Ranking the Top 131 College Football Programs of the Last 40 Years: 65. Bowling Green
They're neither a bowling team or green. Should be called Football Orange
Bowling Green, your time has come. They’ve been a good, not great team, really. Just one finish in the top 25 over the last 40 years, #23 in 2003, but they’re all the way up at 65th on this list. The reason being, they’ve been a pretty good team consistently, with 15 seasons of 8+ wins, and 6 seasons of 10+ wins. Bowling Green’s stadium is named after Doyt Perry, who coached the team from 1955-64, winning a national title in 1959 (no, they weren’t division 1 yet). That 1959 team starred safety Jack Harbaugh, who had 3 interceptions in a 30-8 win over #1 Delaware to take the top spot in the rankings and eventually claim the national title.
Best Seasons and Highlights
+------+---------------------+------+--------------+--------+
| rank | team | year | resume score | record |
+------+---------------------+------+--------------+--------+
| 18 | Bowling Green State | 1991 | 23.633 | 11-1 |
| 20 | Bowling Green State | 1985 | 23.217 | 11-1 |
| 22 | Bowling Green State | 2003 | 20.436 | 11-3 |
| 16 | Bowling Green State | 1992 | 19.854 | 10-2 |
| 20 | Bowling Green State | 1994 | 14.465 | 9-2 |
| 33 | Bowling Green State | 2015 | 12.112 | 10-4 |
| 32 | Bowling Green State | 2013 | 10.781 | 10-4 |
| 26 | Bowling Green State | 2004 | 10.03 | 9-3 |
| 31 | Bowling Green State | 2001 | 9.228 | 8-3 |
| 35 | Bowling Green State | 1983 | 7.19 | 8-3 |
| 42 | Bowling Green State | 1984 | 5.039 | 8-3 |
| 40 | Bowling Green State | 2002 | 4.596 | 9-3 |
| 30 | Bowling Green State | 1993 | 3.997 | 6-3-2 |
| 60 | Bowling Green State | 2012 | -5.206 | 8-5 |
| 65 | Bowling Green State | 2009 | -8.243 | 7-6 |
| 60 | Bowling Green State | 2005 | -9.799 | 6-5 |
| 58 | Bowling Green State | 1998 | -11.91 | 5-6 |
| 68 | Bowling Green State | 2008 | -12.824 | 6-6 |
| 71 | Bowling Green State | 2007 | -14.098 | 8-5 |
| 80 | Bowling Green State | 2014 | -15.445 | 8-6 |
| 64 | Bowling Green State | 1990 | -17.118 | 3-5-2 |
| 66 | Bowling Green State | 1987 | -20.064 | 5-6 |
| 66 | Bowling Green State | 1995 | -20.597 | 5-6 |
| 73 | Bowling Green State | 1986 | -22.222 | 5-6 |
| 78 | Bowling Green State | 1999 | -22.706 | 5-6 |
| 93 | Bowling Green State | 2022 | -23.302 | 6-7 |
| 89 | Bowling Green State | 2011 | -24.116 | 5-7 |
| 77 | Bowling Green State | 1989 | -26.045 | 5-6 |
| 85 | Bowling Green State | 1996 | -29.709 | 4-7 |
| 96 | Bowling Green State | 2006 | -33.32 | 4-8 |
| 86 | Bowling Green State | 1997 | -33.659 | 3-8 |
| 108 | Bowling Green State | 2021 | -37.516 | 4-8 |
| 109 | Bowling Green State | 2016 | -38.289 | 4-8 |
| 121 | Bowling Green State | 2020 | -44.532 | 0-5 |
| 92 | Bowling Green State | 1988 | -44.721 | 2-8-1 |
| 100 | Bowling Green State | 2000 | -44.921 | 2-9 |
| 121 | Bowling Green State | 2018 | -49.778 | 3-9 |
| 118 | Bowling Green State | 2017 | -49.787 | 2-10 |
| 111 | Bowling Green State | 2010 | -50.176 | 2-10 |
| 124 | Bowling Green State | 2019 | -55.555 | 3-9 |
+------+---------------------+------+--------------+--------+
Overall Score: 14531 (65th)240-223-5 record
5 conference titles
5-7 bowl record
0 consensus All-Americans
16 NFL players drafted
2015 Bowling Green nearly misses out on the top 5 seasons in what was a record setting offensive season. QB Matt Johnson set school records for passing yards (4946) and passing TD (46), winning the Sammy Baugh trophy. WR Roger Lewis won the Paul Warfield Award the same year, going for 1544 receiving yards and 16 TD. It’s very common for a Bowling Green player to have a great season but fall short of consensus All-American. WR Freddie Barnes set an NCAA record for receptions in a season in 2009, catching 155 passes for 1770 yards and 19 TD, including a 22 catch 278 yard 3 TD game against Kent State. With a lack of truly great NFL players, the most notable recent alum is probably none other than WR Scottie Miller, who had 500 receiving yards in 2020 for the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Top 5 Seasons
Worst Season: 2019 (3-9 overall, 2-6 MAC)
A 3-9 season as their worst is…not that bad. But make no mistake, this team was awful. Former coach Mike Jinks, who coached the team from 2016-18, had tanked the program, and Scott Loeffler was meant to clean up the spillage. Jinks was hired after then-Bowling Green AD Chris Kingston searched “top offenses in college football 2015”, which was Texas Tech, and targeted the most accessible hire in Jinks, who was the RB coach. No I’m not kidding, look it up. Loeffler did the best he could, going 3-9 with a nice 20-7 win over rival Toledo, and a 35-6 win over Akron which prevented them from being in the MAC East cellar. The last 3 weeks were brutal though, with a 3-44 loss to Miami (OH), 24-66 loss to Ohio, and finally a 7-49 beating at the hands of Buffalo.
5. 1994 (9-2 overall, 7-1 MAC)
Coach Gary Blackney had a certified dynasty going from 1991-94, with a 36-8-2 record and 2 MAC titles. The 1994 team had a chance to be their best. After a 15-20 opening loss to NC State, who’d finish in the top 25, Bowling Green went on a tear. They looked the best they’d ever been, shutting out 3 of their next 5 opponents, getting results of 45-0 over Akron, 38-0 over Cincinnati, and 32-0 over Ohio. Wins over rival Toledo and defending MAC champion Ball State put BG as the favorite for the MAC with a 7-1 record and 6-0 in the MAC. By the end of the year, the Falcons were 9-1 playing an upstart 8-2 Central Michigan team in the de facto MAC title game. In a game that featured a 72 yard fake punt TD from CMU’s punter, the Chippewas took the title 36-33 in an upset, and Bowling Green missed out on both the MAC title and a bowl. It was a disappointing end for such a dominant team, as BG was top 10 in the nation in both points (35.5 PPG) and points allowed (15.8 PPG). QB Ryan Henry had one of the best seasons in school history, throwing for 2368 yards 25 TD 11 INT. LB Vince Palko won the MAC Defensive POTY for the 2nd straight year.
4. 1992 (10-2 overall, 8-0 MAC)
Bowling Green played Kirk Herbstreit and the #22 Ohio State Buckeyes close in week 2, outgaining them 277-237 but falling short 6-17. After a decent loss to Wisconsin and 44-34 win over East Carolina (11-1 the previous year), Bowling Green was 2-2 and ready to begin their quest for a 2nd straight MAC title. They weren’t as dominant as the ‘94 team, with close wins like 17-14 over Central Michigan, 10-9 over Toledo, and 28-22 over Kent State, but did beat solid competition on their way to the title. 2nd-5th placed teams Western Michigan, Toledo, Akron, and Miami (OH) all finished with a .600 win percentage or better, but BG beat them by a combined 107-55. Matched up in the Las Vegas Bowl with a 7-4 Nevada team in their first year in the FBS, Bowling Green took a 28-3 lead by the end of the first half, but watched it evaporate, with Nevada going up 34-28. The Wolfpack set up to punt with 2 minutes remaining and-WHOA he has trouble with the snap! Bowling Green recovers, and eventually gets into the end zone with 22 seconds left to win it 35-34 for the double digit-win season. QB Erik White won MAC Offensive POTY for the 2nd straight season, throwing for 2000+ yards with 17 TD 17 INT. DB Joe Blair ranked 2nd in the nation in INTs with 7.
3. 2003 (11-3 overall, 7-1 MAC)
Urban Meyer had built a well rounded group the 2 years he was here prior (2001-02), and in 2003 they soared. Week 2, down 20-24 to #16 Purdue with 2 minutes to go, QB Josh Harris threw a 33 yard TD to take the lead in the eventual 27-26 win. If Big Ten teams weren’t taking BG seriously yet, they were after the Falcons travelled to defending national champions Ohio State, and had a chance to win with the ball down 17-24 on the final possession. ESPN took notice, and after 3 straight MAC wins following the OSU loss, College GameDay attended #12 Northern Illinois @ #23 Bowling Green for one of the most anticipated MAC games ever. NIU had already beaten #21 Alabama and #15 Maryland, and the two teams had history with NIU upsetting 8-0 #20 Bowling Green the previous season. Bowling Green scored a huge 34-18 win to take control of the MAC West and get revenge for 2002. Harris threw for 438 yards and ran for 89. In the year of a really freaking good MAC though, #20 BG would lose the following week to Miami (OH), who’d go on to finish 13-1.
In the final week of the regular season, 9-2 Bowling Green (6-1 MAC) met with 8-3 Toledo (6-1 MAC) for a trip to the MAC title game. Harris again had a huge game, with 3 passing TD, 75 rushing yards, and 1 catch for 48 yards and a TD. It was fate, Miami vs Bowling Green in a rematch in the title game. Both teams were very very good, but Miami came in the higher ranked team and proved they deserved to be, winning 49-27. BG still had a solid showing in the Motor City Bowl, beating Northwestern 28-24 to finish #23. Harris was one of the first QBs to popularize Meyer’s spread option offense from 2001-02, in 2003 throwing for 3813 yards 27 TD 12 INT while rushing for 830 with 13 TD. WR Cole Magner was 2nd in the country in receptions with 99 for 1138 yards and 10 TD. DB Janssen Patton led the MAC in INTs with 7. Harris was drafted in the 6th round of the 2004 NFL Draft, and kicker Shaun Suisham would go on to play 10 years in the NFL.
2. 1985 (11-1 overall, 9-0 MAC)
Long after the great Doyt Perry teams of the 60’s and a few years before the Gary Blackney mini-dynasty in the early 90’s, Dennis Stolz coached Bowling Green to an 11-0 regular in 1985. Senior QB Brian McClure, who had already amassed 3 1st Team All-MAC selections, 2 MAC Offensive POTYs, and 1 MAC POTY award in his career, marched into Lexington and led his troops to a 30-26 upset over Kentucky, putting him in the Heisman conversation. McClure would go down in the next game against Miami (OH), and in stepped backup Rick Neiman. Down 14-24 with 3 minutes remaining, Neiman led a 75 yard TD drive to cut the lead to 3, Bowling Green recovered the onside kick, and went down again and scored the winning TD 28-24. The game was a must-win, and ended up deciding the MAC title as Miami went 7-0-1 in the MAC the rest of the year. Bowling Green swept through the rest of their schedule, winning 6 of their last 7 games by double digits, including a school record 479 yard passing performance from McClure in the season finale against Ohio. The Falcons finished the regular season unbeaten at 11-0 before unceremoniously getting blown out 51-7 by Frenso State in the California Bowl.
The 6’6 QB McClure threw for 2674 yards 18 TD 16 INT, once again earning 1st Team All-MAC, MAC Offensive POTY, and MAC POTY. He even finished 10th in Heisman voting, with 7 first-place votes, and won the Sammy Baugh Trophy. Stolz won MAC Coach of the Year, and RB Bernard White led the NCAA in rushing TD with 18. Overall, in the regular season BG averaged 31.6 PPG while giving up just 15.6 PPG.
1. 1991 (11-1 overall, 8-0 MAC)
Bowling Green’s best ever team, according to my algorithm. Led by great QB play and a suffocating defense, they were perfect in the MAC and won their first ever bowl game. The only loss came 17-24 to West Virginia in week 2, while the other non-conference games were wins over Cincinnati and Navy. A few games were too close for comfort, but the Falcons pulled out an 8-0 conference record in a MAC that had lots of parity. The 2nd placed team Central Michigan finished just 6-1-4, but the 6th placed team (Western Michigan) also finished 6-5. After a 10-1 regular season, Bowling Green faced a familiar opponent in the bowl in Fresno State, who had beaten BG twice in their last 2 bowl appearances. This time the Falcons came out on top 28-21, for the first bowl win in program history. QB Erik White won MAC Offensive POTY, throwing for 2000+ yards with 17 TD 10 INT. Bowling Green finished unranked, but #18 in my poll.
5th Quarter
Thoughts on Bowling Green’s placement in this list? What was the best team in school history in your opinion? Was 2003 the strongest year in the MAC’s history with teams like Bowling Green, Miami, and NIU? What’s your favorite Bowling Green game/play/player? Should they be called Bowling Green when they are neither a bowling team nor green? Why aren’t they called Football Orange?
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