2015 CFB Preview – Bowling Green


Bowling Green
FalconsGo to Team Page
FalconsGo to Selection Page

 
   

Just how good were the Falcons?

By Pete Fiutak | @PeteFiutak

The season might not have ended with a MAC championship like the 2013 campaign did, but Dino Babers did exactly what he needed to do to keep the fun rolling in his first year at the helm.

Other than Ohio being a landing pad for Frank Solich, in general, the MAC is a training/proving ground for coaches to show off what they can do. The problem, though, is keeping the machine rolling after losing a star, and sometimes it works without much of a hiccup – Brian Kelly to Butch Jones – but it’s difficult. Did Bowling Green do that, losing Dave Clawson to Wake Forest and bringing on Babers? This might be the year to find that out.

The Falcons struggled down the stretch with two straight losses before getting bombed by Northern Illinois in the MAC title game rematch, but just getting there was all that really mattered. It wasn’t pretty, the defense went bye-bye, and the offense wasn’t nearly as dangerous – and it certainly wasn’t consistent – but the team found a way to get to Detroit with a chance at a championship.

This year there’s a chance to make it three East titles in a row – helped by being in the far, far, FAR weaker division – with a veteran offense that’s loaded up front with all five starters returning to the line, and a defense that can’t be much worse and could improve if several of the young prospects of last year can step into key roles at end and safety.

Babers will be 54 when the season starts, and with an impressive resume and a fantastic reputation, the timing is right to look at his one big career move, and there’s a great chance he’ll get a call and a Power 5 opportunity if he can come up with another strong year and can take the Falcons to the MAC championship game again.

If Bowling Green can boast that it’s a place where coaches go to shine – Urban Meyer, Clawson, and now maybe Babers – and can get another great season before losing its head man, then great. The program is proving that it can step up and move on, and this year it might show that Babers was the right replacement to keep it all going.

What You Need To Know About The Offense: The attack wasn’t always consistent and it changed around what it did as the year went on, but now it should be fantastic with 11 starters returning to the nation’s 41st ranked O. RB Travis Greene returns to lead a fantastic set of running backs. The quarterback situation is interesting with James Knapke returning after starting most of last year, but 2013 MAC champion Matt Johnson is back, too, after suffering a hip injury. Roger Lewis is a top No. 1 target who’ll help make the passing game roll no matter who’s at quarterback. Making life even better is a line with all five starters back after going through a year of growing pains.

What You Need To Know About The Defense: Only four starters are back on a defense that couldn’t stop anyone’s passing attack and was lousy against the run. It doesn’t help that the top four tacklers are gone, but it’s not like the D can be appreciably worse. Finding a pass rush is the biggest priority, and three of the top four starters in the secondary are also done. As rough as those spots are, the linebacker situation is the toughest issue with Gabe Martin gone along with D.J. Lynch. It’s a small corps, but the group can move.

What to watch for on offense: What is the identity going to be? Early on in the season it was the passing game that bombed away, chucking for 395 passing yards against Indiana and 443 against UMass, and it finished up strong with a big 369-yard day against South Alabama in the bowl win, but the running game took over during the second half of the regular season. Fortunately, the answer might be that Bowling Green will be whatever is needed on a given week. It has the backs to run when it has to, and it has the ability to throw it around the yard from time to time.

What to watch for on defense: Is the secondary going to be any better? Three starters are gone and only corner Nick Johnson returns, and it could be a rocky transition after the defensive backs got torched for 4,080 yards and 25 touchdowns last season. The Falcons got a decent pass rush, and it was able to come up with plenty of picks – intercepting 12 passes over the last six games – but they gave up 200 yards or more ten times and 300 or more in seven of those games. The offense should be good enough to win plenty of shootouts, but the secondary has to do a better job of holding serve.

The team will be far better if … the offense can keep the ball. It’s not like the O was that bad on third downs, but the defense had an impossible time coming up with stops and couldn’t get off the field. The Falcons ended up with one of the biggest time of possession discrepancies in America, holding the ball for just over 26 minutes per game. Ball control, ball control, ball control. Do that, and stop committing so many penalties, and it might mean an extra win or two.

The schedule: Starting out with three tough non-conference road games against Tennessee, Maryland and Purdue in the first month is hard enough, but the home date is against Memphis – one of the stars of the American Athletic. There’s a chance the Falcons could be fantastic and still start out 0-4.
– Kicking off the MAC season on the road against Buffalo isn’t going to help. BGSU will get just one home game before October 10.
– In an awful break, the Falcons have to play Toledo and Western Michigan – along with Ball State – from the West. At least the Toledo game is at home.
– They have to rock the midseason with just one away game – a winnable one at Kent State – between October 10 and November 11.
– WATCH OUT FOR … the finishing kick. The Falcons get a week off on Halloween, and then it’s Game On with Ohio, at Western Michigan, Toledo and at Ball State making for a fierce November.

Best offensive player: Sophomore WR Roger Lewis. The Falcons needed a few new stars to step up in the receiving corps, and Lewis kicked it in with a team-high 73 catches for close 1,110 yards. He leads a loaded corps that gets back the top four targets and should be explosive. The go-to guy who can do a little of everything, he’s a big play threat to work the passing game around.

Best defensive player: Sophomore CB Nick Johnson. It might have been a disastrous season for the secondary, but Johnson showed impressive promise for a true freshman with excellent speed and 6-2 size. He battled hard and tackled well, and came up with five interceptions, but the defensive backs have to do far more. As the only returning starter in the secondary, it’ll be on him to be a leader at a very, very young age.

Key player to a successful season: Senior DT Taylor Royster and sophomore DT Gus Schwieterman. Nick Johnson might be the most important player considering what he’ll have to do for the secondary, but the line has to generate more of a pass rush from the inside. The two are smallish, but they’re experienced with nice upside. Until the ends come around, these two will have to be disruptive.

The season will be a success if … the Falcons win the MAC title. This isn’t the best team in the league going into the season, but if the defense can improve and the offense can be a bit more consistent, getting to a third straight title game could be a lock. Getting to 5-0 in the MAC shouldn’t be a problem if the team is as good as advertised, and then it’s money time with at Western Michigan, Toledo and at Ball State to close. Win one of those three, and it’ll likely be on to Detroit.

Key game: Nov. 4 vs. Ohio. The rest of the MAC East isn’t all that tough, but the Falcons can’t blow the home game against the Bobcats with a week off to prepare. With three tough games against the West to close out November, there can’t be a mistake against a good Ohio team that will see this as its game of the year.

2014 Fun Stats:
– Penalties: Bowling Green 110 for 872 yards – Opponents 92 for 875 yards
– Time of Possession: Opponents 33:48 – Bowling Green 26:12
– Third Down Conversions: Opponents 95-of-221 (43%) – Bowling Green 87-of-231 (38%)

Players You Need To Know

1. WR Roger Lewis, Soph.
The passing game found a start to build around in the 6-0, 196-pounder. Very quick and with a great knack for getting into the open, he came up with a team-leading 73 catches for 1,093 yards and seven scores, lighting up South Alabama in the bowl win for 137 yards and two scores on four catches, and coming up with 16 grabs for 149 yards and a score against Indiana. Explosive, he hit the 100-yard mark six times, but he didn’t come up with more than one score in any game until the finale – that will change this year.

2. WR Ryan Burbrink, Sr.
Not just the second-leading receiver with 64 grabs for 758 yards and three scores, he was also an elite punt returner again averaging 9.77 yards per try. The 5-8, 183-pound quick target is great on the inside and can also make the big play when he gets the ball in his hands on the move, earning all-star honors as a returner as well as a receiver. He torched UMass for 132 yards and a score on 11 carries, and came up with 111 yards on eight catches against Kent State, but he didn’t get into the end zone over the final seven games of the season.

3. RB Travis Greene, Sr.
The 5-10, 183-pound Florida native didn’t do much of anything as a freshman, and was considered nothing more than a part of the rotation going into 2013, and then he blew up with 1,594 yards and 11 scores, to go along with 18 catches and two touchdowns. Bulked up a little bit, he can bring a bit more power, but he was still tremendously productive with 949 yards and 12 touchdowns, averaging 5.27 yards per carry with 27 catches for 175 yards and a score. He missed a few games in November with a leg injury, but he came back roaring with 159 yards and a score on 14 carries against Ball State.

4. OG Alex Huettel, Sr.
The two-time All-MAC star and anchor of the line settled in at right guard. This was a young line, but all five starters are back, and he’s the one everything will work around. At 6-4 and 309 pounds, he has the size to be used in several different spots and moved around where needed, and after bulking up almost 20 pounds since last year, he can bring the thump.

5. CB Nick Johnson, Soph.
The 6-2, 178-pound speedster stepped in as a true freshman and turned into one of the keys to the secondary, coming up with 62 tackles and five picks, making two interceptions and nine tackles against Akron, and making 11 tackles – ten solo – against Ohio. He got picked on early, and he came through several times for a secondary that struggled and gave up too many yards. He’ll be the team’s top cover-corner this year, but he has the size and the hitting ability to be used anywhere in the secondary.

6. QB James Knapke, Jr.
Matt Johnson was the main man who led the Falcons to the 2013 MAC title, but he got knocked out for the year right away with a hip injury. In stepped Knapke, a 6-2, 220-pound athlete who lit up the first part of the season through the air, finishing completing 58% of his passes for 3,173 yards and 15 touchdowns with 12 picks, and ran for 136 yards and two scores. He slowed down the passing over the second half of the season – bottoming out with a 7-of-24 performance against Toledo, but he roared in the bowl win over South Alabama with 368 yards and two scores, and finished the year with five 300-yard games. He threw 73 times against Indiana for 395 yards and three scores, and torched UMass for 443 yards and three touchdowns with a good rhythm and decent accuracy. The consistency wasn’t there, but when he got into a groove, the offense was unstoppable.

7. PK Tyler Tate, Sr.
The Bowling Green offense didn’t need too much from the kicking game, but Tate came through with a great year, hitting 21-of-26 kicks including a 52-yard bomb against WKU to start the year, and two of his five misses were blocked. One of his misses came from 53 yards away against Ball State, and he missed a 45-yarder against Buffalo, but he made 5-of-7 kicks from beyond 40 yards – he has great range to go along with his consistency from midrange.

8. RB Fred Coppet, Jr.
Travis Greene might be the star of the running game, but Coppet, the 5-9, 189-pound junior did his part with 764 yards and six touchdowns, averaging 5.42 yards per try. More of a complementary back than a workhorse, he still stepped in and came through with 113 yards against Akron and a 140-yard, one touchdown day against Ball State. The Fort Lauderdale native has the skills and talent to be the main man of the attack, and he’ll get his chance at some point.

9. LB/S James Sanford, Jr.
Built like a safety but working as a linebacker, the 6-1, 194-pound Sanford missed all of 2013 hurt, but he came back to turn into one of the team’s most important all-around defenders, making 72 tackles with 2.5 sacks, four broken up passes and two forced fumbles. Great at getting around the ball, and sure in the open field, he can be used in a variety of ways and against any sort of offensive system. He’s the type of hybrid who thrives when getting to move around and make things happen.

10. QB Matt Johnson, Sr.
Can he come back from the hip injury that knocked him out for the season? He might not be all that big at just 6-0 and 215 pounds, and he might be built more like a running back, but he’s a baller who took over the job in 2013 and never let it go, hitting 64% of his passes for 3,467 yards and 25 scores with seven picks. While he’s not going to be dangerous running the ball, he finished second on the team with 238 yards and five touchdowns, barreling his way for 72 yards in the key win over Buffalo and 33 against NIU. He takes too many sacks, and he doesn’t have a big downfield arm, but he spreads the wealth around well and doesn’t make a slew of big mistakes. He didn’t have any multi-pick games and only dipped under the 50% mark passing in the opener against Tulsa. When he was on, he was unstoppable, throwing for 393 yards and five scores in the MAC title win over NIU and completing 70% of his throws or more six times.

Head Coach: Dino Babers
2nd year: 8-6
4th year overall: 27-13
Schedule
Sept. 5 at Tennessee
Sept. 12 at Maryland
Sept. 19 Memphis
Sept. 26 at Purdue
Oct. 3 at Buffalo
Oct. 10 Massachusetts
Oct. 17 Akron
Oct. 24 at Kent State
Oct. 31 OPEN DATE
Nov. 4 Ohio
Nov. 11 at Western Michigan
Nov. 17 Toledo
Nov. 24
at Ball State
Ten Best BGSU Players
1. WR Roger Lewis, Soph.
2. WR Ryan Burbrink, Sr.
3. RB Travis Greene, Sr.
4. OG Alex Huettel, Sr.
5. CB Nick Johnson, Soph.
6. QB James Knapke, Jr.
7. PK Tyler Tate, Sr.
8. RB Fred Coppet, Jr.
9. LB/S James Sanford, Jr.
10. QB Matt Johnson, Sr.