Five best moments of the Scot Loeffler era in Bowling Green

Loeffler transformed Bowling Green from a cellar dweller into a bowl team. Here are five memorable wins he earned along the journey.

It all happened on a Friday morning in February.

That’s not the typical time for a college football head coaching change to be enacted, but it was a move that sent shockwaves around the Bowling Green and Mid-American Conference communities last week.

While all 136 FBS programs prepare for spring football, Bowling Green must fire up a coaching search. Scot Loeffler stepped down from his head coaching position after six years last Friday, accepting a role as the quarterbacks coach for the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles instead.

While not a common move, the collegiate head coach to NFL assistant pipeline is certainly growing, after Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley similarly stepped down to become the Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator.

Loeffler bought plenty of time at Bowling Green in his six years. He inherited a program deep in the cellar, one that fared 9-27 in the three years prior to his arrival. But just like Rome, Bowling Green wasn’t built in a day. Loeffler went through his own trials and tribulations in his new Midwest home, posting a 3-9 record in his debut year before following it up with a winless 0-5 standing in a pandemic-shortened season. After one more 4-8 campaign, Loeffler’s vision for Bowling Green finally began to materialize.

He qualified for three-straight bowl games, finishing 6-7, 7-6, and 7-6 in 2022 through 2024, respectively. While he never claimed a trophy in the form of a bowl win or a MAC championship, there were plenty of notable moments as Loeffler guided Bowling Green from ground zero back to its winning ways. Here are the top five most memorable wins of Loeffler’s time as the Falcons’ frontman.

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HM: Bowling Green 20, Toledo 7 — October 12, 2019

Loeffler’s 2019 debut season wasn’t one Bowling Green fans are going to look back at fondly. The Falcons finished 3-9 and allowed 44+ points in seven of 12 contests. However, Loeffler’s first FBS and conference victory as a head coach is one of note. No game means more in a given year to Bowling Green faithful than the Battle of I-75 against bitter rival Toledo. In 2019, the gap between the programs was monumental, and despite the game kicking off at Doyt-Perry Stadium, the visiting Rockets were labeled 25.5-point favorites. But the unthinkable happened that afternoon and Toledo didn’t even sniff 25.5 points. Bowling Green forced two turnovers, five punts, and watched the Rockets shank two field goals, while quarterback Grant Loy posted 137 rushing yards and a touchdown in a winning effort. It was the second-largest point spread upset of 2019, only trailing Illinois’ (-28.5) win over Wisconsin.

5. Bowling Green 34, Marshall 31 — September 17, 2022

What made the result of Bowling Green and Marshall 100 times sweeter for Falcon fans were the events of Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. That day ended in pure disaster for Bowling Green as the Falcons fell victim to a 59-57, seven-overtime upset to FCS school Eastern Kentucky. Meanwhile, Marshall posted a signature win for its program, invading South Bend and stunning Notre Dame, 26-21. So what would happen when two teams of opposite trajectories met at Doyt-Perry Stadium? A thrilling overtime finish. Bowling Green overcame a 14-0 deficit to not the game at halftime. After a deadlocked fourth quarter, the two former MAC rivals extended to overtime. Marshall notched a field goal, but Bowling Green countered with a game-winning touchdown pass from Matt McDonald to Ta’Ron Keith. It prevented the Falcons from an 0-3 start, ultimately putting the program on track for its first bowl bid since 2015.

4. Bowling Green 41, Toledo 26 — October 26, 2024

There will always be one theme in Bowling Green’s football history. Many of its best moments will involve beating Toledo, just like the converse is true for the Rockets. On the final Saturday of October in 2024, it happened to be a tremendous outcome for the Falcons. Bowling Green posted a 15-point win over Toledo — its largest margin of victory in the rivalry since 2008. There was a point in the second half when the Rockets netted a 64-yard touchdown but missed the tying 2-point attempt, keeping the Falcons ahead 28-26. After that, it was pure Bowling Green domination in the Glass Bowl. Loeffler’s team kicked two field goals, forced two punts, recorded an interception and a touchdown in the final 22 minutes of action to secure the win. Cornerback Jordan Oladokun was a memorable performer in the latest installment of the rivalry, picking off two passes including a 61-yard pick-six.

3. Bowling Green 38, Georgia Tech 27 — September 30, 2023

The 2023 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets were a quality team. They won two ranked matchups in October and ended the year 7-6 after a definitive Gasparilla Bowl win over UCF. But before Georgia Tech finished the year strong, it found itself on the wrong side of a shellacking from Bowling Green. The 21.5-point favorite Yellow Jackets started out the contest up 14-0, but Bowling Green’s defense quickly rose to the occasion afterward. The Falcons forced several three-and-outs to rewrite the score to 14-10, and right before halftime, arguably the greatest catch in program history transpired, as Finn Hogan snagged a one-handed beauty to put Bowling Green ahead 17-14 at halftime. Then, everything went the Falcons’ way in Atlanta. Bowling Green scored a touchdown, forced a fourth down stop, scored yet again, and then Deshawn Jones Jr. recorded a 45-yard pick-six to put the Falcons commandingly on top, 38-14. Georgia Tech scored twice when the game was all but decided, but Bowling Green effectively dominated a solid ACC team on the road — a huge step during the Falcons’ first winning season in eight years.

2. Bowling Green 14, Minnesota 10 — September 25, 2021

Earlier on the list, Bowling Green overcame point spreads of 25.5 and 21.5. But those pale in comparison to what the Falcons accomplished in the fall of 2021. They entered Minneapolis as 30.5-point underdogs to Minnesota, a Minnesota team which would eventually finish 9-4. Bowling Green didn’t even allow a third of that point spread, limiting the Golden Gophers to a mere 10 points. Bowling Green took its first lead in the late second quarter after Minnesota failed a 4th and 1 from its own 29-yard line. The Gophers recaptured the lead early in the third quarter, but Bowling Green jumped in front before the end of the frame on an 8-play, 65-yard drive ending in Matt McDonald’s second touchdown run of the day. However, the game was mainly defined by Bowling Green’s aggressive defense. The Falcons forced that pivotal fourth down stop and secured a pair of fourth quarter interceptions — one by Devin Taylor and another by Jordan Anderson. The Falcons’ pressure reigned supreme and cornerback Davon Ferguson registered two key sacks on blitzes. It was a statement win for a program in dire need of one and truly the first sign of progress in the Loeffler era — fresh off a winless 2020 season.

1. Bowling Green 42, Toledo 35 — November 15, 2022

The spread of this Battle of I-75 Rivalry was only Toledo (-14.5) — a much smaller separation than other upsets on this list. But there are a multitude of reasons the 2022 iteration of the rivalry stands as the supreme moment of the Loeffler era. For one, winning this game snapped Bowling Green’s bowl ineligibility streak, as the Falcons punched their ticket to the postseason for the first time since 2015. Additionally, this game was an absolute thriller — a defining moment in the annals of Midweek MACtion. On this specific Tuesday, Bowling Green stormed out to a 21-0 lead over its No. 1 rival, the eventual MAC champion. Toledo steadily chipped away at the lead, but the Falcons still claimed a 27-14 advantage heading into the final stanza. The Rockets then inched within one score, down 34-28 on a Jerjuan Newton touchdown reception with five minutes left. After forcing a punt, Toledo received a legitimate opportunity for an extraordinary comeback win. Facing a do-or-die 4th and 7 with a minute left, Tucker Gleason found Newton for a 29-yard pickup down to the 1-yard line. Gleason punched it in for the go-ahead touchdown with 51 seconds remaining, suddenly handing Bowling Green its first deficit of the night. With nine seconds left, Bowling Green possessed the ball at the Toledo 42. Quarterback Matt McDonald avoided pressure and delivered a bullet to his streaking running back Ta’Ron Keith. Keith then navigated through a sea of Rocket defenders, breaking a pair of simultaneous tackle attempts, en route to a 42-yard end zone escape. ESPNU play-by-play announcer Connor Onion triumphanlty exclaimed, “This is MACtion!” as Keith delivered the winning touchdown of a thrilling 42-35 rivalry finish which brought Bowling Green bowling once again.