Undefeated 1959
Perry's 9-0 team finishes ranked No. 20 in the AP poll
Program prestige
Zeitgeist statureRegional Program IVProgram outlook
Program outlook
Urban Meyer's head-coaching career started in Doyt Perry Stadium. Now a 1995 Heisman winner is the one trying to make the Falcons matter again — and the only MAC program in the sport right now with a trophy in its coach's past.
Since Oct 28: L 10-23 at Western Michigan. 2-7 this season.
Read the full essay — 4 more paragraphs
Bowling Green's football identity is built less on what it has won than on the careers it has launched. Doyt Perry's name is on the stadium for a reason: a 77-11-5 run from 1955 to 1964, a 1959 team that finished No. 20 in the AP poll, and a standard that still defines what 'good' means in northwest Ohio. Then Urban Meyer arrived in 2001 for his first head-coaching job, went 17-6 across two seasons, and departed for Utah, Florida, and Ohio State. The Falcons gave the sport one of its most consequential careers, absorbed none of the trophies, and kept playing MAC football.
Eddie George — the 1995 Heisman winner from Ohio State — is now the head coach, which is either the best story in the MAC or a marquee name attached to a 4-8 debut. George's first season in Bowling Green went exactly as transition seasons go: a transfer-heavy roster, a 2-6 conference record, and a missed bowl. The bet the program is making entering year two is that a Heisman winner changes recruiting gravity — that players who'd never have taken the Bowling Green call now do, because the man on the other end won the sport's most famous individual award and played at the highest level.
The 2026 season will reveal whether the George hire is a real lever or a marquee name without traction. The Doyt standard is a MAC championship and bowl relevance — Bowling Green last won the conference in 2015 under Dino Babers before he left for Syracuse. Year two is when Falcon fans start to judge whether the name translates, or whether the transition year stretches into a tenure.
Update (Oct. 28, 2026): Bowling Green is 2-6. It lost 20-13 to Tarleton State on Sept. 5, 56-7 at Nebraska on Sept. 12, 55-7 at Iowa State on Sept. 19, 14-6 to South Florida on Sept. 26, 32-31 to Ball State on Oct. 17, and 31-24 at Buffalo on Oct. 24. The Oct. 17 loss to Ball State came as a 6-point favorite.
On the field
MAC-flavored developmental football — the program's lineage runs through tempo and scoring, a development-lab identity that Dino Babers perfected before leaving. George's system is still taking shape, leaning on portal turnover and a physical ground-game base. The measure of the program has always been how it develops players no one recruited highly and turns them into MAC contributors; the Heisman coach inherits that framework.
Bowling Green has won 53% of its games since 1947 — 61% at home, 47% on the road.
394-336-11 all-time · 73 seasons · 1947–2026
Home
206-125-5
Away
181-199-6
Neutral
7-12
1 g
1940s
6 g
1950s
72%
1960s
51%
1970s
54%
1980s
55%
1990s
58%
2000s
43%
2010s
39%
2020s
The CFP era
13 seasons inside the CFP era, no bids yet — the era the program is still trying to break into.
Trajectory · quality-score line · AP rank dotted · CFP bids marked · coach regimes ribboned
Program quality
AP rank (inverted)
CFP appearance
Swipe left for earlier seasons
Bowling Green’s 2014–2026 record is 60-93.
Eddie George
Eddie George is in year 2. The methodology is taking shape.
Era Eddie George · 2025–presentPrev: Scot Loeffler (2019–2024)OC: Greg NosalPrev OC: Travis Partridge (2025)DC: Joe BowdenPrev DC: Brandon Fisher (2025)
2
years · era
Bowling Green and Toledo, meeting by meeting
Toledo leads the series 33-30-1 (since 1962); Bowling Green has won the last 2
2025: Bowling Green won 28-23. After this game, Toledo led 33-30-1.
Last 25 meetings: ▲ Bowling Green won, ▼ Toledo won, by how much
Each step is one meeting: up when Bowling Green wins, down when Toledo wins, flat for a tie. Counts every game in our records since 1962. Tap the line for any season.
Moments in Bowling Green history
- Bowling Green 42, Toledo 35Nov 15, 2022
- Bowling Green 20, Toledo 7Oct 12, 2019
- Bowling Green 38, Georgia Tech 27Sep 30, 2023
On this date, Nov 4, 2020: Toledo 38, Bowling Green 3
What this program never forgets
Most weeks vanish. These didn’t.
2001
Meyer’s arrival
Urban Meyer's first head-coaching season begins a career that ends in national titles
2015 MAC Championship
Dino Babers' high-scoring Falcons win the league title before he leaves for Syracuse
Moment of the year · 2026
Won 24-20 at Miami (OH)
Week 5 of 2026. Won as a 10.5-point underdog — the result the market didn't see coming. It turned on one snap in Q4 — Leo Kemp, a 67-point win-probability swing.
2023–2025
Bowling Green has sent 2 players to the NFL Draft since 2023 — none in the first round.
Thin. Roster development still maturing.
2
picks · 0 in round 1
#67
Harold Fannin Jr.
Tight End · 2025 · 
Cleveland Browns · #1/135 final season
Cleveland Browns · #1/135 final season
#179
Karl Brooks
Defensive End · 2023 · 
Green Bay Packers · #10/387 final season
Green Bay Packers · #10/387 final season
#122 all-time · 1 first-round picksthe talent factory →
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Ladder finish
Season standing · 2026 · 2-7
Season standing · 2026 · 2-7Bowling Green is 2-7 — below .500 in FBS.
Below .500 in FBS play. The rebuild bar.
FBS sub-.500
Sub-FBSBuildingBowlRankedContenderPlayoff
Conference
Mid-American standing · 2026
8th in the Mid-American
Bowling Green is 8th of 13 in the Mid-American at 2-3. The path to the title is steep — the focus is on bowl access and rivalry wins.
| # | Program | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio | 5-0 |
| 2 | Buffalo | 4-1 |
| 3 | Western Michigan | 4-1 |
| 4 | Toledo | 3-1 |
| 5 | Eastern Michigan | 3-2 |
| 6 | Miami (OH) | 3-2 |
| 7 | Ball State | 2-2 |
| 8 | Bowling Green | 2-3 |
| 9 | Kent State | 2-3 |
| 10 | Central Michigan | 1-3 |
| 11 | Massachusetts | 1-3 |
| 12 | Sacramento State | 1-5 |
| 13 | Akron | 0-5 |
Coaching history
Coaching history
- Hired Eddie George
- Scot Loeffler departs
- Hired Scot Loeffler
- Hired Carl Pelini
- Mike Jinks departs
- Carl Pelini departs
- Hired Mike Jinks
- Dino Babers departs
Coordinator lineage
Bowling Green’s offense and defense, by coordinator
FBS-relative efficiency percentile per season (2014–2026), same population as the Coordinator Mirror board. Dashed vertical lines mark a coordinator change.
Offense2014–2026
2014 · Sterlin Gilbert2015 · Sean Lewis (co) / Mike Lynch (co)2016–2018 · Kevin Kilmer (co) / Andy Padron (co)2019–2021 · Terry Malone2022–2024 · Max Warner (co) / Greg Nosal (co)2025 · Travis Partridge2026 · Greg Nosal
Defense2014–2026
2014 · Kim McCloud2015 · Brian Ward (interim)2016 · Perry Eliano (co) / Marcus White (co)2017 · Perry Eliano2018 · Carl Pelini2019–2020 · Brian VanGorder2021–2022 · Eric Lewis2023–2024 · Steve Morrison (co) / Sammy Lawanson (co)2025 · Brandon Fisher2026 · Joe Bowden
Elite (≥70th pct)AveragePoor (≤30th pct)
Gameday customs
Rituals
Three gameday rituals — the ones outsiders never quite catch.
Doyt Perry Era (1955-1964)
since 1955
more
Doyt Perry's 1955-1964 tenure produced the program's all-time peak — multiple MAC championships, 1959 9-0 + #20 final AP, undefeated seasons. Perry's tenure pre-dated MAC FBS-level competitive cycles + made BG a regional powerhouse. The stadium bears his name as permanent program identity.
Urban Meyer 2001-2002 Ascent
since 2001
more
Urban Meyer's 2001-2002 tenure — his first head-coach job before Utah + Florida + Ohio State + retirement — produced consecutive 8-3 + 9-3 seasons + multiple bowl appearances. Meyer's BG era is the launchpad of his career; the coaching-tree heritage gives BG permanent national-narrative weight.
Ay Ziggy Zoomba Fight Song
since 1923
more
'Ay Ziggy Zoomba' — Bowling Green's fight song dating to 1923 — is one of CFB's more-distinctive fight songs. The nonsense-syllables hook + the falcon-themed lyrics + the post-touchdown ritual create a permanent fan identity unique among MAC programs.
Cultural identity
2024 L
2023 L
2015 L
2014 WReddit blowups
r/CFB moments
498
[Postgame Thread] EKU Defeats Bowling Green 59-57 (7OT)
278
[Postgame Thread] Bowling Green Defeats UMass 45-14
175
[Postgame Thread] Buffalo Defeats Bowling Green 42-17
149
[Postgame Thread] Bowling Green Defeats Buffalo 56-44
All-time top community posts
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