BGSU football is set to match up against the Louisville Cardinals for the Falcons’ last out-of-conference matchup of the year before heading into Mid-American Conference (MAC) play. Kickoff is set for noon on Saturday.
Louisville comes into this matchup right off a bye week after winning their first two games Eastern Kentucky and James Madison.
The Falcons are 4-7 against ACC opponents, with their most recent win coming against Georgia Tech in the 2023 season, where the Orange and Brown defeated the Yellow Jackets 38-27 in Atlanta.
Matchup History
This is the first time that the Falcons and the Cardinals will meet on the gridiron. Saturday will also mark the first time since 2014 that the Falcons will travel to the state of Kentucky to play a football game.
In that game, the Falcons opened up their 2014 season with a matchup against Western Kentucky in a battle of the Bowling Greens. The Hilltoppers came out victorious with a 59-31 win over the Falcons.
Scouting Bowling Green
The Falcons are coming off an impressive win over the Liberty Flames on Homecoming, which marked their first win on homecoming since the 2022 season, when they defeated the Marshall Thundering Herd.
The Falcons rank fourth in the MAC with 23.0 points scored per game sixth with 314.0 total yards per contest.
BGSU have not had a solidified top running back or wide receiver in terms of performance this year, spreading the wealth.
In week one, Kaderris Roberts (12 carries for 66 yards) and RJ Garcia II (2 rec for 36 yards) led the team.
In week two, it was Cameron Pettaway (13 carries for 72 yards) and Jyrin Johnson (7 receptions for 80 yards and a TD) leading the charge.
Then, in week three, it was again Roberts (10 carries for 59 yards) and Garcia (3 receptions for 38 yards); however, Chris McMillian (12 carries for 56 yards) and Finn Hogan (3 receptions for 36 yards) were just a few yards away from matching in stats.
In terms of things that need to be cleaned up?
The Falcons committed over 10 penalties a week ago against Liberty. But Mike and Jan Wilcox Head Football Coach Eddie George believes those will be swept and cleaned by game time.
“Well, nine of those penalties were pre-snap, and that’s stuff that we can control. You know, staying on sides making sure that, you know, we have the right personnel group in,” said George. “When you look at the endgame, yeah, there might be some holding issues we have to resolve, but we preach that every day. We talk about attacking with the breastplate target thumbs up, tight elbows, and that almost ensures you’re not going to get a holding penalty, so the proper technique is taught every day that we’re here.”
Defense has been a bright spot on this team through the first three games, as they rank second in the MAC in defense and allow just the third-fewest touchdowns (seven) thus far in the league, only trailing Toledo and Northern Illinois.
In both wins, the Falcons have allowed less than 13 points in those games. In the lone loss, the Falcons allowed 34 points total to the Bearcats. But in the second half of that game, not only did the Falcons outscore the Bearcats in the second half, they also only allowed 13 points that half.
So, 13 points seems to be the lucky number for this defense if they want any chance to win on Saturday against Louisville.
Scouting Louisville
Louisville comes into this game after a bye week, after going 2-0 to start the season, defeating JMU and Eastern Kentucky.
George and the Falcons realize the test that lies ahead.
“Louisville is a great opportunity, a great challenge for us to go on the road in an awesome environment against a high-quality opponent. You look on this tape, you look at the roster. This team is built to compete for a championship in their conference, and possibly be a playoff team, the way that they look,” George said. “On the depth chart, it really, really speaks to you. They got some dudes on that both sides of the football. They do some great things holistically. They’re well coached, they play aggressive and they’re battle-tested.”
Louisville comes into this game with some weapons and something the Falcons have to keep an eye on.
One weapon is running back Isaac Brown. The sophomore from Miami, Florida, has been tearing defenses apart, which led George to praise the young back with some very high expectations.
“He’s just a sophomore. You know he might have a room at the Heisman house one day,” said George. “Gale Sayers used to say, ‘All you need is 16 inches of daylight, that’s all he needs, it’s just 16 inches.’ He’s explosive; he can make you pay. So it’s gonna be important for us to corral him.”
Brown’s first games consisted of six carries for 126 yards and two touchdowns against Eastern Kentucky and 12 carries for 104 yards and a touchdown against JMU.
This is an offense that ranks seventh overall in the ACC in total offense through the first two games of the season.
Defensively, they have a scary unit; they rank fourth in the ACC in defense as well as fifth in the country with 10 sacks.
Falcon Four Players to Watch
Cameron Pettaway (Bowling Green #26)
Pettaway has been a force in the backfield this season so far for George. In the loss to Cincinnati, Pettaway was the lead rusher going to 72 yards on 13 carries. He’s also one of the top kick returners in the MAC, having 213 yards and a touchdown on returns alone this season.
Kal El Pascal (Bowling Green #0)
Pascal is a young defensive back for this Falcons team who has popped out on box scores for the first couple of games this season. Pascal has 21 total tackles, one interception and one forced fumble this season for the defense.
Isaac Brown (Louisville #1)
Brown is one of the best backs in not just the ACC but in the country this season, and, as mentioned above, has received high praise from a former Heisman Trophy winner. Brown has 230 yards and 3 touchdowns on just 18 carries through two games.
Clev Lubin (Louisville #50)
Lubin is the top defensive lineman thus far for the Cardinals, as he’s racked up 3.5 sacks, 14 total tackles and one forced fumble. With the BG offensive line still finding its footing for the season, Lubin has the potential to give Pyne some work if he’s able to get by the offensive line.
