EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW (2025): Louisville v. Bowling Green State

Pregame Prep: Things You Should Know Before the Game

• Kickoff: Noon ET
• TV / Radio: ACC Network / 93.9 The Ville
• Weather: Sunny, highs around 80s-90s; very minimal chance of rain
• Odds: Louisville -26.5, O/U 52.5 (FanDuel)
• Uniforms: Louisville (red birdhead helmet / red jersey / white pants) / Bowling Green TBA as of Thursday

Notable Numbers

• This is the first all-time meeting between Louisville and BGSU in football.
• Louisville is 29-18 all-time against teams currently in the MAC; their last game against a MAC school was in 2017, when the Cardinals beat Kent State 42-3.
• Isaac Brown has had a run of 45+ yards in five of his last seven games. He has also had 100+ rushing yards in four of his last seven games.

First Down: Meet the 2025 BGSU Falcons

Eddie George starts his first season as head coach at BGSU, after leading Tennessee State to their first appearance in the FCS Playoffs since 2013. It’s poetic that George’s first two head coaching stints happened to be at schools in both Tennessee and Ohio; George was a standout with the Tennessee Titans, rushing for over 10,000 yards and earned two All-Pro nominations as well as retiring as the franchise’s all-time leading rusher. At Ohio State, George won the 1995 Heisman Trophy and was selected as a unanimous All-American that season. George’s number 27 is retired with both Ohio State and the Tennessee Titans.

BGSU is also led by Pudge the Cat, who is perhaps the unofficial mascot of both the program and the sport of college football this year (no, I will not hear arguments otherwise).

The Falcons are 2-1, winning both of their home games against Lafayette and Liberty, but losing at Cincinnati two weeks ago.

Second Down: BGSU Offense Breakdown

Offensive coordinator Travis Partridge followed George from Tennessee State to Bowling Green, where the Tigers had a 3,000 yard passer and 1,000 yard receiver. Both are hoping to get the same production from senior Drew Pyne, who is on his fourth FBS school after making previous stops at Notre Dame, Arizona State, and Missouri.

Pyne was the starting quarterback in 2022 at Notre Dame, completing 64.6% of his passes with 22 touchdowns and six interceptions. But after ND chose to bring Sam Hartman in from the transfer portal, Pyne left for Arizona State, where he lost the starting job. After a year as a backup at Mizzou, he now returns as a starter for BGSU. He’s been relatively efficient through three starts, completing 65% of his passes with two touchdowns.

BGSU has depth at running back with three guys all at virtually identical numbers, but they’re averaging just 137.7 yards per game on the ground entering this week (89th in FBS). Freshman Cameron Pettaway (26 carries, 124 yards) has a kickoff return touchdown from opening week against Lafayette, he’s a speedster that can make plays in space. Kaderris Roberts (27 carries, 152 yards) is a solid receiver out of the backfield and is currently tied for the team lead with ten catches. Chris McMillian (26 carries, 102 yards, TD) rounds out BGSU’s trio at running back.

Finn Hogan (eight catches, 114 yards) was their top returning receiver and currently leads the team with 14.3 yards per catch, he’s a big target at 6’5″. Texas Southern transfer Jyrin Johnson leads the team with ten receptions for 138 yards and a touchdown. Both Hogan and Johnson are big receivers that can reel in tough catches in traffic, they’re also BGSU’s most reliable big play threats in an offense that has mostly utilized a quick passing game. Kansas State transfer RJ Garcia (ten rec., 105 yards) is another name to watch.

Players to Watch:

• QB Drew Pyne (57/85, 529 yards, two TDs)
• RB Cameron Pettaway (26 carries, 124 yards, kick return TD)
• TE Jyrin Johnson (ten rec., 138 yards, TD)

Third Down: BGSU Defense Breakdown

Eddie George played under head coach Jeff Fisher when the two were with the Tennessee Titans. Jeff’s son, Brandon, served as defensive coordinator at Tennessee State under George and also joined him at BGSU.

BGSU’s defense is coming off a solid performance against Liberty, where they held the Flames to 13 points and forced four turnovers. They’re +5 in the margin entering this week and their offense also hasn’t given up a turnover through three games. They leaned on FCS transfers in the offseason to come up and be difference makers this season, and so far it’s panned out for the Falcons.

Eddie George’s son, Eriq, had two sacks last week and headlines the defensive front for BGSU. Eriq George earned all-conference at both the Big South and Ohio Valley Conference when he was at Tennessee State with his father.

BGSU also has two talented linebackers in Dorian Pringle and Gideon ESPN Lampron (yes, the latter’s middle name is ESPN). Pringle has been everywhere on defense through three games, already logging six TFLs, two forced fumbles, and an interception. Lampron was an FCS All-American at Dayton last season, where he had an eye-popping 23.5 TFLs and two forced fumbles with the Flyers.

Safety Kal-El Pascal is an aggressive player that can play the run and handle coverage in single-high looks. He also has 20+ tackles, a forced fumble, and an interception through three games, making him and Pringle two of four current FBS players with that stat line.

Players to Watch:

• DE Eriq George (two sacks, 2.5 TFLs)
• LB Dorian Pringle (27 tackles, six TFLs, two FFs, INT)
• LB Gideon ESPN Lampron (99 tackles, 23.5 TFLs, two FFs last year w/Dayton)
• S Kal-El Pascal (21 tackles, FF, INT)

Fourth Down: Keys to the Game

When Louisville has the ball…

I would expect more of the same game plan from the opener against EKU. Louisville will probably try to get Isaac Brown the ball in space, and based off his last several games, it’s usually a matter of when he gets to break a big run open. What I’d like to see is Duke Watson being able to get a big run as well; he had a 30-yard receiving touchdown against EKU, but hasn’t had an opportunity to get a big gain on the ground yet. BGSU is allowing just 3.2 yards per carry on the ground through three games, but they’ll have their work cut out for them against an explosive running back group like Louisville has (sidenote: can’t forget about Keyjuan Brown either, he has looked faster on the field than in previous years).

As far as the passing game goes, I’d like to see Louisville open up the passing game and push the ball downfield. Cincinnati was able to have a ton of success against BGSU’s secondary, throwing for 333 yards and three touchdowns with almost 14 yards per attempt. Liberty was also able to push the ball downfield with 7.8 yards per attempt, but the Flames were plagued by constant turnovers. Louisville definitely has the go-to receiver in Chris Bell to make that happen, but I wouldn’t be surprised if tight ends Jaleel Skinner or the returning Nate Kurisky can have a productive outing. It could be an opportunity for Miller Moss to have a huge outing with the playmakers he has at receiver.

When Bowling Green has the ball

Look for Bowling Green to continue utilizing their quick passing game, mainly as an extension of their run game. Cameron Pettaway has the ability to break open a big run if he has the space, but the Falcons haven’t had a chance to make those opportunities more consistently. Louisville’s defense could look to set the edge so that BGSU doesn’t create many opportunities outside.

We’re also going to see what Louisville’s linebacker group looks like going forward, after Stanquan Clark was announced to likely be out for the rest of the season due to leg surgery. It’ll likely be a rotation between Kalib Perry and TJ Capers at the weakside linebacker spot, with Capers getting more run as a pass rusher and potential short yardage stopper.