MUNCIE, Ind. — Thirty minutes of almost flawless football was enough.
On Saturday afternoon, Bowling Green scored 24 points in the first half while holding Ball State
scoreless .
The Falcons were then able to hold on to post a 31-17 victory. The Falcons are now 3-4 overall and 2-1 in
the Mid-American Conference, having won two straight games.
“I thought in the first half we played our best half of football the whole year. That’s probably as good
as we’ve looked on defense. And offensively we were sharp, we took advantage of our red zone
opportunities, with the exception of the one missed kick,” BG head coach Dave Clawson said. “I’m a
little disappointed in the second half that we didn’t finish it better … I thought in the first half
we had taken a major step forward on defense.
“I just really wish that second half we would have tightened down on defense a little bit more than we
did.”
In the first half it was almost like the game film and media reports about Bowling Green’s offense had
not reached East Central Indiana as the Falcons were throwing the ball all over the field and Freddie
Barnes was getting wide open.
Tyler Sheehan was 21-of-30 passing for 299 yards and three scores in the first half. Barnes, the nation’s
leading receiver, had eight catches for 140 yards while catching all three scores from Sheehan.
“I don’t think we had too many penalties in the first half,” Barnes said. “The O-line blocked great. We
had a great (game) plan as always and we executed for the most part … We did pretty good in the first
half.”
Meanwhile, BG’s defense held Ball State to 128 total yards in the first half while forcing four punts.
The Cardinals are now 0-7, 0-3.
“That was huge coming out in the first half and shutting them out,” said BG junior defensive end Angelo
Magnone. “We really wanted to get after their quarterback.”
Sheehan and Barnes got started quickly as Bowling Green scored on the opening drive when, after a
double-fake, Barnes leaped higher than two defenders at the goal line to haul in a 21-yard scoring pass.
Barnes had five receptions for 99 yards in the first quarter as Sheehan was 10-of-15 for 134 yards.
In a 17-point second quarter, Sheehan threw two more TDs to Barnes, covering 33-yards and then 6-yards
with 19 seconds to play in the half. On the 33-yard throw to Barnes the Falcons got a favorable video
ruling as the call on the field of a fumble was over ruled and BG maintained possession of the ball. On
the 6-yard score Barnes went over Ball State’s Koreen Burch to make his third TD catch. Jerry Phillips
chipped in with a career-long 44-yard field goal as BG held a 24-0 halftime lead.
The Falcons were up 31-10 after three quarters as Chris Bullock scored for Bowling Green on a 26-yard
run, which is the longest run from scrimmage for BG this season.
“When we scored that one touchdown (Bullock’s run), it would have been nice to really see us drop the
hammer and stop the next drive,” Clawson said.
The Cardinals got an early fourth-quarter touchdown to make it 31-17, but the Falcons were able to hold
on for the win.
“We had a few missed assignments, people out of their gap and they took advantage of it,” Magnone said
about the second half.
Ball State rushed for a season-high 273 yards in the game, including 198 yards in the second half. The
Cardinals’ starting quarterback Kelly Page was knocked out of the game with 11:36 remaining in the first
half with a thumb injury. Tanner Justice replaced Page and was only 6-of-21 passing for 92 yards.
“We let them back in the game running the same plays that we were stopping in the first half and that’s
disappointing,” Clawson said.
“Some of it was zone read stuff and our ends didn’t close down, our linebackers missed tackles and
safeties missed tackles, Clawson added. “In the first half we made plays in space.
“In the second half the same exact plays and our players in the same situations, we stopped bringing our
legs on tackles … and delivering the wood.”
Up next for the Falcons (3-4 overall and 2-1 in the Mid-American Conference) is Central Michigan, the
preseason favorite the win the MAC championship. Kickoff is at noon Saturday in Perry Stadium.
Photo caption: Story: BGSU quartervack Tyler Sheehan looks for a receiver Saturday afternoon at Ball
State. (Chris Bergin/The Star Press)
Front page: Falcon running back Willie Geter (1) rushes against Ball State Saturday in Muncie, Ind.
(Chris Bergin/The Star Press)
