BOWLING GREEN — Six years have now come and gone since Bowling Green’s last winning season — an eternity in college football terms.
The Falcons have scored occasional banner wins, including a beatdown of Toledo in 2019 and an upset of Minnesota in 2021. But they haven’t been able to play past the end of the regular season since capturing the MAC title in 2015.
This is a critical year for Scot Loeffler, now 7-22 since taking the reins before the 2019 season. Bowling Green snapping its longest streak of losing campaigns since 1995 to 2000 is contingent on the Falcons answering these three questions as the 2022 season unfolds.
Can Matt McDonald take a leap forward?
Bowling Green benefits from a veteran presence at quarterback in redshirt senior Matt McDonald, who threw his first collegiate pass at Boston College when Mike Jinks was still coaching the Falcons. After sitting out the 2019 season, he endured a difficult 2020, passing for just one touchdown against six interceptions as Bowling Green finished a truncated season 0-5.
McDonald showed signs of improvement in 2021 that belied his numbers. He threw seven interceptions, but none in the season’s final four games. He peaked in an Oct. 30 victory over Buffalo, completing 13 of 19 passes for 263 yards and four touchdowns. McDonald even rushed for 39 yards on five attempts.
Still, his passing efficiency of 121.2 ranked 11th in the conference among qualified quarterbacks. A spate of talented signal-callers loom on the Falcons’ schedule in 2022, including UCLA’s Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Mississippi State’s Will Rogers, Miami of Ohio’s Brett Gabbert, Kent State’s Collin Schlee, and the Rockets’ Dequan Finn.
McDonald will have to raise his game in order to keep Bowling Green competitive in any potential shootouts.
Which back will pace the rushing attack?
The Falcons’ running game was fractured in 2021, with six backs recording between 52 and 412 yards on the ground. None of that sextet led Bowling Green in carries — McDonald did with 80. Terion Stewart led the squad in yards with 412 and touchdowns with five.
Stewart, a redshirt sophomore and Sandusky native, figures as the Falcons’ top rushing option in 2022. He will try to recapture the magic of his first three collegiate games in 2020, which included 162-yard and 91-yard outings against Kent State and Akron, respectively. Sophomore Jaison Patterson also likely will figure into the rotation, having ably spelled an injured Stewart against Kent State and Akron last season.
This communal approach to the running game underscores what a lean year 2021 was on the ground for Bowling Green. The Falcons’ 103.5 yards per game ranked last in the league and was the lowest total by a Bowling Green team since 2010.
If Stewart is at full health, and the offensive line improves as expected, the running game could be a strength point for the Falcons in 2022.
What’s next for the MAC’s top pass defense?
It seems counterintuitive that any college football team could give up 30.7 points per game and lead its conference in pass defense. But Bowling Green did just that in 2021, holding opponents to 186.2 yards per game to edge out Western Michigan for tops in the league.
When the Falcons’ anti-air attack was on as a unit in 2021, it was on. Minnesota mustered just 59 yards on 13 attempts through the air that day in Minneapolis. Five other opponents were held to fewer than 150 yards; even Tennessee struggled to pass the football despite beating Bowling Green 38-6.
Fortunately for the Falcons, several principals return on the defensive side of the ball.
Davon Ferguson is back at cornerback after a solid first season, and Jordan Anderson returns at safety after picking off three passes last season. Karl Brooks is poised for a big fifth year after finishing sixth in the MAC with 7 1/2 sacks, and linebacker Darren Anders has also received preseason buzz.
Bowling Green will need all hands defensively against Thompson-Robinson on Sept. 3.
First Published August 14, 2022, 12:31 p.m.
