Head Coach: Eddie George is entering his 1st season as the head coach of the Falcons. He comes over after compiling a 24-22 record after taking over a challenging situation at Tennessee State, he led the Tigers to a 5 way tie for their conference title and a FCS playoff appearance last season. He’s also well known as a Heisman winning RB at Ohio State and a star in the NFL for the Tennessee Titans.
Program Outlook: Bowling Green is a program that has experienced big ups and downs throughout history. They built a reputation as spoilers you have to watch because of upsets over bigger programs and they historically have had success with great offenses. The resources aren’t completely there, they are in the lower half of the MAC there but it’s not an impossible position. When things get flowing in the right direction this program is one to watch, and last year they provided a lot of entertainment even if it only ended with 7 wins.
How does the 2025 Roster look?: Bowling Green ranks 124th in the country returning 34.5% of their production per Punt and Rally’s returning production rankings. Key players for the Falcons starts with QB Drew Pyne, he’s an experienced steady veteran who is mobile enough to extend plays and will take care of the ball. He’s had multiple big stops along the way and compiled a 9-3 record as a starter. Making his job easier will be an offensive line that returns a ton of experience and after being a little leaky last year, might turn into one of the best in the conference in 2025. He will have some receivers to work with Rahkeem Smith returns along with Finn Hogan. Pyne will have TEs to work with as well with Florida transfer Arlis Boardingham and Jyrin Johnson was a major playmaker at Texas Southern. RB Mar’Kel Porter had a few carries last year and Juco Transfer Chris McMillan is an interesting addition. The defense will be led by LB Gideon “ESPN” Lampron, and I’m not just playing on his name going viral either. He was an unstoppable force at Dayton last year and comes over to lead BGs defense. The front gets Myles Bradley back along with some key transfers like Eriq George (Eddie’s son) and Collins Acheampong (UCLA). The secondary returns safeties Darius Lorfils and Kal-El Pascal who seem ready for bigger roles. The corners will all come from the portal though, Jalen McClendon followed the staff from Tennessee State, he will partner with JoJo Johnson (Indiana) and Mayes Doggan (NW Missouri State) to form this group.
Screenshot from FBSchedules.com
2025 Schedule Thoughts: Bowling Green faces a challenging but not the worst schedule. The non-conference schedule will feature a loaded slate with games against Cincinnati, Louisville and Liberty. Their FCS foe, Lafayette went 6-6 last year. The MAC schedule is pretty favorable. Bowling Green faces Toledo and Buffalo but gets both at home and they also get Akron along with 3 other teams with 1st year head coaches. The early portion will be difficult but even having 2 wins following the conclusion of the Battle of I-75 would go a long way.
Final Thoughts: This is a thrilling new era for Bowling Green football, under such tough circumstances it was impressive they managed to get such a high profile yet proven head coach. A bowl game remains the goal this year but whatever wins they can pull off this year is a plus. This change happened after spring ball so the circumstances entering this season are extremely difficult but it feels like George still put together a solid roster.
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