BOWLING GREEN — The 2023 season begins on the road for Bowling Green State University’s football team as the Falcons travel to Liberty University to battle the Flames.
BASICS
■ Who: BGSU (0-0) at Liberty (0-0)
■ When: Saturday, noon
■ Where: Williams Stadium, Lynchburg, Va.
■ Spread: Liberty by 9½.
■ TV: CBS Sports Network
■ Follow: Michael Burwell
PLAYERS TO WATCH
■ BGSU: Running back Terion Stewart will make his return after sitting out the 2022 campaign. The 5-foot-9, 225-pounder hasn’t played in a game since Nov. 26, 2021, but he is the No. 1 back on BGSU’s depth chart. Stewart said in early August he is in the best shape of his career. Stewart’s 6.6 yards per carry for his career currently ranks first in program history; he led the Falcons in rushing in 2020 and 2021 in totaling 707 yards and nine touchdowns.
■ Liberty: Senior defensive tackle Kendy Charles (6-0, 280) is Liberty’s top returning defender, and he will look to lead what has been a strength for the Flames the past couple of seasons. In 2022, he was fourth on the team with 59 total tackles (27 solo), tied for fourth with 10 tackles for loss, and third with 5.5 sacks. The Flames were No. 1 in the country in tackles for loss (9.3 per game) and No. 3 in sacks (3.46) a year ago, and in 2021, they were No. 14 in tackles for loss (7.2) and No. 28 in sacks (2.85).
STATS TO KNOW
3: BGSU has lost each of its past three season openers, while Liberty has won each of its previous three. The Falcons’ last win to start a season was in Scot Loeffler’s coaching debut for the Falcons — a 46-3 victory over Morgan State in 2019. Liberty’s last loss in an opener was a 24-0 defeat to Syracuse in 2019.
35: BGSU senior wide receiver Odieu Hiliare enters the contest on a 35-game reception streak, which is the sixth longest active streak in the nation and best in the Mid-American Conference. He led BGSU in receptions (58) and yards (747) in his first season with the Falcons a year ago after transferring from Alabama A&M.
11: When it came to sacking the opposing quarterback, the Falcons shared the wealth with a nation-best 16 players recording at least one sack a year ago. Eleven of those players are back this season, led by linebacker Demetrius Hardamon, who was second on the team with six sacks.
MATCHUP TO WATCH
Liberty’s offensive line vs. BGSU’s front seven: The Flames feature a massive offensive line that has four starters who are at least 6-4 and 320 pounds. Right guard X’Zauvea Gadlin (6-4, 320) started all 13 games last season and has 34 starts in 42 games, while left guard Jonathan Graham (6-5, 330) made nine starts in 13 games a year ago. Right tackle Xavior Gray (6-8, 335) and left tackle Chase Mitchell (6-4, 320) also have experience. The Falcons won’t have Karl Brooks, who made the initial 53-man roster for the Green Bay Packers, along the defensive line, but BGSU does feature Anthony Hawkins (35 total tackles, five for loss in 2022) and a strong linebacker corps that includes Darren Anders (77, 2.5), Hardamon (25, 8) and Brock Horne (49, 4).
PREDICTION
With such a tough schedule out of the gates, and with five of its first seven games on the road, BGSU needs to take advantage of every winnable game that it can. A victory over what has been a stellar Liberty program would do wonders going forward for the Falcons. Confidence and camaraderie are high for BGSU, which is expecting nothing less than to compete for a MAC championship in Year 5 of the Loeffler era. The Falcons pulled off some wild wins in dramatic fashion a year ago, and that could be the case vs. the Flames. BGSU 28-27.
WARMUP READING
BGSU football has 'MAC championship or bust' mentality as season opener approaches
Transfers blending in well as BGSU football season opener approaches
Scouting report: BGSU football at Liberty
6 memorable performances in Bowling Green football season openers
First Published September 2, 2023, 11:45 a.m.
