Those who looked at Bowling Green (1-2, 0-0) as a rebuilding football team this season perhaps have not looked at the history of the Falcons.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Those who looked at Bowling Green (1-2, 0-0) as a rebuilding football team this season perhaps have not looked at the history of the Falcons.
From the outside, the departures of quarterback Tyler Sheehan and receiver Freddie Barnes certainly looked ominous heading into this season.
But it has been an almost seamless transition from quarterback Josh Harris in 2003 to Omar Jacobs to Tyler Sheehan and now freshman Matt Schilz. Through it all, BG has remained competitive.
So it should have been no surprise that after Schilz suffered a shoulder injury in their home opener against Marshall, sophomore backup Aaron Pankratz stepped in and the Falcons went on to win, 44-28. Pankratz went 5-of-8 for 111 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
The Falcons showed the pedigree of their program by pulling out the victory.
"When Marshall tied the game at 28-28, we needed to show some character, some backbone," BG head coach Dave Clawson told the media after the game. "I've been through this before. It's important, when you're young, to get one of those win early so you can build on it."
Now it is on to Michigan (3-0). Schilz will be out for Saturday's game, and BG will know soon if he will be out longer.
Bounce-back Bobcats? Ohio (1-2, 0-1) travels across the river this week to play the same Marshall team that is 0-3 after games vs. Ohio State, West Virginia and BG.
OU must cut down on the turnovers (11 in three games) and finally settle in at quarterback.
"Our quarterback play has got to be more consistent," coach Frank Solich said. "We've got to start moving the football and putting points on the board."
State of the Zips: Akron (0-3, 0-0) has been outscored, 114-50, by teams picked to finish at the bottom of their respective conferences. Another one is on the ledger this week at Indiana. Just one year ago, the Zips went into the season expected to contend for a Mid-American Conference title before starting QB Chris Jacquemain was dismissed from the team and senior WR Deryn Bowser broke his leg.
After three games, how does new coach Rob Ianello see his Zips?
"Well, we've made progress in three games," the coach began. "But we've certainly not made enough progress by what you are measured by, which is the score. I thought there were some things we did better Saturday night [in a 47-10 loss at Kentucky], but we did not do consistently like I hoped we would do after three games.
"Certainly I thought we would tackle a lot better. Certainly I thought, when put in position to make some plays, I thought we would."
Quote to note: "We're not real sure how good we are right now." -- Kent State head coach Doug Martin on his offense, which scored 41 points vs. Murray State (0-3), then just 13 points total vs. Boston College (2-0) and Penn State (2-1).