Spartans prove too much for BG

EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Bowling Green State University football team began the 2017 season by forcing three turnovers and scoring a defensive touchdown before ultimately falling to Michigan State on Saturday afternoon (Sept. 2). The Spartans won the contest 35-10 and limited BGSU's offense to 212 total yards.
 
Brandon Harris recovered . . .
 

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. . . an L.J. Scott fumble on the opening series of the season, and James Morgan connected with Datrin Guyton on a 45-yard pass on the offense's first play. That led to a 36-yard field goal from Jake Suder for a 3-0 BGSU lead. However, Michigan State scored 35 unanswered points before Cameron Jefferies returned another Scott fumble 46 yards for a touchdown.

NOTES
● Andrew Clair, a true freshman from St. Louis, Mo., played a large role in his first game on the field. He played heavily on special teams, where he returned four kickoffs for 81 yards and collected two tackles. His kickoff returns included a long of 32. He also played in the offensive backfield and collected four carries for a team-high 22 yards, including a 15-yard jaunt for BGSU's longest run of the game. Clair also caught one pass for three yards. He led the Falcons with 106 all-purpose yards and one of two players from either team to surpass the century mark.

● Cameron Jefferies' fumble recovery and subsequent touchdown were both career firsts for the sophomore from Painesville, Ohio. Jefferies also recorded 10 tackles, which doubled his previous single-game high and increased his career total to 26. He is the first Falcon to return a fumble for a touchdown since Marcus Miltonrumbled 76 yards last November at Akron. This marks the second straight season-opener in which BGSU has scored a defensive touchdown.
 
● Brandon Harris and David Konowalski also recovered fumbles for BGSU, as the team won the turnover battle 3-1. This was Harris' second career fumble recovery and fourth career turnover, which includes a pick-six in the 2016 opener at Ohio State. He added seven tackles against MSU. Konowalski's fumble recovery was also the second of his career (vs. Akron, 2015). He earned BGSU's only sack of the contest


STAT PACK OFFENSE

• Matt Domer returned for his first action since 2015 with four carries for 21 yards
• Domer now has 12 career carries for 138 yards and one touchdown
• Datrin Guyton caught two passes, including a 45-yarder on BGSU's first play from scrimmage
• Matt Wilcox, Jr. (Fr.) earned his first career reception for 12 yards

 

• STAT PACK DEFENSE
• The Falcon defense limited L.J. Scott to 39 yards on 15 carries and forced him to fumble twice
• Scott led MSU with 994 yards (5.4 average) in 2016
• BGSU has recovered multiple fumbles in five of the team's last 11 games
• BGSU has created 11 total turnovers in its last four games
• Nate Locke set a career-best with game-high 15 tackles (previous best: 8 at Akron, 11/9/16)
• Armani Posey earned 5 tackles (1 TFL) and forced a fumble in his first career action
• Kyle Junior tied career high with three tackles; Jack Walz added three tackles for career-high
• Six players earned their first career tackles: Fred Garth (2), Andrew Clair (2), Dirion Hutchins, Jonah Harper, Jerry Roberts and Kholbe Coleman 

 
STAT PACK SPECIAL TEAMS

• Joe Davidson punted eight times for a 46.1 average, including two of 50+ and three inside the 20
• Davidson posted one punt of 64 yards, and six of his eight punts went at least 44 yards
• Davidson improved his BGSU record career-punting average to 44.6
• Davidson broke BGSU's all-time punting yardage record (9,140, surpasses Jim Phelps' 8,955)
• Davidson has 205 career punts (third in BGSU history) and is 14 away from school record
• Jake Suder was successful on both of his kicks, a 36-yard field goal and an extra point.