All week the BG athletic department has been doing a fun feature: “10 reasons you should be at the Doyt Saturday.”
Some are serious — like it being the last chance you get to see BG play at home this year — and some are fun — like maybe a Kent State player will run the ball the wrong way again. And, while as of Thursday afternoon, they had not yet revealed their No. 1 reason, I will go ahead and simplify for you why you should be at the Doyt this Saturday:
It is the biggest BG home game in nine years.
Do you remember what you were doing nine years ago? I was in seventh grade. I didn’t know what Bowling Green was and I was still learning the concept of college football.
So in case you need a refresher, lets flashback here. Oct. 25, 2003. No. 12 Northern Illinois comes to visit No. 23 BG. With ESPN’s College Gameday in attendance, the Falcons dropped the Huskies 34-18 to end Northern Illinois’ hope of reaching a BCS bowl game.
It was only the second time in history that two ranked Mid-American Conference teams faced off.
While I’d be remiss to mention 2009, when No. 8 Boise State came to the Doyt, that was not a big game in terms of what was on the line. The Broncos were 16.5-point favorites. They won 49-14. It had no impact on MAC play.
Coming back to now, no, it won’t be a battle of two ranked teams, although Kent State comes into the game No. 25 in the nation. What is at stake is a MAC East title.
The mission is pretty simple: win and you’re in.
The road for Kent State is elementary. By virtue of a 6-0 conference record, if the Golden Flashes win Saturday, they clinch the MAC East, no matter what happens next weekend.
For BG, if it wins this weekend, it would also have to take care of business next weekend against Buffalo to secure the division, thanks to an early season loss to Toledo.
But no matter the path, the MAC East will, in all likelihood, be decided Saturday.
For those who are able to remember 2003, this game will have a completely different feel. Back then, BG and Northern Illinois were offensive juggernauts.
Still feeding off the Urban Meyer years, BG averaged 33.6 points per game and put up more than 7,000 yards of total offense in 2003.
While Kent State will bring in a prolific offense that averages 35.4 points per game, BG brings in a suffocating defense, one that is the toughest in the conference and one of the stingiest in the nation.
The Falcons boast the ninth best scoring defense in the country, allowing only 15.1 points per game. In terms of yards allowed, BG is sixth nationally, allowing only 285 yards per game.
Do you remember back in September, a week after nearly taking down (now No. 6) Florida, the Falcons home opener? They skirted past a pretty bad Idaho team, 21-13.
I know some of you remember. There weren’t a lot of nice things said in the stands that day. I heard too many people complain how they wanted to see winners.
Well, BG has won six straight games. Its playing as good as anyone in the MAC. You wanted a winner, fans? The Falcons have done everything in their power to prove the last two months that they are a winner.
Sure, defensive football isn’t always pretty, but that isn’t an excuse to skip the game.
Neither is the noon start. Sure that’s early for a football game, but if you can’t wake up at 11:30 and still be able to function like a normal human, then I have no help for you.
Plain and simple, this very well could be the most important home game that you get to witness during your college career. Do you really want to miss it?
