Previewing U-M vs. Bowling Green With A Falcons Insider

By Clayton Sayfie

TheWolverine.com caught up with Bowling Green beat writer Michael Burwell of The Toledo Blade for insight on the Falcons ahead of their game with Michigan Wolverines football Saturday night in Ann Arbor. Burwell broke down the team and offered a final score prediction.

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Bowling Green projected starters on offense

• #7 – Senior QB Connor Bazelak (6-3, 225) — The Missouri (2019-21) and Indiana (2022) transfer has started 30 career college games and came to BGSU this offseason with 7,370 passing yards, 36 touchdowns and a 62.2 completion percentage. This season, Bazelak has connected on 29 of his 49 pass attempts for 390 yards and 3 touchdowns with 3 interceptions. He was 6-of-21 for 71 yards and 3 picks in the opener, a 34-24 loss to Liberty. He hasn’t completed a pass of 20-plus air yards this year and only 9 between 10-19.

• #4 – Sophomore RB Terion Stewart (5-9, 225) — Rushed 17 times for 106 yards and 2 touchdowns, splitting carries with junior Ta’ron Keith (73 yards, 1 score) and junior Jaison Patterson (52 yards). He led the team in rushing in both 2020 and 2021 but was not enrolled at the school last year.

• #2 – Senior WR Abdul-Fatai Ibrahim (6-1, 200) — The Alabama A&M transfer has caught 6 passes for 72 yards and a touchdown. He accumulated 163 receptions for 2,488 yards and 22 touchdowns in 31 games at his previous stop.

• #1 – Senior WR Odieu Hiliare (6-0, 185) — Was a starter at BGSU last season, after transferring in from Alabama A&M. He hauled in 58 catches for 747 yards and 6 scores a year ago. He has 8 receptions for 97 yards and 2 touchdowns through two weeks.

• #18 – Senior WR Austin Osborne (6-2, 205) — The Washington transfer is now in his third season with the Falcons, having amassed 72 catches for 636 yards and 2 touchdowns at his current school. He’s caught 6 passes for 71 yards so far this season.

• #44 – Sophomore TE Harold Fannin Jr. (6-4, 230) — Enjoyed a breakout game in a 38-15 win over FCS Eastern Illinois last week, registering 7 grabs for 109 yards and a score. He had 2 catches for 29 yards in the opener against Liberty. He has the lowest PFF run-blocking rating on the BGSU offense, 43.2.

• #76 – Senior LT Kameren Stewart (6-6, 290) — The Coastal Carolina transfer has appeared in 43 career games with 19 starts, having entered the Falcons program ahead of the 2022 campaign. He’s posted a 55.7 overall PFF grade with 3 pressures allowed this season.

• #51 – Senior LG Cedric Dunbar II (6-5, 335) — The Jackson State transfer started four games for BGSU last season and opened the contest against Eastern Illinois, after junior Tunde Fatukasi got the nod at left guard in the opener. He’s given up a team-high 5 pressures this season.

• #57 – Sophomore C Alex Padgett (6-6, 330) — Started five career contests. He hasn’t given up a pressure in 67 pass-blocking snaps but has a 54.3 PFF run-blocking grade.

• #75 – Sophomore RG Nate Pabst (6-5, 290) — The first-time starter this fall has the lowest overall PFF grade among the Falcons’ offensive linemen (51.5). He’s yielded 2 pressures.

• #50 – Junior RT Alex Wollschlaeger (6-7, 295) — Has opened 16 career games for BGSU. He’s given up 2 pressures this season and leads the starting offensive line with a 69.4 PFF pass-blocking grade. His overall rating also paces the group (61.9).

Bowling Green projected starters on defense

• #54 – Senior NT Anthony Hawkins (6-2, 285) — In his third season as a full-time starter, the team captain has registered 5 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1 pass breakup, 1 quarterback hurry and 3 pressures this year. He’s totaled 84 stops, 10.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks for his career, which has spanned 31 appearances.

• #60 – Senior DT Dontrez Brown (6-3, 300) — Has 2 tackles, 1 forced fumble and 1 blocked kick this season, adding 4 pressures as a pass rusher.

• #99 – Junior DE Ali Saad (6-3, 270) — The Dearborn (Mich.) High product and Minnesota transfer (2020; did not appear in any games for the program) has tallied 4 tackles, 1 stop for loss and a half-sack this year. He played sparingly his previous two seasons.

• #11 – Senior OLB Demetrius Hardamon (6-4, 240) — Has recorded 15.5 tackles for loss and 8 sacks in his career, including 8 and 6 last season, respectively. He has 5 stops, including 2 for loss and a half-sack, so far this season. His 8 pressures lead the team and his 84.7 PFF pass-rush grade ranks second. His 12.9 pressure percentage ranks tied for 11th among Group of Five edge rushers.

• #23 – Senior ILB Darren Anders (6-0, 225) — Fourth on the team with 12 tackles, adding 1 pass breakup. He was named first-team All-MAC in 2021 and has totaled 288 tackles, 19 stops for loss, 5.5 sacks, 1 interception, 4 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries and 9 pass breakups in his five seasons with BGSU.

• #3 – Sophomore ILB Joseph Sipp Jr. (6-0, 220) — He leads BGSU and ranks tied for fourth in the MAC with 20 tackles, 1.5 of which have come behind the line of scrimmage. His 87.7 PFF tackling grade leads the team.

• #7 – Senior NB Davon Ferguson (5-10, 185) — Named preseason first-team All-MAC by Athlon Sports ahead of the 2022 campaign, before missing all but two games with an injury. He’s fourth on the team with 11 tackles, including 2 for loss and 1 sack, adding 1 pass breakup. He has 5 quarterback pressures on 8 blitzes this season, and he’s allowed only 1 reception for a 15-yard touchdown on 2 targets in coverage.

• #22 – Sophomore CB Jalen Huskey (6-1, 185) — Posted a career-high 10 tackles at Liberty and has tallied 15 this season. He also has the team’s lone interception of the year. He’s allowed 3 receptions for 33 yards and 1 score on 7 targets in coverage.

• #1 – Junior CB Jordan Oladokun (6-0, 180) — Has totaled 9 tackles and 1 pass breakup. He’s been targeted 9 times in coverage, giving up 5 catches for 80 yards and a touchdown.

• #8 – Junior S Trent Simms (6-0, 215) — Posted 11 tackles and 1 pass breakup, and returned a blocked field goal 76 yards for a touchdown, against Liberty. His 77.2 overall PFF rating and 76.7 coverage grade both lead the BGSU team. He’s allowed no receptions on 3 targets down the field.

• #9 – Sophomore S Darius Lorfils (6-2, 190) — Has tallied 11 tackles this season but struggled in coverage. He’s been targeted a team-high 10 times, allowing 9 catches for 109 yards.

Bowling Green specialists

• #98 – Sophomore K Alan Anaya (5-6, 180) — He’s 2-for-2 with a 34-yard long on field goals this season. He did not appear in any games before this fall.

• #99 – Sophomore P Sami Sir (6-2, 215) — The Australian punted 5 times with 2 boots of 50 yards and 3 that pinned the opponent inside its 20-yard line. He averaged 38.5 yards per punt with a 61-yard long, 4 of 50-plus and 18 inside the opponent’s 20-yard line last season.

• #8 – Junior KR/PR Jhaylin Embry (6-0, 175) — Has returned 3 punts for 10 yards with a 7-yard long and brought back 4 kicks for 55 yards with a 19-yard long.

Michigan to face Connor Bazelak again

This offseason, BGSU head coach Scot Loeffler brought in Bazelak out of the transfer portal. Bazelak started for Indiana in a 31-10 loss to Michigan last season and will meet the Wolverines again Saturday. He went 25-for-49 with 1 touchdown and 1 interception against U-M a year ago, with 8 throwaways and 7 sacks taken. He was under pressure on 23 of his 55 dropbacks and averaged 3.4 yards per pass in those situations. This season, he’s been pressured on 27.5 percent of his dropbacks, and keeping him clean appears to be a big concern for the Falcons heading into the game against Michigan.

“His first couple games have been pretty opposite ends of the spectrum,” Burwell explained of the BGSU signal-caller. “He just didn’t have time to throw in their loss to Liberty to start the year. Just a really, really bad statistical game. He didn’t have much time to throw at all.

“BG is coming off a win against Eastern Illinois. He did a lot better, and Bowling Green put him in situations that were going to help him thrive. They did short passes, a lot of screens. BG has some good skill position players that can make some plays in the open field. That helped out Connor Bazelak.”

Strength of Falcons offense

The receivers and running backs highlights the BGSU offense, Burwell said. If Bazelak has time to spread the ball around to them, they have big-play ability.

“They have three fifth-year transfers who all transferred in to BG, but all of them can contribute. Austin Osborne was BG’s leading receiver a couple years ago. Odieu Hilaire was the leading receiver last year, and then they just brought in a guy, Abdul-Fatai Ibrahim from Alabama A&M, where he had two 1,000-yard receiving seasons. All three have shown good signs early on this season.

“They have three or four running backs they use. All of them are very, very experienced. Terion Stewart sat out last season, but he led BG in rushing in 2020 and ‘21. He’s a really hard-nosed runner. He can initiate contact, he can break tackles, he’s a solid runner.

“They have a lot of playmakers. They have a sophomore tight end, Harold Fannin Jr., who’s just coming off a career game — 7 catches for 109 yards and a touchdown.”

Biggest question mark on offense

The offensive line, though, lags behind. As mentioned, Bazelak has faced a lot of pressure. The run blocking has been better than the pass protection, however.

“The offensive line has always been kind of a question mark,” Burwell revealed. “Going up against a team like Michigan, it’s obviously going to be a monumental task to try to protect the quarterback. You’re probably going to see a lot of quick passes, maybe some screens and try to get the ball quickly into those playmakers’ hands.

“They have a lot of experience there. They’ve brought in a few transfers, as well, from Power Five conferences. They’ve shown signs of being solid. Against Liberty, they actually ran the ball as well as they have in the past several years. They had 191 rushing yards, they looked good in the run game. But then the passing game, Connor Bazelak was kind of running for his life, and a lot of quarterback pressures forced him to throw a few interceptions.

“Against Eastern Illinois, they were solid. They got the ball out of the quarterback’s hands quickly. Running the ball wasn’t as effective as it was in the Liberty game, but it was still decent.”

Top attribute of Falcons defense

Bowling Green already has 7 sacks this season, tying for 18th nationally and first in the MAC, with six different pass rushers who have 3 or more pressures.

“Their linebacking corps is really solid,” Burwell explained. “Darren Anders, a fifth-year linebacker, he’s close to 300 career tackles. Demetrius Hardamon is a really good linebacker, as well.

“They had 16 different players record at least 1 sack last season, and they’ve already had seven different players [have sacks] in two games this season. They’ve been able to get to the quarterback and get pressure through two games. Their front seven has been really solid. Liberty had a mobile quarterback, and they were able to put pressure on him, but he was able to make plays with his legs. Against Eastern Illinois, BG had 5 sacks, a bunch of quarterback hurries.”

Biggest weakness on defense

BGSU held the Liberty passing game in check, for the most part, allowing just 143 yards through the air, but quarterback Kaidon Salter burned the Falcons on the ground, scrambling for 82 yards on 19 carries (including negative yardage from 2 sacks). Michigan junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy is mobile and has kept plays alive with his feet this season, including keeping his eyes downfield and hitting receivers while on the run. He’ll be a challenge to slow down Saturday night.

“If they face a mobile quarterback, they’re kind of in trouble,” Burwell admitted. “They struggled against Liberty. Against New Mexico State in the Quick Lane Bowl last year, the quarterback made so many big plays with his legs. That’s just the biggest challenge that they go up against — how can you slow down a mobile quarterback? That’s one thing that’s maybe a question mark.

“They’ve given up a lot of yards this year. Eastern Illinois had a few possessions when they were really able to move the ball at will last weekend. But BG still have made some good plays. They had a couple really big sacks and an interception on a key drive against Eastern Illinois last week. But if they face a mobile quarterback, that’s been a tough situation for them in the past.”

Burwell’s final score prediction

“It’s just such a tough matchup for Bowling Green,” Burwell began. “I know Michigan coming in, they’ve scored 30 and 35 points this year, it’s going to come down to if BG can protect the ball, and that’s going to be a hard challenge, especially when they have to get in passing situations. If they get in third-and-long, it’s going to be really tough.

“I think Michigan is going to be able to execute well offensively. If they get a couple scores off turnovers, then it’s really going to blow the game open.”

Prediction: Michigan 49, Bowling Green 7