“I could have never imagined something like this. This was absolutely amazing, just being out there with my teammates and getting this opportunity to go out there and beat Toledo. I mean, couldn’t ask for anything more,” said BGSU quarterback Lucian Anderson III after defeating Toledo.
On the day of the long-awaited Battle of I-75, the world found out that Bowling Green starting quarterback Drew Pyne would not be starting the game, now listed as out on the Mid-American Conference (MAC) availability report, thrusting second-string quarterback Anderson into the spotlight.
Even with the sudden quarterback change, the Orange and Brown picked up the 28-23 victory at home against the Rockets, erasing a 21-point deficit.
The team found out that Pyne would be out that Monday, with the group quickly rallying around Anderson before his first career start.
“We had the announcement on, I think Monday, that Drew probably wasn’t going to play; he showed up to practice in a boot,” said sophomore defensive end Isaiah Thomison. “So, we already knew that Lucian was next up. We all got his back, we got everybody’s back on this team.”
Anderson had appeared sporadically in playing time throughout his career, even recording a 75-yard rushing touchdown against Louisville just a few weeks earlier. But he had only recorded 12 career passing attempts in his time with the Orange and Brown, now faced with the prospect of going against the sixth-ranked defense in the country in yards allowed per game.
“It’s our toughest game of the year. Whether this game is played here or is played in Toledo, it’s going to be tough. So, for him to take that on and not get down or upset, to stay the course. He didn’t go into a tank,” said Mike and Jan Wilcox Head Football Coach Eddie George. “He just kept making plays, kept leading, kept trusting. That just speaks to what these guys are doing day in and day out. The culture that we’ve started to create, and it’s been strengthened by a win today.”
The 6-foot-3 quarterback from Athens, Georgia, finished his day with two touchdowns, 91 yards passing and 33 yards on the ground while also throwing an interception.
His two passing touchdowns were just the second and third passing touchdowns of his career, including a 45-yard touchdown pass to running back Cameron Pettaway off a screen pass.
“I definitely had more comfortability with each drive, and my teammates were pushing me the entire time, telling me that they got me. And I was telling them, I have them,” said Anderson. “Had to be a man of my word…I love my teammates, can’t do it without them.”
