2019 Bowling Green Falcons football team

The 2019 Bowling Green Falcons football team represented Bowling Green State University during the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Falcons were led by first-year head coach Scot Loeffler and played their home games at Doyt Perry Stadium in Bowling Green, Ohio. They competed as members of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC).

2019 Bowling Green Falcons football
Conference	Mid-American Conference
	East Division
2019 record	3–9 (2–6 MAC)
Head coach	Scot Loeffler (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Terry Malone (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Brian VanGorder (1st season)
Home stadium	Doyt Perry Stadium (Capacity: 23,724)

2019 Mid-American Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
Miami x$		6	–	2					8	–	6
Ohio		5	–	3					7	–	6
Buffalo		5	–	3					8	–	5
Kent State		5	–	3					7	–	6
Bowling Green		2	–	6					3	–	9
Akron		0	–	8					0	–	12
West Division
Central Michigan x		6	–	2					8	–	6
Western Michigan		5	–	3					7	–	6
Ball State		4	–	4					5	–	7
Northern Illinois		4	–	4					5	–	7
Toledo		3	–	5					6	–	6
Eastern Michigan		3	–	5					6	–	7
Championship: Miami 26, Central Michigan 21
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions

Preseason

Coaching changes

Seven games into the 2018 season, Bowling Green fired third-year head coach Mike Jinks; defensive coordinator Carl Pelini served as interim head coach for the remainder of the season. On November 28, 2018, the school announced that Scot Loeffler had been hired to become the new head coach.[1] Loeffler had spent the previous three seasons as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Boston College. On December 4, Loeffler announced that he would retain Pelini as defensive coordinator and hired former Western Michigan tight ends coach Terry Malone to be the new offensive coordinator.[2] On December 10, former Louisville defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder was announced as the new linebackers coach. He was promoted to defensive coordinator in February 2019 after Carl Pelini left to pursue other opportunities.[3]

MAC media poll

The MAC released their preseason media poll on July 23, 2019, with the Falcons predicted to finish in sixth place in the East Division.[4]

East Division
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Ohio	144 (24)
2	Miami	107
3	Buffalo	100
4	Kent State	62
5	Akron	54
6	Bowling Green	37

Schedule

Bowling Green's non-conference schedule will consist of home games against Morgan State of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and Louisiana Tech of Conference USA; and road games against Kansas State of the Big 12 Conference and Notre Dame, a football independent.

In Mid-American Conference play, the Falcons will play home games against Toledo, Central Michigan, Akron, and Ohio; and road games against Kent State, Western Michigan, Miami, and Buffalo. They will not play games against West Division members Ball State, Eastern Michigan, or Northern Illinois during the regular season.

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 29	7:00 p.m.	Morgan State*	Doyt Perry Stadium Bowling Green, OH	ESPN3	W 46–3	17,620
September 7	12:00 p.m.	at Kansas State*	Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium Manhattan, KS	FSN	L 0–52	46,075
September 14	5:00 p.m.	Louisiana Tech*	Doyt Perry Stadium Bowling Green, OH	ESPN+	L 7–35	18,021
September 21	3:30 p.m.	at Kent State	Dix Stadium Kent, OH (Anniversary Award)	ESPN3	L 20–62	19,700
October 5	3:30 p.m.	at No. 9 Notre Dame*	Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN	NBC	L 0–52	77,622
October 12	12:00 p.m.	Toledo	Doyt Perry Stadium Bowling Green, OH (Battle of I–75 Trophy)	CBSSN	W 20–7	19,199
October 19	2:00 p.m.	Central Michigan	Doyt Perry Stadium Bowling Green, OH	ESPN3	L 20–38	15,000
October 26	12:00 p.m.	at Western Michigan	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	ESPN3	L 10–49	16,778
November 2	2:00 p.m.	Akron	Doyt Perry Stadium Bowling Green, OH	ESPN+	W 35–6	12,113
November 13	8:00 p.m.	at Miami (OH)	Yager Stadium Oxford, OH	ESPNU	L 3–44	19,897
November 19	7:30 p.m.	Ohio	Doyt Perry Stadium Bowling Green, OH	ESPNU	L 24–66	9,715
November 29	12:00 p.m.	at Buffalo	UB Stadium Amherst, NY	ESPN+	L 7–49	13,749
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 5 released prior to game All times are in Eastern time

[5]

Game summaries

Morgan State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	0	3	0	0	3
Falcons	13	17	7	9	46

at Kansas State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	0	0	0	0	0
Wildcats	17	21	7	7	52

Bowling Green managed 140 total yards (79 passing and 61 rushing) and completed just 8 of 19 passes.[6] Kansas State led 31-0 and put up over 300 yards of total offense before the game was halfway through the second quarter. Kansas State ended up with 521 total yards by the end of the game and the final score was Kansas State 52, Bowling Green 0. The shutout was Bowling Green’s first since losing 37-0 at Virginia Tech in 2012.[7]

Louisiana Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	14	7	0	14	35
Falcons	7	0	0	0	7

at Kent State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	7	0	0	13	20
Golden Flashes	21	3	17	21	62

at Notre Dame

	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	0	0	0	0	0
No. 9 Fighting Irish	21	14	10	7	52

Toledo

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rockets	0	7	0	0	7
Falcons	10	7	3	0	20

Bowling Green broke their 9-year drought with their first victory in the Battle of I-75 rivalry since 2009.

Central Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Chippewas	7	14	7	10	38
Falcons	7	0	7	6	20

at Western Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	3	0	7	0	10
Broncos	0	21	28	0	49

Akron

	1	2	3	4	Total
Zips	6	0	0	0	6
Falcons	7	14	7	7	35

at Miami (OH)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	3	0	0	0	3
RedHawks	10	27	7	0	44

Ohio

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bobcats	24	14	28	0	66
Falcons	14	10	0	0	24

at Buffalo

	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	0	7	0	0	7
Bulls	21	14	0	14	49

References

1. "Scot Loeffler named new Bowling Green coach". ESPN.com. November 28, 2018.
2. Piotrowicz, Nicholas (December 4, 2018). "Loeffler retains Pelini, revamps offensive staff at BGSU". Toledo Blade.
3. Taylor, John (February 19, 2019). "Brian VanGorder replaces Carl Pelini as Bowling Green DC". MSN.com. NBC Sports.
4. "MAC Announces 2019 Preseason Football Poll". getsomemaction.com. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
5. "2019 Bowling Green Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
6. Black, Ryan (September 7, 2019). "PERFECT GAME - Kansas State blanks Bowling Green 52-0, starts Chris Klieman era 2-0". Manhattan Mercury. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
7. Piotrowicz, Nicholas (September 7, 2019). "Bowling Green routed in visit to Kansas State". Toledo Blade. Retrieved September 8, 2019.