Let’s hope there was plenty of room for Bowling Green’s five starting offensive linemen to stretch out on
the two hour-plus bus ride back from Kent State Saturday night.
And of course there had to be plenty of ice bags for the assorted aches and pains which were accumulated
during the game.
The five linemen – left tackle Brady Minturn, left guard Shane Steffy, center Ben Bojicic, right guard
Scott Albert and right guard Tyler Donahue ­- played every offensive snap in BG’s 36-35 comeback win
over Kent State.
That’s 93 plays of brutal collisions in the narrowly defined line of scrimmage where there’s hitting
grabbing, scratching and clawing going on every play. It’s also trying to figure out in just a few
seconds what scheme the defense will be using this time as you try to protect your quarterback or open a
lane for the running back.
"It starts up front. Our O-line and running backs did a nice job of handling all the different
blitzes and combinations of things that Kent was throwing our way," BG head coach Dave Clawson said
on Monday. "Kent is very multiple with their blitz game. Not only playing 90-some plays is a
physical grind, but with all the things Kent throws at you, you have to be sharp.
"I thought, for the most part, our offensive line did a phenomenal job of picking up the
blitzes," he continued. "Our running backs and tight ends are involved in a lot of those blitz
pickups too."
BG quarterback Tyler Sheehan was sacked five times in the game and Kent State was credited with two
quarterback hurries. Still Sheehan completed 44 passes for 505 yards and four touchdowns.
"I thought we managed their blitz game well and picked things up and gave Tyler time. And gave
Freddie (Barnes) and the receivers time to get open," Clawson said. "You don’t throw for 500
yards if you’re not getting good protection and those guys did a great job."
MAKING PLAYS: Sheehan and Barnes had the record-setting days against Kent State, but wide receivers
Adrian Hodges and Justus Jones, a pair of redshirt sophomores, made some big receptions.
Hodges finished with eight catches for 73 yards and a touchdown and Jones made six catches for 70 yards.
All told, eight different Falcons had a least one catch in the game.
Hodges had two catches on the winning touchdown drive, including a big fourth-down reception for 12
yards. Jones had three receptions on the final drive.
"That was a good job by Tyler of recognizing coverage and recognizing where the one-on-ones were and
going to the open receiver," Clawson said. "That’s really happened the last couple of weeks É
We have had different guys step up and make plays where their number is called."
Hodges’ fourth-down catch put the ball at the 7-yard line and three plays later Sheehan scored the
game-winner on a 9-yard quarterback keeper.
"Again that’s a credit to the quarterback and the O-line. The quarterback went through his
progression and got the ball to the open receiver," Clawson said about the play to Hodges. "He
(Sheehan) didn’t get locked up on Freddie. On that play, Freddie is an option. Tyler recognized that he
was being doubled and he got the ball to the open guy."
MAC HONORS: The Mid-American Conference has named BG’s Barnes as the East offensive player of the week.

A senior, Barnes hauled in 22 catches for 278 yards (both school records) and three touchdowns in the
Falcons win over Kent State. The 22 catches were one shy of the NCAA record. Barnes recorded receptions
of 45, 53 and 55 yards.
His highlight catch came on a slant pattern in which he ran 45 yards, breaking four tackles, the last
coming via a stiff arm at the KSU 5-yard line to help the Falcons to within 35-30 with just over four
minutes to go.
All told, Barnes had 306 all-purpose yards in the game ­­­- 278 receiving; nine rushing; and 19 on
returns.
Through six games Barnes leads the nation with 75 receptions and 722 receiving yards, and is currently on
pace to snap the NCAA record for catches in a season, set back in 1989 by Manny Hazard (Houston) with
142.
WEB SITE: The Bowling Green athletic department
has launched www.bgsufalcons.com/freddiebarnes, a Web site dedicated to Barnes.
The Web site includes a player biographical page, information on what Barnes has done this year, audio
and video clips from 2009 and a handful of other resources.
NEXT: Bowling Green (2-4 overall and 1-1 in the MAC) plays at Ball State (0-6, 0-3) Saturday with kickoff
at noon.
"We’re not playing well enough and we’re not good enough to overlook anybody and Ball (State) is not
that much different than us," Clawson said. "Ball’s been involved in four games that have been
decided by a touchdown or less. A few breaks here and there and a couple of bounces and they could be a
4-2 football team É They have come up on the short end of some very competitive, very close football
games."