BGSU football hosted the Central Michigan Chippewas at Doyt L. Perry Stadium on Saturday, losing 26-7.
BG’s offense started off slow, coming out in the first quarter without much sizzle and struggling to maintain momentum.
The Falcon offense has been a slow starter throughout 2025, coming into the contest with only 23 first-quarter points across six previous matchups – an average of 3.8 first-quarter points per game. Saturday was no different, as the Falcons had only three points by the end of the first quarter and just six by halftime.
Much of the offensive futility comes down to playcalling, miscues and an inability to get the passing game in rhythm.
Falcon quarterback Lucian Anderson III looked uncomfortable in the pocket, often overthrowing his receivers. One such overthrow was intercepted by Chippewa senior linebacker Jordan Kwiatkowski after it tipped off the hands of redshirt freshman running back Cameron Pettaway, setting up a touchdown run by junior quarterback Angel Flores on the next play.
Without an effective way to move the ball through the air, BG relied on what has been its bread and butter all season: the run game. But the Chips’ defense, led by Kwiatkowski and redshirt-senior defensive end Michael Heldman, controlled the line of scrimmage and got key stops when they needed to.
Of course, not having Drew Pyne – the graduate student transfer quarterback brought in to be BG’s season-long starter – under center puts the offense at a disadvantage.
But regardless of who is under center, BG has never scored more than 28 points in a game, which was their total last week against Toledo. In that game, despite the high scoring, Anderson III had only 92 passing yards on the day.
With the offense struggling to stay on the field for a consistent period of time, the defense was frequently gashed by CMU’s run game. Flores and fellow quarterback Joe Labas, who were rotated in for different packages, successfully ran read options and designed runs to pick up key yardage.
In the third quarter, Flores ran in his third rushing touchdown of the day.
Overall, the Falcons’ offense felt like a unit that left a lot of potential on the field. Anderson III has immense athletic upside, which was often left untapped. Wide receiver Finn Hogan, despite being 6-foot-5 and quite athletic, was rarely targeted, and the offensive playcalling was conservative, especially on third down. The Orange and Brown rarely attacked downfield between the numbers and had no explosive plays.
“These are the moments where it feels like two steps forward and a step back,” head coach Eddie George said postgame.
Penalties also threw a wrench in the Falcons’ offensive program, as they racked up over 100 penalty yards on the day.
The situational playcalling on Saturday suggested a major lack of trust in Anderson III. In key situations, the keys to the offense were taken out of his hands.
In the third quarter, on a fourth-and-1 in their own territory, BG ran it up the middle and was stuffed by the same dominant CMU front line that had stopped the run all game.
Central Michigan took over in a turnover on downs, prompting many fans to get up and leave the stadium. CMU would score a field goal on that drive.
Despite going toe-for-toe with the Chips in terms of time of possession, BG failed to cap off their drives with points. After the first drive, BG did not reach CMU’s red zone again for the rest of the game.
With the offense falling flat, the defense folded under the weight of their increased responsibility.
“We got no turnovers,” linebacker Gideon Lampron said. “You’re not going to win games that way.”
BG’s score of six points was their lowest point total in a game since Oct. 7, 2023, when the Falcons faced Miami (OH) and were held scoreless.
BG will be back in action on Saturday at noon, against the Kent State Golden Flashes in Kent, Ohio.
