ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The Bowling Green State University football team hung with the second-ranked team in the nation for 30 minutes, but the University of Michigan used a big third quarter to surge to a 31-6 win over the Falcons on Saturday night (Sept. 16) at Michigan Stadium.
In front of a crowd of 109,995, he Falcons (1-2) forced three first-half turnovers and trailed by just 14-6 at the half. But, the Wolverines (3-0) scored 17 third-quarter points to take control of the game.
The BGSU defense held the number-two team in the country to just 15 first downs and 312 yards of total offense. And, the Falcons picked off J.J. McCarthy three times, marking the first time the U-M quarterback has thrown three interceptions in a game in his collegiate career.
For the Falcons, Camden Orth was 8-of-11 for 91 yards through the air, while Hayden Timosciek completed 6-of-10 passes for 33 yards.
Blake Corum had 101 yards and two touchdowns on the ground to lead the hosts. Corum gained 54 yards on the Wolverines’ first offensive play of the night and just 47 yards on 11 carries the rest of the night.
Nine different players had at least one rushing attempt for the Falcons, and eight different BGSU players caught at least one pass.
FROM THE INTERVIEW ROOM — COACH LOEFFLER
“I thought our kids battled. I’m proud of them; they played their hearts out. That’s one good Michigan team. That might be arguably the best defense that I’ve seen, and their offense reminds me of the ’99 offense. But I’m super proud of our guys coming in here and battling. We didn’t lay down. We would have loved to do some things better, but we were put into some really tough circumstances. I’m proud of the guys who went in there — some of whom never even took a practice rep this week — and battled their tails off.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
• On the first play from scrimmage, Camden Orth completed a pass to Odieu Hiliare for 30 yards to the U-M 45. After back-to-back completions to Harold Fannin Jr. produced six total yards, a third-down fumble stalled the drive, and the Falcons were forced to punt.
• Michigan’s first play saw Blake Corum rush for 54 yards into BGSU territory, and three plays later, Corum carried the ball the final four yards to put the Wolverines on the board with 10:44 remaining in the first quarter.
• The Wolverines drove inside the 10-yard line on their next drive, but on a second-and-goal play, Jalen Huskey intercepted a J.J. McCarthy pass in the end zone, and the score remained 7-0 with 4:48 left in the opening quarter.
• On a third-and-10 play on the ensuing drive, Abdul-Fatai Ibrahim made a juggling catch for a 33-yard gain that put the Falcons into Michigan territory. Then, on third and 15, Orth found Levi Gazarek over the middle for a gain of 15 and a first down at the U-M 37.
• Two plays later, an 11-yard completion to Ta’ron Keith produced another first down. The Falcons got inside the 20 before the drive stalled, and Alan Anaya’s 36-yard field goal was right down the middle, cutting the Michigan lead to 7-3 with 14:13 left in the second quarter.
• The ensuing kickoff saw Trent Simms force a fumble, with Patrick Day felling on the ball. BG had the ball right back, at the Michigan 33. Three plays produced nine yards, and Anaya hit a 42-yard field goal – the longest of his young career – to get BGSU within a single point with 11:39 left before halftime.
• The next drive saw the Falcons come up with yet another takeaway, as Jordan Oladokun intercepted McCarthy at the BGSU 5-yard line and returned the ball 29 yards to the Falcons’ 34.
• But, on the Wolverines’ following drive, McCarthy found Roman Wilson on a 33-yard scoring toss. The point-after try gave U-M a 14-6 lead with 4:15 left before the half.
• An interception gave the Wolverines the ball near midfield, but on third down, Darren Anders sacked McCarthy for a 17-yard loss, forcing Michigan to punt the ball away.
• Michigan got the ball to begin the second half, and the Falcons forced a three-and-out. But, on the first play of the next drive, Hayden Timosciek was hit as he threw, and an interception gave U-M the ball at the Falcons’ 2-yard line. On the next play, Corum carried the ball into the end zone.
• A fumble gave the ball back to the hosts, but the BGSU defense held. Michigan gained just two yards in three plays before kicking a field goal to make it a 24-6 game with 10:12 remaining in the third quarter.
• Michigan added to the lead on a 50-yard touchdown pass fro McCarthy to Cornelius Johnson. A Falcon defender actually broke up the pass, but Johnson caught the deflection out of the air and took it into the end zone.
• Avi McGary came up with a leaping interception to end Michigan’s next drive in the final minute of the third quarter. It marked the third time the Falcons picked off McCarthy on the night.
• The next drive saw PaSean Wimberly pick up 12 yards on a third-and-11 play, then gain seven yards on the following play. Then, Timosciek found Finn Hogan over the middle for another third-down conversion as BGSU drove into Michigan territory before the drive stalled.
• The Falcons’ final two drives of the night consisted of nine and 10 plays, respectively.
GAME NOTES
• BGSU forced four turnovers, which is the most given up by Michigan since the 2019 Wisconsin game.
• BGSU’s sack in the second quarter of J.J. McCarthy is the first yielded by the Wolverines this season.
• BGSU forced McCarthy into a career-high three interceptions.
• BGSU held Michigan to 312 yards of total offense, its lowest of the season and lowest since the Wolverines gained 275 against Rutgers in 2021.
• Attendance was 109,955, which is the second-most fans to see a BGSU football game behind only Bowling Green’s 2000 trip to Ann Arbor.
• With two receptions, WR Odieu Hiliare extends his active streak with at least one catch to 38 games. He entered the weekend with the fifth-longest streak in the nation.
• CB Jalen Huskey notched his second interception in as many weeks in the first quarter. It was the second-straight week the sophomore intercepted a ball in the end zone. It was the second interception of Huskey’s career.
• CB Jordan Oladokun notched his first career interception in the second quarter. He returned it 29 yards.
• OLB Avi McGary recorded his first career interception in the third quarter.
• ILB Darren Anders’ sack of J.J. McCarthy in the second quarter was the first yielded by Michigan this season.
• PK Alan Anaya connected on a career-long 42-yard field goal in the second quarter to make it a 7-6 game.
STAT LEADERS
Camden Orth 8-of-11 passing, 91 yards
Levi Gazarek 3 rec, 19 yards
Odieu Hiliare 2 rec, 37 yards
Darren Anders 7 tackles, 1.0 sack
UP NEXT
• BGSU opens Mid-American Conference play next Saturday (Sept. 23), hosting Ohio University in a 3:30 p.m. start at Doyt Perry Stadium.