2008 Bowling Green Falcons football team

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2008 Bowling Green Falcons football
Bowling Green Falcons wordmark.svg
ConferenceMid-American Conference
DivisionEast Division
2008 record6–6 (4–4 MAC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorTroy Rothenbuhler
Matt Campbell
Offensive schemeSpread
Defensive coordinatorMike Ward
Home stadiumDoyt Perry Stadium
(Capacity: 23,724)
Seasons
← 2007
2009 →
2008 Mid-American Conference football standings
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
Buffalo x$   5 – 3     8 – 6  
Bowling Green   4 – 4     6 – 6  
Temple   4 – 4     5 – 7  
Ohio   3 – 5     4 – 8  
Akron   3 – 5     5 – 7  
Kent State   3 – 5     4 – 8  
Miami   1 – 7     2 – 10  
West Division
Ball State x   8 – 0     12 – 2  
Central Michigan   6 – 2     8 – 5  
Western Michigan   6 – 2     9 – 4  
Northern Illinois   5 – 3     6 – 7  
Toledo   2 – 6     3 – 9  
Eastern Michigan   2 – 6     3 – 9  
Championship: Buffalo 42, Ball State 24
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions

The 2008 Bowling Green Falcons football team represented Bowling Green State University during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team's head football coach was Gregg Brandon. The Falcons played their home games at Doyt Perry Stadium in Bowling Green, Ohio. They were a member of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 6–6, 4–4 in MAC play to finish in a tie for second place in the East Division. Despite being bowl eligible, they were not selected to participate in a bowl game.

Preseason[]

Shortly after the 2007 season, the Falcons lost backup quarterback, Anthony Glaud and wide receiver, Zach Charles to transfer as the pair made their way to defending MEAC champion Delaware State, because of lack of playing time.[1] On May 12, the Football Writers Association of America announced that Bowling Green senior defensive lineman Diyral Briggs was placed on their watch list for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, awarded to the nation's top defensive player.[2] At the MAC football media day, the Falcons were voted as the preseason favorites to win the East Division crown, garnering 17 first place votes and 206 total votes, just edging out rival, Miami (OH) who had 7 first place votes and 202 total votes.[3][4][5]

Recruiting[]

Schedule[]

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
August 3012:00 pmat No. 25 Pittsburgh*
ESPNUW 27–1745,063
September 67:30 pmMinnesota*
ESPNUL 17–4223,184
September 138:00 pmat Boise State*
KTVBL 7–2032,335
September 274:00 pmat Wyoming*
the mtn.W 45–1617,411
October 44:00 pmEastern Michigandagger
  • Doyt Perry Stadium
  • Bowling Green, OH
BCSNL 21–2416,217
October 116:00 pmat Akron
W 37–3317,119
October 1812:00 pmMiami (OH)
  • Doyt Perry Stadium
  • Bowling Green, OH
ESPN+L 20–2715,411
October 254:00 pmat Northern Illinois
L 13–1617,163
November 12:00 pmKent State
  • Doyt Perry Stadium
  • Bowling Green, OH (Battle for the Anniversary Award)
W 45–3010,411
November 82:00 pmat Ohio
W 28–315,018
November 216:00 pmBuffalo
  • Doyt Perry Stadium
  • Bowling Green, OH
L 34–40 2OT13,284
November 283:30 pmat Toledo
ESPN ClassicW 38–1011,264
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

Roster[]

(as of 18 March 2008)
Wide Receivers
  • 7 Barnes, Freddie - Junior
  • 84 Brighton, Derek - Sophomore
  • 80 Cheathem, Keston - Sophomore
  • 9 Hodges, Adrian - RedshirtFreshman
  • 85 Hutson, Ray - RedshirtFreshman
  • 86 Kelley, Jermiah - Senior
  • 3 Parks, Marques - Senior
  • 1 Partridge, Corey - Senior
  • 83 Pronty, Tyrone - Junior
  • 15 Wiley, Calvin - Junior
  • 12 Wright, Chris - Junior
Offensive Lineman
  • 64 Albert, Scott - Junior
  • 61 Bojicic, Ben- RedshirtFreshman
  • 55 Curtis, Brandon - Senior
  • 66 Dodge, Josh - RedshirtFreshman
  • 46 Donahue, Tyler - Sophomore
  • 74 Fink, Jeff - Senior
  • 76 Kent, Aaron - Senior
  • 60 McHugh, Casey - Junior
  • 70 Minturn, Brady - Junior
  • 97 Smith, Darius - Sophomore
  • 75 Steffy, Shane - Junior
  • 87 Young, D.J. - Junior
Tight End
  • 91 Rieke, Nick - Sophomore
  • 89 Scheidler, Jimmy - Junior
Quarterback
  • 14 Brown, Nathan - RedshirtFreshman
  • 16 Hunter, Tony - Junior
  • 13 Sheehan, Tyler - Junior
  • 17 Turner, Anthony - Senior
  
Running Back
  • 33 Bullock, Chris - Junior
  • 28 Geter, Willie - Sophomore
  • 19 Ransom, Eric - Senior
  • 17 Turner, Anthony - Senior
  • 32 Woolridge, Mark - RedshirtFreshman
Defensive Lineman
  • 92 Alvarado, Kevin - RedshirtFreshman
  • 63 Barrow, Orlando - Sophomore
  • 96 Branch, Darren - RedshirtFreshman
  • 99 Briggs, Diyral - Senior
  • 62 Burrell, Preston - RedshirtFreshman
  • 95 Davis, Nick - Senior
  • 93 Hardwick, Jacob - Junior
  • 93 Hartung, Garth - Senior
  • 98 Johnson, Andrew - RedshirtFreshman
  • 90 Ream, Michael - Junior
  • 40 Schaefer, Joe - Senior
  • 77 Torresso, Nick - Sophomore
Defensive End
  • 51 Magnone, Angelo - Sophomore
  • 94 Tipton, Carlos - Sophomore
Cornerbacks
  • 18 Williams, Derrick - RedshirtFreshman
  • 28 Wooldridge, Mark - Sophomore
Defensive Backs
  • 24 Brown, Jahmal - Junior
  • 27 Fillari, Giovanni - Senior
  • 21 Lewis, Kenny - Senior
  • 23 Lewis, Tarell - Junior
  • 34 Lorenzi, Robert - Junior
  • 25 Mahone, P.J. - Junior
  • 10 Marshall, Calvin - Sophomore
  • 2 Smith, Antonio - Senior
  • 20 Tomlinson, Alfred - Sophomore
  • 5 Walker, Freddie - Senior
  • 31 Williams, Roger - Junior
  
Linebackers
  • 47 Baker, Adrian - Senior
  • 45 Basler, Cody - Junior
  • 37 Davis, Aaron - Junior
  • 53 Davis, Jerrson - Junior
  • 30 Dozier, Erique - Senior
  • 42 Fells, Eugene - Sophomore
  • 44 Haneline, John - Senior
  • 43 Jackson, Brandon - Junior
  • 36 Parks, Lewis - Sophomore
  • 4 Sanderson, Jerett - Junior
  • 22 Scheidler, Josh - Junior
  • 35 Waldron, Nate - Senior
Long Snappers
  • 57 Dahlman, Neal - Sophomore
  • 46 Rutherford, Craig - Junior
Kickers
  • 39 Norsic, Matthew - Junior
  • 41 Vrvilo, Sinisia - Senior
Punters
  • 26 Iovinelli, Nick - Senior
  • 39 Norsic, Matthew - Junior

Coaching staff[]

The Bowling Green Falcons have seen numerous changes in the coaching staff. Offensive Coordinator Mick McCall left the team to take the same position at Northwestern,[6] while former Buffalo head coach, Jim Hofher, was named Quarterbacks Coach, Troy Rothenbuhler was named Passing Game Coordinator, Matt Campbell was named running game coordinator, and Doug Phillips was named recruiting coordinator.[7]

Name Position Years at
BGSU
Gregg Brandon Head Coach 6
Troy Rothenbuhler Assistant Head Coach
Wide Receivers
Passing Game Coordinator		 6
Mike Ward Defensive Coordinator 17
Stephen Bird Wide Receivers 2
Matt Campbell Offensive Line
Running Game Coordinator		 2
Jim Hofher Quarterbacks 1
Adam Gonzaga Defensive Backs 2
Deion Melvin Linebackers 2
John Hunter Running Backs 3
Doug Phillips Defensive Ends 2
Stan Watson Defensive Assistant 1
Adam Salon Offensive Assistant 2
Aaron Hillmann Strength and Conditioning 8

Game summaries[]

Pittsburgh[]

1 2 3 4 Total
Bowling Green 0 14 6 7 27
Pittsburgh 7 10 0 0 17
See also: 2008 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

The Falcons opened the 2008 campaign against nationally ranked Pitt at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in front of 45,063 and a national television audience on ESPNU. The Falcons came in as 13-point underdogs against the Panthers, who had previously been 25-2 against the MAC and 24-0 at home against the conference. Pittsburgh showed their poise early on in the game scoring on their first offensive drive of the game with an 11-yard run by running back LeSean McCoy to cap off an eight play, 71-yard drive that took less than four minutes to complete. Pitt would extend their lead in the early in the second quarter with 4 yard touchdown pass to Derek Kinder from quarterback Bill Stull, making the score 14–0 in favor of Pitt. The Falcons would answer back against the Panthers on the following possession, marching down the field 73 yards in eight plays, capped off with a five-yard pass to Jimmy Scheidler from wide receiver Freddie Barnes, cutting Pitt's lead to 14–7. Scheidler would bring in his second touchdown reception of the game six and a half minutes later on a three-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Tyler Sheehan, which tied the game at 14–14. Pitt would answer back on the following possession as their Lou Groza Award candidate kicker Connor Lee booted 36 yard field goal as time expired in the first half, giving Pitt the halftime lead 17–14.

The game would become a story of two halves as the Falcons came out and as the Falcons defense slowed down the powerhouse McCoy and forced Pitt to two fumbles and an interception. Bowling Green would take their first lead of the game with an 8-yard run by wide receiver Anthony Turner with 3:53 left in the third quarter. The preceding extra point was blocked by Pitt and the Falcons took the lead of 20–14. Early in the fourth quarter the Bowling Green defense caused Pitt's third fumble and seemed to return it to the end zone for an apparent game-winning touchdown, but due to an inadvertent whistle, Bowling Green was stripped of the touchdown, but still took over possession of the ball at Pitt's 11-yard line. The Falcons would make good on their field position scoring on an 11-yard run on a quarterback draw by Sheehan which increased the Falcons' lead to 27–17. Pitt continued to attempt to mount a comeback but after Lee's missed field goal of 42 yards at 3:58 left in the fourth quarter blew the wind out of Pitt's sails and Stull being intercepted in the end zone by Kenny Lewis with 1:26 left in the game officially put Pitt away. The Falcons improved to 1–0 on the season and had their second consecutive season opening victory over a BCS Conference opponent (having defeated Minnesota 32–31 in overtime the year before), although being outgained by the Pitt offense 393–254. Sheehan lead the Falcons in the passing game completing 24 of 40 attempts for 163 yards, 1 touchdown, and an interception, followed by Barnes who was 2 of 2 for 27 yards and a touchdown. The Falcons' running game was led by Chris Bullock who had 7 rushes for 44 yards, followed by Turner and Sheehan who each had a rushing touchdown. Bullock also led the receivers with 7 receptions for 49 yards along with Scheidler who had 3 receptions for 30 yards and two touchdowns. Jamal Brown led the Falcons defense with 14 tackles, followed by Antonio Smith's 12. Smith, Lewis, and Enrique Dozier each forced fumbles, with Lewis, Dozier, and Angelo Magnone each recovering a fumble and Lewis snagging the lone interception for the Falcons defense. The Falcons were able to sack Stull four times, twice by Bronko Nagurski Trophy candidate Diyral Briggs and once each by Smith and Dozier.[8][9]

Minnesota[]

See also: 2008 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Minnesota 7 7 7 21 42
Bowling Green 0 10 7 0 17

Boise State[]

See also: 2008 Boise State Broncos football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Bowling Green 0 0 0 7 7
Boise State 6 14 0 0 20

Wyoming[]

See also: 2008 Wyoming Cowboys football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Bowling Green 7 17 14 7 45
Wyoming 0 10 0 6 16

Eastern Michigan[]

1 2 3 4 Total
Eastern Michigan 0 7 10 7 24
Bowling Green 7 0 7 7 21

Akron[]

The Akron Zips and Bowling Green Falcons compete at the Rubber Bowl in Akron, Ohio on October 11, 2008.
1 2 3 4 Total
Bowling Green 0 14 0 23 37
Akron 7 14 6 6 33

Miami (OH)[]

1 2 3 4 Total
Miami (OH) 7 7 3 10 27
Bowling Green 3 7 10 0 20

Northern Illinois[]

1 2 3 4 Total
Bowling Green 3 3 7 0 13
Northern Illinois 3 0 7 6 16
See also: 2008 Northern Illinois Huskies football team

Kent State[]

See also: Battle for the Anniversary Award
1 2 3 4 Total
Kent State 0 0 15 15 30
Bowling Green 7 21 3 14 45

Ohio[]

1 2 3 4 Total
Bowling Green 7 7 14 0 28
Ohio 0 0 3 0 3

Buffalo[]

1 2 3 4OT2OT Total
Buffalo 0 0 7 2076 40
Bowling Green 0 14 7 670 34
See also: 2008 Buffalo Bulls football team

Toledo[]

See also: Battle of I-75
1 2 3 4 Total
Bowling Green 14 3 14 7 38
Toledo 0 0 3 7 10

Statistics[]

Team[]

Team Opp
Scoring 51 79
  Points per Game 17.0 26.3
First Downs 59 65
  Rushing 24 29
  Passing 31 33
  Penalty 4 3
Total Offense 950 1130
  Avg per Play 4.5 5.3
  Avg per Game 316.7 376.7
Fumbles-Lost 9-6 6-4
Penalties-Yards 14-109 12-103
Team Opp
Punts-Yards 15-653 16-634
  Avg per Punt 43.5 39.6
Time of Possession/Game 28:53 31:07
3rd Down Conversions 18/48 18/41
4th Down Conversions 5/5 4/6
Touchdowns Scored 7 11
Field Goals-Attempts-Long 1-4-26 1-2-36
PAT-Attempts 6-7 10-10
Attendance 23,184 77,398
  Games/Avg per Game 1/23,184 2/38,699

Scores by quarter[]

1 2 3 4 Total
Opponents 20 31 7 21 79
Bowling Green 0 24 13 14 51

Offense[]

Rushing[]

Name GP Att Gain Loss Net Avg TD Long Avg/G
Bullock, Chris 1 7 45 1 44 6.3 0 36 44.0
Turner, Anthony 1 8 21 5 16 2.0 1 8 16.0
Barnes, Freddie 1 5 16 2 14 2.8 0 11 14.0
Sheehan, Tyler 1 6 16 20 -4 -0.7 1 11 -4.0
TEAM 1 2 0 6 -6 -3.0 -3.0 0 -6.0
Total 1 28 98 34 64 2.3 2 36 64.0
Opponents 1 35 157 28 129 3.7 1 27 129.0

Passing[]

Name GP Effic Att-Cmp-Int Pct Yds TD Lng Avg/G
Sheehan, Tyler 1 97.5 24-40-1 60.0 163 1 22 163.0
Barnes, Freddie 1 378.4 2-2-0 100.0 27 1 22 27.0
Total 1 110.9 26-41-1 61.9 190 2 22 190.0
Opponents 1 102.9 29-51-1 56.9 264 1 18 264.0

Receiving[]

Name GP No. Yds Avg TD Long Avg/G
Bullock, Chris 1 7 49 7.0 0 22 49.0
Partridge, Corey 1 3 34 11.3 0 18 34.0
Scheidler, Jimmy 1 3 30 10.0 2 22 30.0
Pronty, Tyrone 1 3 24 8.0 0 9 24.0
Barnes, Freddie 1 3 21 7.0 0 11 21.0
Parks, Marques 1 2 13 6.5 0 7 13.0
Turner, Anthony 1 2 7 3.5 0 4 7.0
Hutson, Ray 1 2 5 2.5 0 4 5.0
Wright, Chris 1 1 7 7.0 0 7 7.0
Total 1 26 190 7.3 2 22 190.0
Opponents 1 29 264 9.1 1 18 264.0

Defense[]

Name GP Tackles Sacks Pass Defense Interceptions Fumbles Blkd
Kick
Solo Ast Total TFL-Yds No-Yds BrUp QBH No.-Yds Avg TD Long Rcv-Yds FF
Brown, Jahmal 1 11 3 14 0-0 0-0 1 0 0-0 0.0 0 0 0-0 0 0
Smith, Antonio 1 9 3 12 2-13 1-8 2 0 0-0 0.0 0 0 0-0 1 0
Haneline, John 1 5 2 7 0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 0.0 0 0 0-0 0 0
Mahone, P.J. 1 4 3 7 0-0 0-0 1 0 0-0 0.0 0 0 0-0 0 0
Lewis, Kenny 1 5 1 6 0-0 0-0 1 0 1-0 0.0 0 0 1-0 1 0
Dozier, Erique 1 4 2 6 0-0 1-0 2 1 0-0 0.0 0 0 1-0 1 0
Briggs, Diyral 1 4 2 6 2-9 2-9 0 3 0-0 0.0 0 0 0-0 0 0
Sanderson, Jerett 1 4 0 4 0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 0.0 0 0 0-0 0 0
Ream, Michael 1 2 2 4 1-3 0-0 0 3 0-0 0.0 0 0 0-0 0 0
Johnson, Andrew 1 0 2 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 0.0 0 0 0-0 0 0
Williams, Roger 1 2 0 2 1-2 0-0 0 0 0-0 0.0 0 0 0-0 0 0
Fells, Eugene 1 0 1 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 0.0 0 0 0-0 0 0
Magnone, Angelo 1 0 1 1 0-0 0-0 0 1 0-0 0.0 0 0 1-6 0 0
Parks, Lewis 1 1 0 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 0.0 0 0 0-0 0 0
Baker, Adrian 1 1 0 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 0.0 0 0 0-0 0 0
Alvarado, Kevin 1 0 1 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 0.0 0 0 0-0 0 0
Basler, Cody 1 1 0 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 0.0 0 0 0-0 0 0
Rice, Jason 1 0 1 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0-0 0.0 0 0 0-0 0 0
Total 1 53 24 77 6-26 4-17 7 9 1-0 0.0 0 0 3-6 3 0

Special teams[]

Name Punting Kickoffs
No. Yds Avg Long TB FC I20 Blkd No. Yds Avg TB OB
Iovinelli, Nick 8 361 45.1 79 1 1 2 0 0 0 0.0 0 0
Vrvilo, Sinisa 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 300 60.0 0 0
Total 8 361 45.1 79 1 1 0 2 5 300 60.0 0 0
Name Punt Returns Kick Returns
No. Yds Avg TD Long No. Yds Avg TD Long
Partridge, Corey 2 2 1.0 0 8 0 0 0 0 0
Williams, Roger 0 0 0.0 0 0 2 42 21.0 0 21
Barnes, Freddie 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 16 16.0 0 16
Total 2 2 1.0 0 8 3 58 19.3 0 21

References[]

  1. ^ Autullo, Ryan (January 19, 2008). "BG places bar higher: Outright title is goal, Falcons' Brandon says". Toledo Blade. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
  2. ^ "Briggs Named To Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List". BGSUFalcons.com. May 12, 2008. Retrieved May 18, 2008.
  3. ^ "Falcons Picked as East Division Preseason Favorites". BGSUFalcons.com. July 29, 2008. Archived from the original on July 31, 2008. Retrieved August 18, 2012.
  4. ^ "Chippewas Favored To Claim Third Straight MAC Title". Mid-American Conference. July 29, 2008. Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved July 31, 2008.
  5. ^ Fulton, Maureen (July 30, 2008). "Central, BGSU favored to win MAC; Rockets tabbed for 4th in West". Toledo Blade. Retrieved July 31, 2008.
  6. ^ "McCall Named Offensive Coordinator at Northwestern". BGSUFalcons.com. January 17, 2008. Retrieved March 2, 2008.
  7. ^ "Hofher Named Quarterbacks Coach at BGSU". BGSUFalcons.com. February 15, 2008. Retrieved March 2, 2008.
  8. ^ Autullo, Ryan (August 31, 2008). "BG's good news: Falcons surprise No. 25 Pittsburgh". Toledo Blade. Retrieved August 31, 2008.
  9. ^ Zeise, Paul (August 31, 2008). "Pitt loses opener to Bowling Green, 27-17". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on September 1, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2008.
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