Over The Pylon

On Friday, Ball State closes out their 2014 season on the road against MAC East champion and sure-to-be-bowling Bowling Green. For Bowling Green, they are looking to continue their successful season and have at least one more contest after BSU: The Marathon MAC Championship in Detroit. For Ball State, this Friday’s contest is an opportunity to close 2014 out on a high note, in a season where high notes have been few and far between for the Cardinals. A victory puts the Cardinals at 5-7, but more importantly, also 4-4 in the MAC. With the injuries, staff turnover, and random fluke bad luck that has plagued the Cards this season, a .500 in-conference finish would be nothing short of staggering.

Lengthening those upset odds (Vegas has BG as 9-point favorites) is the fact that current starting Cardinals QB Jack Milas was removed from the previous EMU game with a wrist injury and is listed as “out” on this week’s depth chart, joining a whole host of other Cardinals. Who won’t be there isn’t as important as who will be, namely the newly re-annointed QB1, Ozzie Mann. So it’s Ozzie Football time again for Friends of the Feather.

Kickoff time on Friday is 1pm at Doyt Perry Stadium, and you can catch the game on ESPN3. Of course, before you do that, you should learn about BG, and that’s where we come in. Time to Better Know: Bowling Green!

Team: Bowling Green Falcons
Record: 7-4 (5-2 MAC)
Ranking: Unranked
Head Coach: Dino Babers
Series: BG leads 20-8-1
Last Meeting: 2009, a 31-17 BG win

Bowling Green Head Coach Dino Babers…
… is in his first season as BG’s head coach, coming to the Falcons after a successful stint as head coach at FCS Eastern Illinois, where he was 19-7.
… his first year at Eastern Illinois was a worst-to-first turnaround and year two was a 12-2 record and a #2 national ranking.
… had the best offense in FCS both of his seasons at the helm of Eastern Illinois.

When it comes to BG versus the Cardinals…
… BG is in the midst of six straight victories over the Cardinals.
… the last Cardinals victory over BG came in 1996, a 16-11 win at Bowling Green.
… in games played in Bowling Green, the Falcons have an 11-5 advantage.

The Bowling Green Falcons…
… will honor 17 student-athletes on Friday as part of their senior day festivities. This particular group of graduates have led the Falcons to back-to-back MAC Championship Game appearances.
… will compete in Detroit on December 5 against a yet-to-be-determined MAC West opponent for the conference crown.
… are 3-0 this season in the week following a loss. Last week, the Falcons were defeated 27-20 last week at Toledo.

Filed under: BallStateFootball, Better Know |