By Evan Meyer
A wise college football sage once said “The conference games are the meat and potatoes of the schedule. The Mid-American Conference schedule opens Saturday for both the Akron Zips and the Bowling Green Falcons.
UA lost a heartbreaker last week at Troy battling back to take a one-point lead late in the fourth quarter only to see the home team engineer a 97-yard drive to take victory while the Falcons slipped to 0-4 for the first tine since 2000 losing at Middle Tennessee
Here are my “preview points” for the early evening kickoff at Doyt Perry Stadium in Northwest Ohio
ZIPS – FALCONS PREVIEW POINTS
BOWLING GREEN FALCONS (0-4)
BGSU come into the MAC opener winless after four games for the first time since 2000 after losing last week at Middle Tennessee to the Blue Raiders of Conference USA 24-13.
Through the first four games of the season, the Falcons offensively are averaging 14.2 points and yards per game
True Freshman QB Jarret Doege got the start against the Blue Raiders completing 21-of-35 passes for 283 yards and a touchdown
The running game is led by senior RB Josh Cleveland who has 195 yards on 42 carries with a touchdown. Junior WR Scott Miller leads the receivers with 19 catches for 233 yards and two touchdowns. The offensive line have allowed 11 sacks
The defensive has allowed 35.8 points and 549.0 yards per game and are led by Senior LB Nate Locke and junior LB Brandon Harris each have made 34 total tackles
THE SERIES
Saturday evening’s game is the 24th lifetime meeting between the two schools. The Falcons hold a 16-7 advantage and have won the last eight meetings in the series including last season at InfoCision Stadium 38-28. UA’s last win in the series was in 2005 at Perry Stadium 24-14
AKRON ZIPS (1-3)
The Zips dropped their second consecutive game last Saturday falling to the Troy Trojans (Sun Belt) on the road last Saturday 22-17.
UA battled back from a 16-3 deficit early in the third quarter to take a 17-16 lead with five minutes remaining only to see the Trojans march 97-yards in nine plays to score the winning points with 1:06 remaining
Graduate RB Warren Ball had 114 yards on 28 carries and a touchdown reaching the 100-yard rushing mark for the second time this season
Senior QB Thomas Woodson went 20-of-40 for 268 yards and a touchdown with senior WR Austin Wolf made six catches for 71 yards in his first action of the season.
Junior CB Shawn Featherstone led the defense with 11 total tackles (seven solo)
UA is 9-15 in MAC openers