BOWLING GREEN — Start circling dates.
The 2022 Bowling Green State University football schedule is officially here.
Expectations are up for a BGSU team which went 4-8 overall and 2-6 in Mid-American Conference play last year. Much of that team is returning, and more than 90 percent of the team’s offensive and defensive production in 2021 will take the field with bowl aspirations in mind in 2022 for Scot Loeffler.
The Falcons open the 2022 season Sept. 3 in Pasadena, Calif., with a showdown against Pac-12 member UCLA. They will then head home for two games in a row at Doyt Perry Stadium, against FCS member Eastern Kentucky and against Conference USA foe Marshall on Sept. 10 and Sept. 17.
The nonconference games conclude with a trip to Starkville, Miss., for a Sept. 24 matchup at Mississippi State.
Conference play opens on the road Oct. 1 at Akron, before the Falcons trek home for a pair of games against Buffalo and Miami. The Falcons then travel to Central Michigan on Oct. 22 before an off week leading up to Halloween.
The schedule
■ Sept. 3: at UCLA
■ Sept. 10: Eastern Kentucky
■ Sept. 17: Marshall
■ Sept. 24: at Mississippi State
■ Oct. 1: at Akron
■ Oct. 8: Buffalo
■ Oct. 15: Miami
■ Oct. 22: at Central Michigan
■ Nov. 2: Western Michigan
■ Nov. 9: Kent State
■ Nov. 15: at Toledo
■ Nov. 22: at Ohio
Instant analysis
The Falcons’ longest road trip within the MAC schedule is the near-200-mile drive to Ohio’s Peden Stadium to close the season on Nov. 22, a stark contrast from having to take the two longest road trips to Northern Illinois and Buffalo last season. BGSU opens with what could be a pair of wins at Akron — against which the Falcons allowed a comeback victory last season — and Buffalo, before facing a Miami team with its solid defensive front.
The schedule doesn’t lighten up as it goes on, with a bye week sandwiched in between tough contests at Central Michigan and against Western Michigan. Kent State is the defending East Division champion, and Toledo beat the Falcons convincingly last season.
Circle the date: Sept. 3
Yes. Week 1. Why not?
Here is why: Falcons quarterback Matt McDonald and wide receiver Austin Osborne played high school football 60 miles southeast from the Rose Bowl, in Mission Viejo, Calif.
There will undoubtedly be emotions tied to the game in the West Coast return for the Falcons’ starting QB McDonald and his favorite target Osborne, who led BGSU with 64 catches last season. Mission Viejo’s football program reached a No. 2 national ranking in 2017 while Osborne was a senior, and McDonald helped elevate the program to prominence in seasons prior.
UCLA finished 8-4 overall and 6-3 in Pac-12 play last season under former Oregon and NFL head coach Chip Kelly. A strong performance against the Bruins (which is followed by two winnable games) could get the Falcons on a head start in chasing a bowl appearance.
Here is who else finished 8-4 overall and 6-3 in conference play in its regular season last year: Minnesota. The same Minnesota team that lost to Bowling Green last season.
Way-too-early record prediction: 6-6
There should not be any reason to think of a worse record for the Falcons.
Assuming 2-2 out of nonconference play with wins against Eastern Kentucky and Marshall, winnable games within the MAC include at Akron, Buffalo, Miami, and Ohio. The crucial stretch will be circled around the bye week, at Central Michigan and against Western Michigan, with less-than-favorable matchups against Kent State and Toledo to follow.
The game at Ohio to close the season could be the difference between a bowl game and no postseason for the Falcons.
First Published February 25, 2022, 4:28 p.m.
