On July 19, the MAC announced the preseason coaches poll. Bowling Green was picked to finish tied for third in the conference. They received zero votes to win the MAC Championship.[2][3]
8:20 BGSU – Terion Stewart 7-yard run (Jackson Kleather kick) – Bowling Green 13–0. Drive: 10 plays, 78 yards, 4:39.
0:09 BGSU – Lucian Anderson III 13-yard run (Jackson Kleather kick) – Bowling Green 20–0. Drive: 8 plays, 93 yards, 3:38.
Second quarter
9:54 BGSU – Connor Bazelak 8-yard run (Jackson Kleather kick) – Bowling Green 27–0. Drive: 8 plays, 38 yards, 4:10.
0:00 FORD – Bennett Henderson 24-yard field goal – Bowling Green 27–3. Drive: 13 plays, 74 yards, 5:16.
Third quarter
13:35 FORD – Cole Thornton 30-yard pass from C. J. Montes (Bennett Henderson kick) – Bowling Green 27–10. Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards, 1:25.
1:21 BGSU – Terion Stewart 7-yard run (Jackson Kleather kick) – Bowling Green 34–10. Drive: 13 plays, 94 yards, 5:34.
Fourth quarter
7:28 BGSU – Terion Stewart 73-yard run (Jackson Kleather kick) – Bowling Green 41–10. Drive: 3 plays, 86 yards, 1:23.
0:24 FORD – Jack Batten 60-yard pass from Jack Capaldi (Bennett Henderson kick) – Bowling Green 41–17. Drive: 7 plays, 95 yards, 2:24.
Bowling Green opened its season with a 41–17 victory on August 29 against the Fordham Rams in front of 12,786 at Doyt Perry Stadium. Tennessee Tech transfer Justin Pegues returned the game's opening kickoff 100-yards for a touchdown, breaking the school record for the longest kick return.[8] Running back Terion Stewart ran for 161 yards and three touchdowns, matching his career high. Running back Jaison Patterson surpassed 1,000 career rushing yards in his career, becoming the 40th Falcon to do so.[9]
3:32 BGSU – Jamal Johnson 41-yard run (Jackson Kleather kick) – Bowling Green 24–17. Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards, 1:56.
0:10 PSU – Sander Sahaydak 28-yard field goal – Bowling Green 24–20. Drive: 10 plays, 64 yards, 3:22.
Third quarter
6:13 PSU – Nicholas Singleton 14-yard pass from Drew Allar (Sander Sahaydak kick) – Penn State 27–24. Drive: 8 plays, 85 yards, 4:07.
Fourth quarter
4:09 PSU – Nicholas Singleton 41-yard run (Sander Sahaydak kick) – Penn State 34–24. Drive: 1 play, 41 yards, :07.
0:47 BGSU – Jackson Kleather 42-yard field goal – Penn State 34–27. Drive: 9 plays, 41 yards, 3:22.
On September 7, Bowling Green visited Beaver Stadium to take on the number 8 ranked Penn State Nittany Lions. The game was the third all-time meeting between the Falcons and Nittany Lions, with the Nittany Lions having won each of their previous two meetings.[10] The Falcons were without starting running back Terion Stewart who was injured in the week one game against Fordham. The game had an attendance of 103,861.
Bowling Green lost the game 27–34. The game began with Penn State winning the coin toss and deferring to the second half. On the Falcons opening drive, quarterback Connor Bazelak connected with Harold Fannin Jr. on a 6-yard touchdown pass to start the scoring. The opening drive touchdown snapped Penn State's streak of 28 games not allowing an opponent to score a first-drive touchdown. Heading into the matchup, it was the longest streak in the nation. The Falcons scored on their first three drives of the game, building them a 17–7 lead. At the half, Bowling Green led Penn State 24–20. The Nittany Lions earned their first lead of the game midway through the third quarter when quarterback Drew Allar found Nicholas Singleton on a 14-yard touchdown pass. Singleton added to the lead in the fourth quarter on a 41-yard touchdown run. In the final minute, Bowling Green kicker Jackson Kleather made his second field goal of the game, making it just a one score advantage for the Nittany Lions. The Falcons were unsuccessful on their onside kick attempt, allowing Penn State to run out the clock.[11]
Fannin Jr. led the Falcons with 11 receptions and 137 receiving yards, which both marked career-highs. He became the 43rd Falcon to reach 1,000 career receiving yards. Running back Jaison Patterson had 57 yards on 16 carries filling in for the injured Stewart. Jamal Johnson also made an impact with a 41-yard touchdown run, his first collegiate rushing touchdown.[12]
The Bowling Green Falcons will travel to College Station to take on the number 25 ranked Texas A&M Aggies. The Falcons will be playing their second ranked opponent of the season in as many games played. This will be the first matchup between the Falcons and Aggies. The Aggies are led by head coach Mike Elko, who previously spent five seasons as Bowling Green's defensive coordinator from 2009–2013.[13] Aggies defensive lineman Cashius Howell spent the 2021–2023 seasons at Bowling Green. He previously was named third team All-MAC in 2023 after leading the Falcons with 9.5 sacks, which was tied for first in the MAC and 16th nationally. Howell recorded his first sack with the Aggies in a 33–20 victory over Florida the previous week.[14] Aggies freshman quarterback Marcel Reed started in place for the injured Conner Weigman in the win over the Gators.[15][16]
*
