BGSU football will host Central Michigan at Doyt L. Perry Stadium for the first time since 2019 on Saturday at noon, battling the Chippewas during Bowling Green’s Family Weekend.
Falcon Media Sports Network’s Tyler Kavalecz and Carter Leonard will have the call of the game on Falcon Radio, streaming on bgfalconmedia.com.
Before the action on the gridiron begins, Nate Hinners, Adam Duffin and Gavin Gill will host the pregame show, beginning at 11:35 a.m. They will also host a halftime and postgame show, as well as providing studio updates throughout the broadcast.
Matchup History
Sunday marks the 45th meeting between the two teams, with Bowling Green leading the all-time series 25-19, dating back to 1924.
The Falcons have dominated recent matchups, winning four of the past five and nine of the last 12 games against the Chippewas.
However, CMU won the last battle at the Doyt, defeating BG 38-20 in 2019. Interestingly, the two teams have played at the Doyt just three times in the 21st century.
Scouting Bowling Green
Bowling Green enters the matchup in a tie for fourth place in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) standings with a 3-3 overall and a 1-1 conference record.
The Falcons are coming off their biggest win of the season last week, defeating Toledo 28-23 in the Battle of I-75.
“It’s a great win, a great win for our community. It’s a big rivalry that our school takes very seriously and our community takes very seriously,” Mike and Jan Wilcox Head Football Coach Eddie George said in his weekly press conference on Monday. “But we still have the meat of our schedule that we have to play. In the MAC, every week is tough, and we’ve got another opponent that we have to get ready for here, and hopefully we can use that same momentum and excitement and joy that we shared on Saturday and bring it to this game that’s coming up against Central Michigan.”
Bowling Green erased a 21-point deficit against the Rockets, recording the largest comeback in program history.
“I watched every snap of the entire game. You can tell that everyone over at Bowling Green is pulling the same rope in the same direction, and it’s awesome,” first-year Central Michigan head coach Matt Drinkall, who came from Army West Point, said.
The major storyline for Bowling Green is who will be under center.
Graduate student Drew Pyne quarterback did not play last week due to an injury suffered on Sept. 27 in the team’s 35-20 loss to Ohio, giving redshirt freshman quarterback Lucian Anderson III his first career start.
George did not name a starter on Monday, stating that Pyne was “day-to-day.”
“We’re not sure on his status, but over the next couple days, we’ll find out and we’ll know,” George said.
George had previously said Pyne was “week-to-week” in his availability after the win over Toledo.
The Falcons have not been the most dominant offense this year, ranking seventh in the MAC with 22.3 points per game and ninth with 306.5 yards per contest.
Meanwhile, BG’s defense has been solid, allowing 25.3 points and 378.2 yards per game, which ranks sixth in the conference.
Bowling Green has been especially good at punching out the ball, leading the MAC with seven fumbles recovered.
However, the Falcons have been undisciplined in many games, committing 6.5 penalties for 53.2 yards per game, the third-worst mark in the MAC.
Scouting Central Michigan
Central Michigan also enters the game tied for fourth place in the MAC standings, with a 3-3 overall and a 1-1 conference record.
“A formidable opponent. I mean, they are very, very tough, well-coached…This is a team you have to be mindful of,” George said.
The Chippewas will be fresh out of a bye week. CMU started conference play with a 24-13 win over Eastern Michigan before falling 28-22 to Akron.
“I don’t think emotionally we were ready to go, which is obviously a shortcoming (on me),” Drinkall said. “We started slow, and we didn’t execute clean. It was really frustrating. It forced us to play a game that we really don’t want to play, where you’re playing from a couple of scores behind, you’re having to throw it more than you’re running it.”
CMU has the most efficient offense in the MAC, with a 146.5 efficiency rating. Central Michigan has excelled on the ground, rushing for 188.5 yards per contest, the third-most in the conference.
“It’s two offenses that want to be physical and downhill, and two defenses that take a lot of pride in being really fast and physical,” Drinkall said. “The environment’s going to be great. It’s going to be a physical, old-school football game like the way it should be played.”
However, they rank just sixth in the MAC with 338.7 yards per game and eighth with 21.8 points scored per game.
Central Michigan runs a two-quarterback system, with a mainly passing quarterback—Joe Labas—and a mainly rushing threat—Angel Flores.
“I just got my eyes on them. One is a thrower, one is more of a runner. They use them in different situations. I really hadn’t got a true beat on their tendencies just yet,” George said. “They both run it effectively. You’re going to see quarterback run game; you’re going to see them line up and run a gap power, come downhill a little bit. They mix it up a lot. We have to be conscious and have a game plan for both of them.”
Meanwhile, the Chippewas’ defense ranks seventh in the conference with 381.8 yards allowed per game and eighth with 28.8 points allowed per contest. But CMU has grabbed seven interceptions, tied for the most in the MAC.
Falcon Four Players to Watch
Cameron Pettaway (Bowling Green No. 26)
Pettaway has been the most explosive offense player for the Falcons, recording the five longest plays of the season for the Falcons.
The redshirt freshman running back also leads the country with 35.1 yards per kick return.
Gideon Lampron (Bowling Green No. 4)
The junior middle linebacker has stepped up into a bigger role since the loss of Dorian Pringle for the season due to a torn ACL.
Lampron earned Co-MAC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against Toledo, where he recorded 13 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss. He ranks third in the conference with 8.0 tackles for loss and fourth with 57 total tackles.
Flores (Central Michigan No. 7)
The junior quarterback has been a major threat on the ground, rushing for a team-leading 384 yards on 77 attempts this season.
The Casa Grande, Arizona, native has rushed for 229 yards on 38 attempts in CMU’s past two games.
Michael Heldman (Central Michigan No. 97)
The redshirt senior defensive lineman leads the Chippewas with 6.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks this season.
Heldman also holds the program record with 21 quarterback hurries.
