KENT, Ohio — Where did it go wrong for Bowling Green on Saturday at Kent State?
Take your pick — there were plenty of options.
The Falcons allowed 21 points in the first 12 minutes, squandered most of their offensive possessions with mistakes of every variety, ran for 45 yards in the first three quarters against what had been the worst run defense in college football, and had no rebuttal in the second half as the Flashes coasted to a 62-20 victory at Dix Stadium.
Kent State, which won fewer games than anyone in the Mid-American Conference during the past five years, scored its most points against Bowling Green in the 99-year history of the rivalry and set a program record with a staggering 750 yards of total offense.
BG and Kent State have played every season but one since 1946.
“The results today were — in all three phases, they outcompeted us, plain and simple,” Falcons coach Scot Loeffler said. “They beat us in every phase of the game. We’re still struggling at the little things, obviously.”
Two weeks after Kent State (2-2, 1-0 MAC) needed overtime to defeat FCS Kennesaw State 26-23 at home, the Flashes had no such trouble with Bowling Green (1-3, 0-1).
Kent State scored touchdowns the first three times it touched the ball, each time traveling 60 or more yards in nine or fewer plays.
The Flashes struck first on a trick play as wide receiver Kavious Price threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to tight end Keenan Orr. After a BG punt, the Flashes marched 61 yards on nine plays and scored on Jo-El Shaw’s 1-yard touchdown run.
The Falcons countered with their best drive of the half, moving 75 yards in just more than two minutes and halving their deficit with Andrew Clair’s 3-yard touchdown run.
Kent State’s next two snaps resulted in a 15-yard face mask penalty on Bowling Green and Dustin Crum’s 53-yard touchdown pass to Mike Carrigan.
BG held Kent State to a lone field goal in the second quarter but didn’t score, giving the Flashes a 24-7 lead at halftime.
Against former offensive coordinator and current Kent head coach Sean Lewis, the Falcons saw their former offensive system move the ball at will against their defense.
“I wouldn’t say they did anything special,” Falcons defensive end David Konowalski said. “It was just us misfitting it, leverage, a lot of missed tackles. I don’t know on the back end, but a lot of miscommunication at the end of the day. The tempo played a factor a little bit, but we’ve just got to communicate when things like that happen.”
The Falcons weren’t able to mount much of a challenge in the second half. Bowling Green drove inside the Kent State 30 on its first possession but a third-down sack knocked the Falcons out of field-goal range, and they turned over the ball on downs on their next possession.
BG gained 154 of its 360 yards in the fourth quarter, although Loeffler said the Falcons’ running game “not good enough” and their passing offense was “difficult to watch.”
“We knew that we had to score points and we knew we had to run the ball, and we’re not running the ball right now very well,” Loeffler said. “Whenever our quarterbacks make good throws, we drop the ball, and whenever we have guys wide open, we miss them.”
Kent State had run its lead to 41-7 by the time BG scored on backup quarterback Grant Loy’s 16-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter. The Flashes added three more touchdowns before the day was finished, including a 72-yard score on a run up the middle on their final play from scrimmage.
And it won’t get any easier for Bowling Green, which faces No. 7 Notre Dame in its next game on Oct. 5.
“We’ve got to start doing the little things in every aspect of our program, and right now, we’re not,” Loeffler said. “We’re getting those results.”
First Published September 21, 2019, 10:45 p.m.
