Preview 2019: Previewing and looking ahead to the Bowling Green Falcons season with what you need to know.
– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Schedule Analysis
– Bowling Green Previews 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2018 Record: 2-10 overall, 2-6 in MAC
Head Coach: Scot Loeffler, 1st year
5. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE BOWLING GREEN OFFENSE
– The offense had its moments last season. It wasn’t a steady attack, but the passing offense was second-best in the MAC and the attack got better as the season went on. Under the new coaching staff, the O will continue with its quick pace and make sure the passing game is going, but the goal is to be flexible. The veterans are in place to play around with the styles to see what works.
– The O gets back junior QB Jarret Doege to keep on bombing away. He threw 12 picks, but he also came up with 2,660 yards and 27 touchdowns. Now he has to be far more consistent. Even with top target Scott Miller gone, the receiving corps is loaded, with Washington State transfer Isaiah Johnson-Mack stepping in with Quintin Morris and RB Marlow two solid veterans. After being ignored, the tight ends will play a role under the new coaching staff.
– There wasn’t too much of a running game – averaging just 112 yards per game – but the line was totally miserable in pass protection. Four starters are back with a whole lot of tinkering to find the right starting mix going forward. No matter how it works out, the potential is there to get something going on the ground with leading rusher Andrew Clair and all of the top running backs returning.
NEXT: What You Need To Know About the Defense, Top Players, Keys to the Season, What Will Happen
4. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE BOWLING GREEN DEFENSE
– Last in the MAC in scoring defense, among the worst in the country in yards per game allowed, and with the third worst run D in college football, there’s a little bit of work to do. The bad news: six of the top nine tacklers from last season are gone. The good news: it’s not like the defense did anything with them.
– The line gets back the more help with three young starters looking to generate more of a pass rush and do something to hold up against the run. The problem is bulk – there isn’t much – so the rotation has to emerge right away around 277-pound Nico Lautanen and 255-pound DeMontae Haigler in the interior. Haigler and sophomore DE Karl Brooks led the team in sacks, combining for 6.5 of the team’s 15 sacks.
– There are a whole slew of new parts to the linebacking corps. Former JUCO transfer Brandon Perce is about to play a big role somewhere in the interior, and third-leading tackler Kholbe Coleman will move around where needed.
– The pass defense might have finished sixth in the nation, but that’s only because everyone spent so much time running the ball on the Falcon D. Several of the key parts of the secondary are done, but second-leading tackler Jerry McBride is back at one safety spot. Everything else – including the corner gigs – will be solidified in fall camp.
NEXT: Top Players, Keys To the Season, What Will Happen
3. TOP BOWLING GREEN PLAYERS
Best Bowling Green Offensive Player
QB Jarret Doege, Jr.
The 6-3, 205-pound veteran might not move all that much, and he might not be all that consistent, but give him time to work and he’ll produce. He completed 62% of his passes for 2,660 yards and 27 touchdowns, but he threw a pick in every game but two. To be fair, he had to press thanks to a defense that couldn’t hold serve, but after a rough end of last year, he needs to start out hot under the new administration.
2. RB Andre Clair, Jr.
3. C Jack Kramer, Sr.
4. WR Quinton Morris, Jr.
5. OG Caleb Bright, Jr.
Best Bowling Green Defensive Player
S Jerry McBride, Sr.
A 6-2, 210-pounds, he’s one of the Falcon defenders who has a bit of bulk for his position. The team’s leading returning tackler came up with 106 stops with a broken up pass, being used mostly to help out the porous run defense. He’s athletic enough and talented enough to do more when the ball is in the air, but the front seven first has to do its job.
2. LB Kholbe Coleman, Jr.
3. NT DeMontae Haigler, Jr.
4. DE Karl Brooks, Soph.
5. LB Brandon Perce, Sr.
NEXT: Keys to the Season, Prediction & What Will Happen
2. KEYS TO THE SEASON
Biggest Key To The Bowling Green Offense
Find an identity that gives defenses something to worry about week after week. The Falcons are going to be adaptable under the new coaching staff to figure out what works, but are they going to be a high-powered up-tempo team? Will they go with a balanced attack to take advantage of the experience in the backfield and the O line? No matter what, the Falcons have to be far more consistent, especially in the passing game.
Biggest Key To The Bowling Green Defense
Stop the run … stop the run … stop the run. The Falcons allowed 2,300 yards, 28 touchdowns and 4.6 yards per carry in 2016. It got worse in 2017 with 3,039 yards and 5.6 yards per carry with 35 scores. Last season? 3,366 yards, 281 yards per game, 5.9 yards per carry, and 42 touchdowns.
The undersized D allowed 200 yards or more in ten of the 12 games, and lost all ten. The two games it didn’t? The Falcons won. Going back to the opener of the 2014 season, Bowling Green is 16-0 when it allowed 150 rushing yards or fewer.
Key Player To A Successful Season
DT DeMontae Haigler, Jr.
The undersized 6-1, 283-pound defensive tackle stepped in as a JUCO transfer and made 13 tackles with three sacks and four tackles for loss – that made him among the team’s most productive pass rushers. Beaten up, he ended up missing the last few games of the season. This year, he has to hold up to add more bulk and production for one of the nation’s worst run defenses.
Key Game To The Bowling Green Season
Toledo, Oct. 12
Want to make a big splash, new head coach Scot Loeffler? Beat Toledo. The Falcons haven’t beaten the Rockets since late 2009, including a 52-36 whacking last year. This time around, consider it a big shock if the Falcons aren’t better than 2-3 to start – beating Morgan State and winning at Kent State – and then the MAC season kicks in full force.
With three home games in four weeks – and with Central Michigan and Akron coming to Doyt L. Perry – a win over the Rockets could start an interesting little midseason run.
– Bowling Green Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2018 Bowling Green Fun Stats
– 1st Quarter Scoring: Opponents 103 – Bowling Green 51
– Rushing Yards Per Game: Opponents 280.5 – Bowling Green 167.6
– Rushing TDs: Opponents 42 – Bowling Green 9
NEXT: What Will Happen
1. BOWLING GREEN WIN TOTAL PREDICTION: WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN
It’s the MAC, so it’s possible to go from zero to hero right away, and that’s where head coach Scot Loeffler and the new coaching staff kicks in. Loeffler – the former Boston College offensive coordinator – knows how to get a whole lot out of the talent he gets to deal with.
There’s talent and upside at the offensive skill spots. There’s a veteran QB in Jarret Doege who should get more time to work behind a line that gets back just about everyone.
The defense might not be a brick wall, but if it can simply be anything better the brutally miserable, that should be enough to come up with an extra win or two.
Set The Regular Season Win Total At … 4
The Falcons should get by Morgan State to kick off the season, and they should be able to split the two early games against Louisiana Tech at home and with a road trip to Kent State.
Can the Falcons beat Central Michigan at home? How about Akron? It’ll still be a crawl-before-walk sort of a season, and there isn’t any 100% sure thing win outside of Morgan State – okay 99% – but the team will be more competitive.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– Schedule Analysis
