Excerpt taken from Sportsnetwork.com Article for reading purposes only so pick your poison either way it’s your call Folks:
The all-time series between Bowling Green and Toledo runs pretty deep, with the Falcons owning a 39-35-4 advantage. But Bowling Green hasn't defeated Toledo since the 2009 campaign.
A pleasant surprise for the Falcons has been the play of quarterback James Knapke, who stepped in earlier this season when top quarterback Matt Johnson went down with a leg injury for the year. Knapke has passed for 2,443 yards and 12 touchdowns against 10 interceptions, and has led the Falcons into first place in the MAC East Division with a spot in the conference title game likely.
The Bowling Greene has been more suited to keeping the ball on the ground, but when called upon, the redshirt sophomore quarterback can air it out. He's found top target Roger Lewis 60 times this season for 858 yards and five touchdowns, while Ronnie Moore has brought in four receiving scores in 10 games played. The Falcons offense is averaging a potent 32.6 ppg.
Bowling Green's defense has been playing up to a high level lately as well. The Falcons haven't given up more than 26 points in a game since a 36-35 win over Buffalo back on the team's Oct. 4 Homecoming. Bowling Green even limited Western Michigan's explosive offense to 26 points later on in October, although the Falcons did lose that game. This season, the team is allowing 32.2 ppg and 507 offensive ypg to opponents.
Linebacker Gabe Martin has recorded a team-best 79 tackles this season with 9.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and two interceptions. Martin has filled up the stat sheet nicely, but the team has counted on players like Bryan Thomas (11.5 tackles for loss, six sacks) and Nick Johnson (four interceptions, three pass breakups) to hold down their respective areas on the field. The Falcons will need to force Toledo into making some mistakes in this road contest.
Toledo quarterback Logan Woodside was a game-time decision in the Rockets' last outing against Northern Illinois, and although he ended up playing, he only saw a few reps under center. It's been a rough season for Toledo quarterbacks, considering starter Phillip Ely went down two games into the campaign with a torn ACL, and now his replacement Woodside is banged up.
Dwight Macon was the Rockets' leading statistical quarterback last week, throwing for 140 yards and a touchdown on eight completions. Michael Julian also saw some time under center, completing 20of-7 passing for 49 yards. The Rockets, who average 33.4 ppg this season, have mostly been reliant on the run game.
That fact is evidenced by the 247.6 rushing ypg and 22 touchdowns for Toledo in 10 games played. Bowling Green can expect to see plenty of Kareem Hunt in the Wednesday night contest. This season, Hunt has rushed for a team-best 985 yards and eight touchdowns, despite missing three games due to injury. Terry Swanson is also a viable running threat, having gone for 702 yards and six scores in 10 games played.
The Rockets have been able to get by teams this season using an overpowering offense, so the team's defense hasn't needed to really pick up much slack. All things considered, holding Northern Illinois to 27 points in a three-point loss isn't even the worst thing. Still, if Toledo wants to make an impact in the final two games of the regular season and into the postseason, the team will have to fix a 31.6 ppg allowed average as best it can.
Linebacker Junior Sylvestre has a team-high 63.5 tackles this season, adding in 7.5 tackles for loss, five pass breakups and four quarterback hurries. He and fellow linebacker Trent Voss (43 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, four sacks) will be responsible for taking care of a vicious Bowling Green run game. Lineman Orion Jones (eight tackles for loss, five sacks) will help out as well, while cornerback Jordan Haden (three interceptions, four pass breakups) will try to hold Knapke in check.
These two teams both have very powerful offenses, so don't expect much of a defensive battle. The fact that Bowling Green hasn't defeated Toledo since 2009, and that Toledo has homefield advantage in this one, means the scales are tipped in the Rockets' favor. This is a very critical game for Toledo, which can't afford to lost any ground in the MAC West Division.