A pair of former Michigan Wolverine teammates made their first head coaching debuts Thursday night at Doyt L. Perry Stadium.
Tyrone Wheatley launched his first campaign as Morgan State’s head coach, while Scot Loeffler made his first appearance as Bowling Green’s head coach.
Redshirt senior quarterback Darius Wade passed for 253 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 45 yards to help Bowling Green beat Morgan State 46-3. He was 22 of 32 with no interceptions in just three quarters of action.
The Falcons ran no-huddle for most of the night and had nine different receivers. Julian Ortega-Jones led the way five receptions for 69 yards passes, while Quinton Morris had 65 yards on five catches, including touchdown receptions of 2 and 27 yards.
Andrew Clair ran for 86 yards and a touchdown and Davon Jones added 76 yards and a score for a Falcons offense that rolled up 620 yards on a whopping 101 total plays.
BGSU wasted little time in lighting up the scoreboard as they took the opening kickoff and proceeded to march right down the field. Clair capped a 12 play, 76-yard drive with a 3-yard TD with 11:07 remaining in the first quarter and the Falcons never looked back.
Bowling Green led 13-0 at the end of the first quarter and 30-3 at halftime. The Falcons had gained 359 total yards, compared to Morgan’s 25 yards on 23 plays.
Morgan State sophomore quarterback DJ Golatt got the start but never seemed to get into a rhythm as he completed just 3 of 9 passes for 24 yards and was sacked three times.
Senior Josh Chase was limited to 20 yards on 9 carries, while freshman Lavelton Williams found a few more holes late in the game and ran for 41 yards.
Morgan State was held to just 70 total yards, but much of that damage came in the second half and didn’t lead to points.
The Bears finished the game just 2 for 12 in third down attempts. BGSU held a 37 to 4 advantage in first down conversions.
Preseason All-MEAC kicker Nicholas O’Shea was a bright spot for the Bears. Not only did he connect on a 27-yard field goal for the team’s first points of the season, he also averaged 39.2 yards on nine punts, including a 56-yarder that was downed inside the 20.
The Falcons, wary of a home upset to an FCS opponent, were never in danger in this one. Bowling Green rushed for 326 yards on 63 carries to balance its dynamic passing attack.
One of the few miscues made by the Falcons came just before the halftime. Bowling Green’s Darius Wade raced down the sideline before stepping out of bounds at the Morgan 10 with 7 seconds remaining. Following a timeout, the Falcon’s field goal attempt was botched and kicker Nate Needham picked the ball up and attempted to complete a pass downfield where he was intercepted by Maurice Lewis (11 tackles) to close out the first half of action.
MSU Athletic Communications
