Penn State Football (1-0) is set for its home-opener against a rising team in the MAC, as the Bowling Green Falcons (1-0) come to Beaver Stadium. This comes on the heels of the Nittany Lions going into Morgantown and beating West Virginia 34-12 to start the season off on the right foot last week. Happy Valley Insider takes a closer look at the Falcons by the numbers, ahead of Saturday's matchup.
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Offense:
Scot Loeffler and company were in the bottom half of college football in scoring offense a season ago, scoring just 26.2 points per game while having their best season in nearly a decade.
The main core of the Falcons offense is now back for another round, led by quarterback Connor Bazelak. The sixth-year senior spent time at both Missouri and Indiana before getting another opportunity with Bowling Green, which has yielded mixed results. Bazelak threw for less than 2,000 yards, with 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 2023, but got off to an efficient start in 2024, throwing for 168 yards on 68% completion in the Falcons' win over Fordham last week.
While Bazelak provides a veteran presence under center, his receiving corps has more questions than answers. Leading receiver and one of the top tight ends in the MAC, Harold Fannin Jr. is back and provides a reliable target in the pass game, coming off a season in which he tallied 44 catches for 623 yards and six scores. Bowling Green's next four leading receivers have all left the program, however.
The tandem of Jamal Johnson and Auburn transfer Malcolm Johnson Jr. are Bowling Green's top receivers, outside of Fannin. Johnson and Johnson combined for 10 catches for 121 yards in last Saturday's victory over Fordham. The likes of Finn Hogan and Jaylon Tillman will also factor into the rotation, but both were quiet in week one.
Bowling Green's strength, or so it would appear after one week, is the run game led by Terion Stewart. The junior tailback led the Falcons with 762 yards and eight scores on the ground in nine games a year ago, and got off to a hot start in 2024, rushing for 161 yards and three touchdowns in week one. Stewart leads the pack as Bowling Green, again after just one game, has a top 10 rushing attack in the country, with 305 yards against Fordham.
Penn State's stellar defense, one that held West Virginia's explosive attack to just 85 yards on a 2.3 average, should bring the Falcons back down the Earth after running all over their FCS opponent.
Defense:
The 2023-2024 off-season saw an overhaul amongst Bowling Green's top defenders, both losing players to graduation and the transfer portal heading into the fall.
Linebacker Cashius Howell (Texas A&M) and defensive back Jalen Huskey (Maryland) transferred out to the Power 4 ranks, while cornerback Deshawn Jones Jr., Kitione Tau, leading tackler Darren Anders and defensive back Davon Ferguson all left the program as well.
The Falcons and co-defensive coordinators Steve Morrison and Sammy Lawanson do have experience to work with despite those losses to help replicate a group that was 54th in the nation in scoring defense last season. Bowling Green showed it was susceptible to the run, allowing nearly 200 yards on the ground to Fordham last week, which will be tested by the likes of Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton on Saturday afternoon.
Bowling Green starts three seniors up front in Ali Saad, Dontrez Brown and Anthony Hawkins. Hawkins kicked off his senior season with career-highs in tackles for loss (2.5) and sacks (2.0) from his nose tackle position.
Losing leading tackler and senior leader linebacker Darren Anders stings, but junior Joseph Sipp Jr., and Brock Horne are ready to step into bigger roles in 2024. Sipp Jr. led Bowling Green with eight total and six solo tackles against Fordham, which should be a common occurrence this season.
The secondary has been bolstered by talented transfers with safety Darius McClendon (FAU) and CJ Brown (Northern Illinois) entering the mix, as well as cornerback Edward Rhambo (Northern Arizona) and returning starter Jordan Oladokun holding things down on the outside. The only defensive back with a sub-73.2 Pro Football Focus grade last week was McClendon, who struggled in his debut.
While Bowling Green could have a reliable pass defense in the MAC, Drew Allar proved to be efficient against West Virginia, and is poised for a big day to show the Nittany Lion faithful Andy Kotelnicki's new offense in Happy Valley, with the help of Trey Wallace and Tyler Warren in particular.
Special Teams:
On the special teams front, last year's starting kicker Alan Anaya is no longer in the picture, with sophomore Jackson Kleather taking over and going 5-6 on extra point attempts in week one. Kleather was the starting punter a year ago, which is now being handled by John Henderson, who averaged 44.3 yards per punt in week one.
The most notable player on Bowling Green's special teams unit, however, is return specialist Justin Pegues. The Tennessee Tech transfer won MAC Special Teams Player of the Wee after taking the opening kickoff 100 yards for a score, which was the longest in school history.
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