# 2019 Bowling Green Falcons football team

The 2019 Bowling Green Falcons football team represented Bowling Green State University during the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Falcons were led by first-year head coach Scot Loeffler and played their home games at Doyt Perry Stadium in Bowling Green, Ohio. They competed as members of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC).

## Preseason
### Coaching changes

Seven games into the 2018 season, Bowling Green fired third-year head coach Mike Jinks; defensive coordinator Carl Pelini served as interim head coach for the remainder of the season. On November 28, 2018, the school announced that Scot Loeffler had been hired to become the new head coach. Loeffler had spent the previous three seasons as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Boston College. On December 4, Loeffler announced that he would retain Pelini as defensive coordinator and hired former Western Michigan tight ends coach Terry Malone to be the new offensive coordinator. On December 10, former Louisville defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder was announced as the new linebackers coach. He was promoted to defensive coordinator in February 2019 after Carl Pelini left to pursue other opportunities.

### MAC media poll

The MAC released their preseason media poll on July 23, 2019, with the Falcons predicted to finish in sixth place in the East Division.
East Division :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Ohio | 144 (24) |
| 2 | Miami | 107 |
| 3 | Buffalo | 100 |
| 4 | Kent State | 62 |
| 5 | Akron | 54 |
| 6 | Bowling Green | 37 |

## Schedule

Bowling Green's non-conference schedule will consist of home games against Morgan State of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and Louisiana Tech of Conference USA; and road games against Kansas State of the Big 12 Conference and Notre Dame, a football independent.
In Mid-American Conference play, the Falcons will play home games against Toledo, Central Michigan, Akron, and Ohio; and road games against Kent State, Western Michigan, Miami, and Buffalo. They will not play games against West Division members Ball State, Eastern Michigan, or Northern Illinois during the regular season.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 29 | 7:00 p.m. | Morgan State* | Doyt Perry StadiumBowling Green, OH | ESPN3 | W 46–3 | 17,620 |
| September 7 | 12:00 p.m. | at Kansas State* | Bill Snyder Family Football StadiumManhattan, KS | FSN | L 0–52 | 46,075 |
| September 14 | 5:00 p.m. | Louisiana Tech* | Doyt Perry StadiumBowling Green, OH | ESPN+ | L 7–35 | 18,021 |
| September 21 | 3:30 p.m. | at Kent State | Dix StadiumKent, OH (Anniversary Award) | ESPN3 | L 20–62 | 19,700 |
| October 5 | 3:30 p.m. | at No. 9 Notre Dame* | Notre Dame StadiumSouth Bend, IN | NBC | L 0–52 | 77,622 |
| October 12 | 12:00 p.m. | Toledo | Doyt Perry StadiumBowling Green, OH (Battle of I–75 Trophy) | CBSSN | W 20–7 | 19,199 |
| October 19 | 2:00 p.m. | Central Michigan | Doyt Perry StadiumBowling Green, OH | ESPN3 | L 20–38 | 15,000 |
| October 26 | 12:00 p.m. | at Western Michigan | Waldo StadiumKalamazoo, MI | ESPN3 | L 10–49 | 16,778 |
| November 2 | 2:00 p.m. | Akron | Doyt Perry StadiumBowling Green, OH | ESPN+ | W 35–6 | 12,113 |
| November 13 | 8:00 p.m. | at Miami (OH) | Yager StadiumOxford, OH | ESPNU | L 3–44 | 19,897 |
| November 19 | 7:30 p.m. | Ohio | Doyt Perry StadiumBowling Green, OH | ESPNU | L 24–66 | 9,715 |
| November 29 | 12:00 p.m. | at Buffalo | UB StadiumAmherst, NY | ESPN+ | L 7–49 | 13,749 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 5 released prior to gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||

## Game summaries
### Morgan State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Falcons | 13 | 17 | 7 | 9 | 46 |

### At Kansas State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Falcons | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wildcats | 17 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 52 |
Bowling Green managed 140 total yards (79 passing and 61 rushing) and completed just 8 of 19 passes. Kansas State led 31-0 and put up over 300 yards of total offense before the game was halfway through the second quarter. Kansas State ended up with 521 total yards by the end of the game and the final score was Kansas State 52, Bowling Green 0. The shutout was Bowling Green’s first since losing 37-0 at Virginia Tech in 2012.

### Louisiana Tech

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulldogs | 14 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 35 |
| Falcons | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |

### At Kent State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Falcons | 7 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 20 |
| Golden Flashes | 21 | 3 | 17 | 21 | 62 |

### At Notre Dame

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Falcons | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No. 9 Fighting Irish | 21 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 52 |

### Toledo

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Rockets | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Falcons | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 20 |
Bowling Green broke their 9-year drought with their first victory in the Battle of I-75 rivalry since 2009.

### Central Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Chippewas | 7 | 14 | 7 | 10 | 38 |
| Falcons | 7 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 20 |

### At Western Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Falcons | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| Broncos | 0 | 21 | 28 | 0 | 49 |

### Akron

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Zips | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Falcons | 7 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 35 |

### At Miami (OH)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Falcons | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| RedHawks | 10 | 27 | 7 | 0 | 44 |

### Ohio

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bobcats | 24 | 14 | 28 | 0 | 66 |
| Falcons | 14 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 24 |

### At Buffalo

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Falcons | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Bulls | 21 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 49 |