AKRON, OHIO – The Bowling Green Falcons used a pair of touchdown passes from sophomore quarterback Jarret Doege, along with a solid defensive effort, to defeat the Akron Zips 21-6 Saturday afternoon at InfoCision Stadium.
Bowling Green (3-8, 2-5 MAC) collected consecutive wins for the first time since the end of the 2016 season when it won three straight games. It was also the first back-to-back road wins since 2015.
“I am happy for the team. They deserved this.” BGSU interim head coach Carl Pelini said.
“The game was there for us in the first half.” Zips head man Terry Bowden said. “We had too many opportunities to make things happen, but we did not take advantage of them.”
Neither offense made inroads in the first half. However, Akron managed a pair of big defensive plays.
The first came when senior DB Jordan George intercepted a Doege pass and returned it 53 yards to the Falcons 38.
George, one of 29 seniors playing their final home game, led the defene with 12 total tackles (eight solo), a forced fumble and the interception.
The Zips did capitalize on that turnover as senior PK Nick Gasser kicked a 38-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.
UA got another turnover in the second quarter as DB Alvin Davis recovered a fumble. Again, the Zips offense moved the ball marginally, so Gasser came on and made his second field goal -- this a 32-yarder -- to make the score 6-0.
The game turned late in the first half. When the Falcons got the ball after a UA punt, Doege moved the offense 80 yards in 10 plays, ending with a seven-yard touchdown pass to fifth-year senior TE Dorian Hendrix to give the Falcons a 7-6 halftime edge.
Doege would finish the cloudy, chilly afternoon completing 19-of-27 passes for 178 yards with two scores giving him 26 TD tosses on the season.
In the second half, BGSU took complete control of the game with an effective running game on offense and a defense that held the Zips to only 74 total yards.
“At halftime, (we felt) if we did not beat ourselves with penalties and turnovers we could take control of the game," Pelini said.
Sophomore Andrew Clair took care of the ground attack as he carried the ball 12 times for 112 yards.
The game was a homecoming of sorts for Pelini who was the defensive coordinator at Youngstown State the past five seasons before joining Bowling Green this season. He is 2-2 since taking over for Mike Jinks, who was dismissed on October 21.+
Late in the third quarter, the Falcons put together their second touchdown drive going 77 yards in seven plays. The big play was a 42-yard pass from Doege to senior WR Scott Miller, taking the ball to the UA five-yard line.
Miller, one of the top receivers in the MAC, had six catches on the day for 100 yards and surpassed the 1,000 yard receiving mark for the season (67 for 1,033 yards and seven touchdowns).
Freshman RB Rico Frye ended the drive, during which the offense converted three third down opportunities, with a five-yard touchdown up the middle. His first touchdown as a Falcon made the score 14-6.
Meanwhile, Akron continued to sputter. For the second straight game, the Zips offensive just could not move the ball consistenly. UA gained only 173 yards against the BGSU defense. Over the last two games Akron has gained only 263 total yards and scored 13 points. In addition, the Zips have not scored an offensive touchdown in their last nine quarters, dating back to the third quarter of the home loss to Northern Illinois on November 1st.
Sophomore QB Cato Nelson returned to the lineup after missing last Saturday’s loss at Eastern Michigan with an ankle injury, but he completed only 12-of-28 passes for 148 yards. He did not appear comfortable moving around -- either handing the football off or being in the pocket. Senior RB Van Edwards had 69 yards on 18 carries to lead the rushers.
The Falcons defense registered four sacks of Nelson, along with four pass breakups. It was the second consecutive game in which they denied the opposition 200 total yards. In their win at Central Michigan, they allowed only 166 yards. Junior DL Nico Lautanen led BGSU defenders with seven total tackles (four solo).
Bowling Green ended scoring midway through the fourth quarter when Doege found sophomore WR Quentin Morris in the end zone from seven yards out to seal the verdict. It marked BGSU's eighth win in the last nine games against the Zips in the series,
The Falcons end their season on Friday as the Buffalo Bulls come to Perry Stadium on a mission to clinch the Eastern Division title with a victory.
Akron has two games remaining. It heads to Ohio on Friday to face the Bobcats and will visit South Carolina Dec. 1. The latter is a replacement game for two teams that lost games early in the year due to weather issues.