Penalties and undisciplined play prevented BGSU football from finding any rhythm in the team’s 27-6 loss to Central Michigan Saturday afternoon.
The Falcons played their most undisciplined game of the season, committing a season-high 15 penalties for 125 yards.
“It’s poise; we lacked poise…We’re not a great team yet, so we certainly can’t do that part to help a team by adding yards on penalties,” Mike and Jan Wilcox Head Football Coach Eddie George said postgame. ”
The last time Bowling Green committed as many penalties as they did against the Chippewas was on Oct. 30, 2021, against Buffalo.
“I didn’t have this team ready to play coming off of last week,” George said.
The infractions throughout the game consisted of four unsportsmanlike penalties, three personal fouls, three holding penalties, three offside penalties and two false starts.
“I didn’t know it was that many penalties,” junior middle linebacker Gideon Lampron said postgame. “I know there were a few personal fouls, but we just need to grow up. I mean, that’s unacceptable, especially at this level of football.”
Graduate student left tackle Tunde Fatukasi and junior linebacker AJ Odom led the team in fouls.
Fatukasi committed two holding penalties, an unsportsmanlike penalty and a personal foul. Meanwhile, Odom committed an offside penalty, an unsportsmanlike penalty and a personal foul.
Additionally, senior cornerback Jalen McClendon, senior center Alex Padgett, sophomore defensive end David Afogho, senior tight end Jyrin Johnson, graduate student defensive tackle Evan Branch-Haynes, redshirt freshman offensive tackle Alex Harris and an unspecified assistant coach also committed a penalty.
Fatukasi has been the most penalized player on the team this season, committing eight fouls. The next closest Falcon has committed three penalties.
Bowling Green now ranks second-to-last in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) with 54 penalties, one less than Toledo.
15 of the Falcons’ penalties, or just over one in every four, have been unsportsmanlike conduct (six) or personal fouls (9) so far this year.
The additional penalties include 10 holding calls, 10 false starts, six delay of games, four offside flags, three pass interferences, two illegal formations, a kick catch interference, an illegal touch-pass, an illegal substitution and an ineligible man downfield.
BG committed just eight total penalties for 65 yards in their first two games of the season against Lafayette and Cincinnati. However, discipline has been a major issue for the Falcons over the past two weeks, committing a staggering 22 penalties for 180 yards against Toledo and Central Michigan.
“We’re not mature enough yet. We’ve got to learn maturity,” George said.
