QUICK LANE BOWL CENTRAL

https://bgsufalcons.com/gameday/football-vs-new-mexico-state/football/1269/

BOWLING GREEN FOOTBALL BOWL MEDIA GUIDE

https://bgsufalcons.com/documents/2022/12/13/BGSU_2022_Quick_Lane_Bowl_Guide_-_FINAL.pdf

NEW MEXICO STATE FOOTBALL BOWL GUIDE

https://bgsufalcons.com/documents/2022/12/23/221226nmsu_notes.pdf

BOWLING GREEN FOOTBALL DEPTH CHART

https://bgsufalcons.com/documents/2022/12/16/depth-chartQLB.pdf

LISTEN LIVE FALCON SPORTS RADIO NETWORK

https://bgsufalcons.com/sports/2012/8/14/GEN_0814125910.aspx

Falcons to Spend Holidays  in  the “Motor City”
• Bowling Green State University returns to action in the eighth annual Quick Lane Bowl against the New Mexico State Aggies on Mon., Dec. 26.
• It is Bowling Green’s first appearance in the Quick Lane Bowl, but the Falcons appeared in a bowl game two previous times at Ford Field, including the now-defunct Motor City Bowl (2003) and the Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl (2013). Both those games also happened to be played on Dec. 26.
• The bowl game will air on ESPN and kick at 2:30 p.m.
• BGSU fans attending the Quick Lane Bowl are encouraged to wear orange as we try to “Orange Out” Ford Field.

Quick Lane Bowl Central
•  Fans attending the 2022 Quick Lane Bowl can access our Quick Lane Bowl Central for all information needed like parking, fan tailgate, hotels and more.

Bowling Green vs. New Mexico State
•  The 2022 Quick Lane Bowl will be the first all-time meeting between Bowling Green and New Mexico State in football.
• BGSU is playing a FBS Independent team for the first time since traveling to Notre Dame in 2019.

Five  Top Storylines
• Bowling Green is playing in its first bowl game since the 2015 GoDaddy Bowl when the Falcons fell to the Georgia Southern Eagles.
• Bowling Green enters Bowl Season as one of four FBS programs whose win totals improved 4+ games from 2020 to 2021 and then improved 2+ more games from 2021 to 2022. Joining BGSU on the list are Kansas State, Oregon State and Tennessee as the Falcons are the only program from outside the “Power-5” to accomplish the feat.
• DL Karl Brooks is a first-team All-American by Pro Football Focus and is the highest graded edge rusher in the nation. He enters Bowl Season No. 8 in the nation in sacks with 10.0. He is also No. 9 in the nation with 18.0 tackles for loss.
•  WR Odieu Hiliare has a catch in 34-straight games, which includes his career at Alabama A&M. It is the 14th-best active streak in the nation. The Alabama A&M transfer has 156 career receptions for 2,069 career receiving yards and 19 receiving touchdowns.
• TE Harold Fannin Jr. leads BGSU with four rushing touchdowns. He and Tennessee’s Princeton Fant are the only tight ends with at least four rushing touchdowns. Fant scored his fifth last time out at Vanderbilt. He is the only FBS tight end in the nation to lead his team in rushing touchdowns.

Bowling Green First Went Bowling in 1961
•  In 1961, Bowling Green played in its first bowl game, the Mercy Bowl at the Los Angeles Coliseum. The game against Fresno State was played to raise money to help the families of 16 members of the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo football team. The 16 players perished in a plane crash shortly after takeoff from Toledo Express Airport after a 1960 game against BG. The game netted $170,000 for the memorial fund.
• A bronze plaque mounted on the peristyle end of the Los Angeles Coliseum commemorates the 1961 Mercy Bowl. Until the 2021 LA Bowl, it was the last bowl game played in the city limits of Los Angeles.

McDonald Family Knows both BGSU and New Mexico State
•  Bowling Green quarterback Matt McDonald is no stranger to New Mexico State. His older brother Andrew was a quarterback for the Aggies in 2012 and 2013. As the starter in 2013, he finished with 2,497 passing yards and 15 passing touchdowns. 
• Matt and Andrew’s older brother, Michael, was a quarterback at USC following in dad Paul’s footsteps. More on McDonald family on page 10.

BGSU and New Mexico State will see a clash of Lines
•  Bowling Green is No. 11 in the nation with 37 sacks, or No. 9 in the nation with 3.08 sacks a game. They will have a battle in the trenches as New Mexico State is No. 25 in the nation by allowing only 15 sacks.
•  The most sacks New Mexico State gave up in a game was three against UMass. BGSU tallied six in a game three times. 

Aggies have hosted a No-Fly Zone in 2022
•  New Mexico is No. 13 in the nation by allowing only 183.7 yards per game through the air. 
• Bowling Green’s Matt McDonald has thrown for 200+ yards in a game eight times this season, creating a fun matchup to watch.

Bowling Green in Ford Field Bowl Games
• Northwestern took away Bowling Green’s running game. So Josh Harris beat the Wildcats through the air. Harris passed for 386 yards and three touchdowns to lead Bowling Green to a 28-24 victory over Northwestern in the 2003 Motor City Bowl. It was the  first postseason meeting ever between schools from the MAC and Big Ten.
• Bowling Green took the lead for good on Harris’ 3-yard touchdown pass to Cole Magner with 4:06 left. Harris, who also ran for a TD, set a Motor City Bowl and BGSU record for completions with 38 in 50 attempts. It also marked the third fourth-quarter rally for BGSU against a Big Ten squad (Northwestern in 2001 and Purdue in 2003). Magner also set a game record for catches, finishing with 12 for 97 yards and two touchdowns. 
• Bowling Green used two 80-yard scoring drives to take a 21-17 lead early in the fourth. Harris threw a 7-yard TD pass to Magner, and put the Falcons on top with an 11-yarder to Steve Sanders. 
• Chris Blewitt’s field goal with 1:17 remaining gave the Pitt a 30-27 win over the Bowling Green in the 2013 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl at Ford Field.
• Pitt freshman James Conner ran for 229 yards and a touchdown, while the Panthers’ Tyler Boyd had 173 receiving yards and returned a punt 54 yards for a score.
• On BG’s second drive, Johnson found Shaun Joplin for gains of 18 and 17 yards, respectively, on back-to-back plays. Joplin led the BG receivers with six catches and 86 yards vs. the Panthers. The Falcons got into the red zone before the drive stalled, and Tyler Tate kicked a 28-yard field goal fo give the Brown and Orange the early lead.
• Trailing by a touchdown at halftime, BGSU drew even at the start of the second half, as BooBoo Gates returned the opening kickoff 94 yards for a score. Tate’s PAT tied the game with only 11 seconds elapsed.
• That Gates return tied the school record for longest kickoff return in history, matching Leon Weathersby’s 94-yard return in a 1997 game at Doyt Perry Stadium.
• The next drive, however, saw the Panthers kick what proved to be the winning field goal. On the second play of that drive, Voytik rolled out and gained 19 yards, giving Pitt a first down at midfield. Conner gained 20 yards on the following play. Voytik handed the ball to Conner on each of the next three plays, gaining a total of nine yards. On that third-down play, Conner was stopped for no gain, but on fourth down, Blewitt’s 39-yard kick was good.

COURTESY BOWLING GREEN STATE ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS