By Collette Stenger
August 28, 2025
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University football team captured a 26-7 win over Lafayette Thursday night (Aug. 28) in front of a packed Doyt Perry Stadium. The win goes down not only as the first of the season for BGSU, but the first of the Eddie George Era for the Bowling Green Football program. Now 1-0 to open the season, the Orange and Brown will turn their attention to their first road contest of the season, heading to Cincinnati on Sept. 5.
The Falcons started out with a bang, seeing Cameron Pettaway return the opening kickoff for a touchdown. The house call marked the second season in a row BGSU has started the season with a kickoff return for a touchdown. The special teams success continued for Bowling Green with Jackson Kleather going a perfect 4-for-4 on field goals, including a 56-yarder that will go down in the record book as tied for second in program history for longest field goal. The scoring efforts wrapped up with a Mar’Kel Porter rushing touchdown for the Falcons.
On the defensive side, Dorian Pringle led the way with nine tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and a half sack. Gideon ESPN Lampron joined him in the nine-tackle outing followed by eight from Kal-El Pascal. As for the pass rush, Myles Bradley tacked on a sack while Pringle, Lampron, David Afogho and Dierre Kelly all joined in on the action with half sacks.
GAME NOTES
- The Mike and Jan Wilcox Football Head Coach Eddie George won his first game at BGSU. He is the 11th Falcon head coach to win the first game of his BG coaching career.
- BGSU is now 52-48-7 all-time in season openers and 71-31-5 all-time in home openers.
- BGSU won the coin toss and elected to receive. The Falcons took the opening kick 98 yards for a touchdown. It is the second year in a row the Falcons have taken the first play of the season for a touchdown. Last year BGSU returned the season’s opening kick 100 yards for a touchdown.
- With 26 points, BGSU is now 308-100-4 all-time when scoring 21+ points.
- BGSU held Lafayette to 58 yards of total offense in the first half.
- RB Cameron Pettaway opened the game with a 98-yard kick return for a touchdown on the first touch of his career. It is the second-longest kick return for a TD in program history, second only to Justin Peagues who opened 2024 with a 100-yard kick return for a TD against Fordham.
- PK Jackson Kleather connected on a 56-yard field goal in the third quarter. It is a career long and tied for the second-longest in program history, sharing the spot with Gehad Youssef who kicked his in 1983 against Western Michigan. It is the longest field goal since 1995 when Derek Schorejs kicked a 60-yard FG vs. Toledo.
STAT LEADERS
- Cameron Pettaway: 2 Kick Returns, 153 Kick Return Yards, 1 Touchdown (98 Yards)
- Jackson Kleather: 4-for-4 FGs, 56-Yard Long
- Kaderris Roberts: 12 carries, 68 yards
- Mar’Kel Porter: 2 carries, 10 yards, 1 Touchdown
- Drew Pyne: 12-for-18, 109 Yards
- Dorian Pringle: 9 Tackles, 3.5 TFL, 0.5 Sack
- Gideon ESPN Lampron: 9 Tackles, 1.5 TFLs, 0.5 Sack
FROM THE LOCKER ROOM — COACH EDDIE GEORGE
- “First and foremost, it’s a great opportunity to coach these guys. Wallace had an amazing game. It’s a great opportunity to coach here at Bowling Green State University with the coaching staff. The kids put the work in despite the injuries. It’s a blessing with my family here. I saw teammates that I hadn’t seen in years. My coach from Ohio State, Coach [John] Cooper, Jim Tressel, Urban Meyer. It was a special day. I’m so full of gratitude for this sport and everything special about our kids and this university. “About the game, we knew it was going to be a tough challenge for us given that we’ve been through a lot of obstacles with a lot of turnover and trying to figure out who we are. I had to find out a lot about who we are under the lights and under pressure and facing adversity. We responded through a lot of adversity tonight. This is just the start. We just stepped up and did a great job. Offensively, we need to get the ball more in space. We have to figure out some things specifically in the passing attack. That’s almost expected coming into the first game and trying to find a rhythm. It didn’t help that we had a 30-minute stop for the first quarter, so it was tough to find that rhythm, but I’m excited about where we can grow. It’s a great starting point. I’m so appreciative of the win. The guys feel like they got a solid win, but we have to get better. “
UP NEXT
- Bowling Green will head on the road for their next contest, taking on Cincinnati at Nippert Stadium on Sept. 5 with a 3:30 p.m. kick.
- The next home game for the Falcons will be Homecoming on Sept. 12 against Liberty, set for a 5 p.m. start against the Flames.
COURTESY BOWLING GREEN ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
