement.
“Very uncharacteristic,” head coach Scot Loeffler said postgame Thursday. “We play great special teams around here, and we did not tonight, unfortunately.”
On top of the execution issues in the third phase, another issue re-reared its ugly head. Coming into the bowl game, Bowling Green averaged 5.1 penalties per game for 41.3 penalty yards per game.
In the 68 Ventures Bowl, the Falcons racked up six penalties for 56 yards.
“The ‘No Talent’ issues crept up on us, which hasn’t occurred a lot this year,” Loeffler continued. “We’ve been a fairly disciplined football team. Unfortunately, we shot ourselves in the foot multiple times. I’ve never been a part of a game statistically where you dominate the game and lose the game.”
Bowling Green led their Sun Belt foe in passing yards, total yards, and time of possession and converted three of their four fourth-down attempts. Yet they did not lead in the scoring category.
Junior kicker Zach Long, who failed to connect on just three field goals going into the bowl game, matched his season total. He missed two attempts and had one blocked. Those nine points could have won Bowling Green the game.
Unfortunately, the real world doesn’t deal with hypotheticals.
Aside from the missed field goals, the punt coverage was suspect at the time. In the first quarter, on BG’s very first punt attempt of the night, the coverage team got sucked too far to the left side of the field, allowing only a few blocks to spring Courtney Jackson free, going 60 yards to pay-dirt.
However, it wasn’t all bad.
BG’s first points of the game came on a good special teams moment: third-string quarterback Baron May donned the number 18 and tried his hand at John Henderson cosplay, fooling the Arkansas State return unit, the broadcasters, and the folks at home into a 43-yard laser touchdown to Malcolm Johnson Jr.
The fake punt garnered national attention, even being featured (and discussed) on The Pat McAfee Show.
Of course, the largest headline of the night came from yet another historical performance out of Harold Fannin Jr.
Fannin hauled in 17 passes for 213 yards (both career highs) and a tip-drill touchdown, setting the mark for receptions (117) and receiving yards (1,550) by a tight end in a single college football season, dethroning Rice’s James Casey and Texas Tech’s Jace Amaro, respectively.
“He’s the best tight end in the country,” Loeffler said. “He’s a different talent. If he continues to mature the way that he has and keeps growing, he’s going to play a long time.”
In a campaign with conference championship aspirations, Bowling Green fell short of a bowl victory, finishing the season with a 7-6 (6-2 Mid-American Conference) record.
“There was some disappointing moments, I don’t think it was a disappointing season,” Loeffler said. “Back home, we had a chance to go to the championship and fell short. (We) Just didn’t make enough plays, it wasn’t an effort deal, it wasn’t what happened tonight. Unfortunately, tonight, we beat ourselves.”
The clock now rolls on the offseason. With more than 35 players departing Bowling Green for one reason or another, including 33 seniors, Loeffler and Co. will have themselves an uphill battle for the 2025 season.
Bowling Green opens next season against FCS Lafayette at Doyt L. Perry Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 30.
