On July 19, the MAC announced the preseason coaches poll. Bowling Green was picked to finish tied for third in the conference. They received zero votes to win the MAC Championship.[2][3]
8:20 BGSU – Terion Stewart 7-yard run (Jackson Kleather kick) – Bowling Green 13–0. Drive: 10 plays, 78 yards, 4:39.
0:09 BGSU – Lucian Anderson III 13-yard run (Jackson Kleather kick) – Bowling Green 20–0. Drive: 8 plays, 93 yards, 3:38.
Second quarter
9:54 BGSU – Connor Bazelak 8-yard run (Jackson Kleather kick) – Bowling Green 27–0. Drive: 8 plays, 38 yards, 4:10.
0:00 FORD – Bennett Henderson 24-yard field goal – Bowling Green 27–3. Drive: 13 plays, 74 yards, 5:16.
Third quarter
13:35 FORD – Cole Thornton 30-yard pass from C. J. Montes (Bennett Henderson kick) – Bowling Green 27–10. Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards, 1:25.
1:21 BGSU – Terion Stewart 7-yard run (Jackson Kleather kick) – Bowling Green 34–10. Drive: 13 plays, 94 yards, 5:34.
Fourth quarter
7:28 BGSU – Terion Stewart 73-yard run (Jackson Kleather kick) – Bowling Green 41–10. Drive: 3 plays, 86 yards, 1:23.
0:24 FORD – Jack Batten 60-yard pass from Jack Capaldi (Bennett Henderson kick) – Bowling Green 41–17. Drive: 7 plays, 95 yards, 2:24.
Bowling Green opened its season with a 41–17 victory on August 29 against the Fordham Rams in front of 12,786 at Doyt Perry Stadium. Tennessee Tech transfer Justin Pegues returned the game's opening kickoff 100-yards for a touchdown, breaking the school record for the longest kick return.[8] Running back Terion Stewart ran for 161 yards and three touchdowns, matching his career high. Running back Jaison Patterson surpassed 1,000 career rushing yards in his career, becoming the 40th Falcon to do so.[9]
3:32 BGSU – Jamal Johnson 41-yard run (Jackson Kleather kick) – Bowling Green 24–17. Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards, 1:56.
0:10 PSU – Sander Sahaydak 28-yard field goal – Bowling Green 24–20. Drive: 10 plays, 64 yards, 3:22.
Third quarter
6:13 PSU – Nicholas Singleton 14-yard pass from Drew Allar (Sander Sahaydak kick) – Penn State 27–24. Drive: 8 plays, 85 yards, 4:07.
Fourth quarter
4:09 PSU – Nicholas Singleton 41-yard run (Sander Sahaydak kick) – Penn State 34–24. Drive: 1 play, 41 yards, :07.
0:47 BGSU – Jackson Kleather 42-yard field goal – Penn State 34–27. Drive: 9 plays, 41 yards, 3:22.
On September 7, Bowling Green visited Beaver Stadium to take on the number 8 ranked Penn State Nittany Lions. The game was the third all-time meeting between the Falcons and Nittany Lions, with the Nittany Lions having won each of their previous two meetings.[10] The Falcons were without starting running back Terion Stewart who was injured in the week one game against Fordham. The game had an attendance of 103,861.
Bowling Green lost the game 27–34. The game began with Penn State winning the coin toss and deferring to the second half. On the Falcons opening drive, quarterback Connor Bazelak connected with Harold Fannin Jr. on a 6-yard touchdown pass to start the scoring. The opening drive touchdown snapped Penn State's streak of 28 games not allowing an opponent to score a first-drive touchdown. Heading into the matchup, it was the longest streak in the nation. The Falcons scored on their first three drives of the game, building them a 17–7 lead. At the half, Bowling Green led Penn State 24–20. The Nittany Lions earned their first lead of the game midway through the third quarter when quarterback Drew Allar found Nicholas Singleton on a 14-yard touchdown pass. Singleton added to the lead in the fourth quarter on a 41-yard touchdown run. In the final minute, Bowling Green kicker Jackson Kleather made his second field goal of the game, making it just a one score advantage for the Nittany Lions. The Falcons were unsuccessful on their onside kick attempt, allowing Penn State to run out the clock.[11]
Fannin Jr. led the Falcons with 11 receptions and 137 receiving yards, which both marked career-highs. He became the 43rd Falcon to reach 1,000 career receiving yards. Running back Jaison Patterson had 57 yards on 16 carries filling in for the injured Stewart. Jamal Johnson also made an impact with a 41-yard touchdown run, his first collegiate rushing touchdown.[12]
5:24 BGSU – Rahkeem Smith 40-yard run (Jackson Kleather kick) – Texas A&M 20–17. Drive: 9 plays, 81 yards, 5:13.
Fourth quarter
12:56 TAMU – Randy Bond 34-yard field goal – Texas A&M 23–17. Drive: 12 plays, 64 yards, 4:01.
7:15 TAMU – Randy Bond 42-yard field goal – Texas A&M 26–17. Drive: 9 plays, 50 yards, 4:20.
0:38 BGSU – Jackson Kleather 23-yard field goal – Texas A&M 26–20. Drive: 6 plays, 30 yards, 0:54.
The Bowling Green Falcons traveled to College Station to take on the number 25 ranked Texas A&M Aggies. The Falcons played their second ranked opponent of the season in as many games played. This was the first matchup between the Falcons and Aggies.[13] The Aggies are led by head coach Mike Elko, who previously spent five seasons as Bowling Green's defensive coordinator from 2009–2013.[14] Aggies defensive lineman Cashius Howell spent the 2021–2023 seasons at Bowling Green. He previously was named third team All-MAC in 2023 after leading the Falcons with 9.5 sacks, which was tied for first in the MAC and 16th nationally. Howell recorded his first sack with the Aggies in a 33–20 victory over Florida the previous week.[15] Aggies freshman quarterback Marcel Reed started in place for the injured Conner Weigman in the win over the Gators.[16][17]
The game had an attendance of 99,523. The Falcons won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. Texas A&M then went on a 11 plays 75-yard touchdown drive. Starting quarterback Marcel Reed found Melin Ohrstrom 27-yard pass. This was Reed's second consecutive start filling in for the injured Conner Weigman. The Falcons trailed 3–13 entering the half time break. Bowling Green quarterback Connor Bazelak connected with Harold Fannin Jr. on a 65-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage to cut the Aggies lead to just three points. The Aggies responded with a scoring drive of its own when Reed threw his second touchdown pass of the game, this time to Jahdae Walker. For the second consecutive possession, the Falcons answered with a touchdown drive. Backup quarterback Lucian Anderson III checked into the game where he handed the ball off to running back Terion Stewart, who then flipped the ball in reverse to wide receiver Rahkeem Smith for a 40-yard touchdown. After a Texas A&M three-and-out, cornerback Darius McClendon blocked the Aggies punt inside their own 8-yard line. Looking to tie the game, kicker Jackson Kleather missed a 28-yard field goal. The Aggies then scored fields goals on back to back possesions to increase the lead to 26–17. With under two minutes remaining, Bazelak's pass was intercepted in the endzone by Marcus Ratcliffe. However, on the Aggies first play, Bowling Green linebacker Brock Horne forced a fumble that was recovered by Edward Rhambo. Kleather connected on a 23-yard field goal, making it once again a one score game. The Falcons would not be able to convert on an onside kick attempt, allowing Texas A&M to run out the remainder of the clock.[18]
Bowling Green tight end Harold Fannin Jr. had a game high 145 yards on eight receptions and one touchdown. It was his second consecutive 100-yard game against a Top 25 team. For his performance he was named MAC Offensive Player of the Week.[19]
Old Dominion came to Bowling Green with a 0–3 record as they had one possession losses to South Carolina and East Carolina. Following a loss to Virginia Tech, the Monarchs were fresh off of a bye week.[20] This was the first matchup between the Falcons and Monarchs.[21]
With Bowling Green winning the coin toss and deferring to the second half, Old Dominion quarterback Grant Wilson led the Monarchs on a eight play 75-yard drive that resulted in a Pat Conroy 9-yard touchdown catch. Following a Falcons turnover on downs at midfield and a Monarchs punt, Bowling Green quarterback Connor Bazelak engineered a 10 play 76-yard drive that ended in a 18-yard touchdown pass to Harold Fannin Jr.. On the first play of Old Dominion's next drive, Wilson faked a quarterback draw and found Conroy wide open on a 75-yard touchdown. The Orange and Brown responded on its next possession with a Jaison Patterson 17-yard touchdown, his first of the season. Old Dominion led at the break, 17–14.
Early in the third quarter, the Falcons earned its first lead when Bazelak found Fannin Jr. on a 65-yard touchdown reception for his second touchdown. On the Monarchs second possession of the second half, Wilson was replaced by redshirt freshman quarterback Colton Joseph. Joseph started the Monarchs' previous game against the Hookies, but was benched in favor of true freshman Quinn Henicle.[22] Following a Bazelak interception, Joseph found the end zone on a 14-yard scramble, giving the Monarchs a 23–21 lead after a missed extra point with 11:57 remaining. Following back-to-back punts, the Falcons once again took the lead, this time coming on a Terion Stewart 13-yard touchdown run. With under three minutes remaining, Joseph took the Monarchs on a 13 play 79-yard touchdown drive that included a fourth down conversion on its own 40-yard line. The game winning touchdown was scored with just 24 seconds remaining on a 4-yard touchdown run by Aaron Young.[23] The ensuing Falcons drive got as far as their own 40-yard line before running out of time. Bowling Green's homecoming was spoiled, and they ended their non conference schedule with a 1–3 record.
Fannin Jr. set a career-high with 12 receptions and 188 receiving yards in the loss. He also set a school record for single game receiving yards by a tight end, passing Mark Dowdell's 1983 record of 175 yards. His two touchdowns also broke Bowling Green's career record for receiving touchdowns by a tight end. For the third consecutive game, Fannin surpassed his career high in receiving yards. For the second consecutive week he was named MAC Offensive Player of the Week.[24]
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