The BG football team will be kicking off against the Ohio University Bobcats tonight for Senior Night at Doyt L. Perry Stadium.
The 6-3 Falcons won their last game 45-3 this past Tuesday against the Miami University RedHawks and Ohio lost its Tuesday night game against the University of Buffalo Bulls 30-3.
“I was really proud, not just for the performance, but really the process that went into the process,” head coach Dave Clawson said. “Certainly after the Toledo game, I had concerns how we would come out, how we’d practice and if guys would hang their head.”
The game against Ohio is a very important for BG in its chance for an opportunity to get to the Mid-American Conference Championship game in Detroit on Dec. 6.
In order to keep their destiny in their own hands, the Falcons need to win out against Ohio, Eastern Michigan University on Nov. 23 and the final regular season game at Buffalo on the day following Thanksgiving.
A loss against Ohio or Buffalo could be detrimental to BG’s chance for a MAC championship. If the Falcons lose to Ohio, they will drop to third place in the MAC East Division and the fate of their MAC Championship hopes will be in the hands of Buffalo
The Bulls face Toledo tonight and Miami next Tuesday before matching up with BG on Nov. 29.
“Ohio has established themselves as a good program,” Clawson said. “They’re a model of consistency in the MAC East.”
At 6-3, Ohio has had an arguably better year than they had this past season. The Bobcats started its season with a 49-7 against the then-ranked No. 9 University of Louisville Cardinals but won four-straight games in-a-row.
Ohio wonthree-straight home games against the University of North Texas Mean Green (27-21), the Marshall University Thundering Herd (34-31) and the Austin Peay University Governors (38-0).
Ohio won its first MAC game on the road 43-3 against the University of Akron Zips. However, the Bobcats lost its next game 26-23 against the Central Michigan University Chippewas.
After winning the next two games at Eastern Michigan (56-28) and Miami (41-16), the Bobcats fell to Buffalo 30-3, putting them at 3-2 in MAC play.
A loss against BG will put Ohio in a sticky situation which will force them to rely on BG and Buffalo losing most of their remaining games.
Despite the ‘what-if’ scenarios, BG’s goal is to win its remaining regular season games against Ohio, Eastern Michigan and Buffalo.
Their victory against Miami was a much needed confidence booster following the 28-25 loss against Toledo the previous week.
Quarterback Matt Johnson’s 252 passing yards against the RedHawks took him above 2,000 yards on the season, marking the seventh-consecutive year a BG quarterback has done so.
Running back Travis Greene’s 112 rushing yards this past Tuesday against Miami put him above the 1,000 yard mark. If Greene can maintain more than 1,000 yards at the end of the season he will become the first player to do so since P.J. Pope in 2004. Anthon Samuel nearly reached the 1,000 yard mark this past season but finished the season with 998 rushing yards.
The first 750 students at the game will receive a 16-ounce travel mug which includes a free hot chocolate from concession stands.
The Falcons kickoff against the Ohio University Bobcats at Doyt L. Perry Stadium is tonight at 7:30 p.m.
