Bowling Green 39, Eastern Michigan 32

Bowling Green (3-2, 4-3, 6-5) overcame two turnovers to beat Eastern Michigan 39-32 and keep its fledgling MAC East title hopes alive.

Quarterback Tyler Sheehan led the Falcons in both passing (20-32, 230 yards) and rushing (10 cars, 65 yards) and accounted for two touchdowns to spoil Senior Night in Ypsilanti.

The Friday night ESPNU telecast was a back and forth affair, marked both by Eastern’s strong straight-ahead running game and its inability to capitalize on opportunities.

Eastern Michigan (2-2, 2-4, 3-8) got 155 yards on 31 carries from the game’s leading rusher, Pierre Walker, and also got 114 more rushing yards from six additional ball carriers. But the Eagles couldn’t take advantage of some gifts, courtesy of the BGSU offense.

Early in the third quarter, a BGSU running back fumbled while running towards the end zone. The ball laid on the ground, was kicked and grabbed for by players from both sides and seemed certain to be recovered by the Eagles. But Eastern was unable to either recover or kick the ball out the back of the end zone, and BGSU lineman Shane Steffy recovered for a touchdown. The score made the tally 21-20, with the one point difference courtesy of Zach Johnson’s missed second quarter extra point.

Eastern was able to add two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but in each case, failed to convert 2-point plays that they were only attempting because of the original missed point after. Therefore, after QB Andy Schmitt scored on a nifty fake Statue of Liberty QB keeper, the Eagles lead only 32-31 when they should have, by all rights, led 34-31.

After that play, the Falcons moved right down the field with a mix of mid-range passes and off-tackle runs, getting a 1 yard sneak from Sheehan on his second try. BGSU did convert on its 2-point play, to grab the lead back, 39-32.

The Eagles were unable to move past the 50 on offense, and the Falcons took over, earned on first down, and ran out the clock.

Eastern Michigan’s offensive distribution was impressive; seven receivers caught 12 passes for 134 yards, and seven ball carriers rushed for 269 yards. The Eagles were hurt, once again, but a surprisingly inept defense and an inability to capitalize on opportunities.

To win the East, BGSU must beat Buffalo next Saturday, have Buffalo beat Kent State, and get a Miami loss to Akron or Ohio. Then, to this writer’s current understanding of the MAC’s convoluted tiebreaker formula, the Falcons would win a three-way tiebreaker between Buffalo, Miami and themselves to advance to the title game.