But just how big was it?

In reading many reports following Bowling Green’s surprising 32-31 victory over Big Ten Conference member Minnesota I was struck by the lack of respect being shown the Falcons. On a day when the winning-est college football program of all-time fell to a national power from a subdivision below I found time and time again the BG win was being lumped into a similar category. Time and time again the reports, both AP and local Minneapolis media, were commenting on how the Gophers fell in the season opener to a lowly MAC school. A lowly MAC school that won but four games last season and racked up eight loses- including one to Temple- and lost five straight to close out the ’06 campaign.

Look, I get it. The name Bowling Green doesn’t resonate with the Notre Dames and Southern Cals of the world, but we ain’t exactly an upstart. I think most casual college football observers- read dudes that get their fix from SportsCenter and follow Big State U.- would have BG on their radars at the very least. We do have a strong history and rich tradition.

After “lurking” as the term is known, all week at gopherhole.com I was amazed by the themes the Gopher fans had in their posts. See, Minnesota had long been suffering from the underachieving Glen Mason and a new cheerleader- err coach- showed up. Tim Brewster did his best Bill Veeck barnstorming the state rallying support for the wonderful new outdoor stadium and getting people to begin to believe in Gopher football. He even added the outline of the state to the helmets in a Hayden Frye-esque move to get the state behind “their team”. He had the Gopher fans ready to book flights to Southern California.

Then it happened. This little old school whose uniforms didn’t have a speck of hunter or kelly green on them came in and jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the blink of an eye. The Gophers fought back and BG went in to “try not to lose” mode momentarily, making it quite an exciting finish of regulation. In the extra stanza the Gophs scored first and per conventional wisdom went for the customary single point after. BG scored and kept the offense on the field prompting a timeout from the Gopher sideline. It wasn’t a ploy to get Goldie to expend his last time out, but most Falcon fans knew that as Tyler Sheehan, the true sophomore quarterback making his first collegiate start, led the orange and brown back on to the field. We’d seen it before and we’d seen it work before- 2001 at defending Big Ten Champion Northwestern.

I was extremely overjoyed with this victory. Me and a fellow BG alum immediately kicked in to an impromptu round of Ay-Ziggy-Zoomba in a moderately full sports bar thick in SEC country. The fashion of the victory was the main cause of my euphoria. I’m not going to say I expect to win games against big bad BcS schools, but it wasn’t completely foreign for me to witness a victory like that. Maybe that is why I was so annoyed to get lumped in to the category of David vs. Goliath along with App. State. I also was quick to point out, with many confused looks from coworkers, that although App. State’s win might be the biggest in college football history, the biggest wins in App. State’s football history were probably their two back-to-back 1AA championship game vicotires.

These feelings and reactions have caused me to wonder “Just How Big Was This One?” From a macro look it is pretty easy to say that this win is not one of the Top-10 all-time in the history of BG football. Certainly no more impressive than winning at Syracuse or Brigham Young- season opening Ws for Don Nehlen’s 1975 and ’76 clubs. And not more important than the 1959 win at Ohio or the 1991 Cal Bowl win over Fresno State. Maybe more on-par with the 1985 win at Kentucky or the ’95 win at Missouri.

So at this point I wonder to myself- does the 2007 opener even rank among the Top Ten BGSU victories of the past ten seasons?

I came up with a formula, by no means scientific, to rank the top BG victories of the past ten seasons (1997-2006). The “greatness score” will be based on an average of three criteria:

1. Sexyiness of the W (Joe Schmo reading the Ft. Meyers Gazette is impressed/surprised to see BG beat Xyz)
2. Style Points- did we dismantle a bigger opponent, was it an exciting or memorable game or game day
3. Importance of the Victory- did it create momentum, secure a winning season, give the team something to build on.

Each category will be rated 1-10 and the average will be the overall greatness of the game. Remember, this is one fan’s opinion and I look forward to hearing your thoughts about my picks or omissions and of course your memories of these great Falcon games!

Honorable Mentions: 9/21/02 BG 39, at Kansas 16, 10/19/02 at BG 48, Western Michigan 45 OT

10/31/98 at BG 34, Marshall 13
Greatness Score: 7.3 (7, 9, 6)
Marshall was the team of the 90s as far as the Mid American Conference was concerned. The program, which went from tragedy to obscurity, to 1AA power back to the MAC, served as catalyst for a higher level of football across the league. This was a 5-6 BG team that shocked Chad Pennington and the Herd. Marshall was the defending MAC and Motor City Bowl champions and went on to win both at the end of 98 as well. In fact for the 1998 and 1999 seasons Marshall went a combined 25-1, with victories at South Carolina, vs. Louisville in the MCB, at Clemson, and over BYU in the MCB, and finished ’99 ranked #10 in the country. Their sole loss in that two-year span came to Gary Blackney’s Falcons.

9/14/02 at BG 51, Missouri 28
Greatness Score: 7.3 (6, 9, 8 )
Bringing a Big XII school to Doyt Perry Stadium, the first conference member to play alongside Poe Ditch since Iowa State (then in the Big 8 ) came out in 1977, should have meant an extremely hostile environment. Early afternoon showers kept many away but those who came out were treated to a whoopin that sent the Tigers back to Columbia with their tails between their legs. BG dominated in all offensive categories racking up 375 yards in the air and 202 on the ground while holding the Tigers to just 55 rushing yards and keeping a strong handle on Mizzou’s dual threat signal caller Brad Smith. Quarterback Josh Harris passed for 311 yards, caught a touchdown pass and had two short scoring runs, wide receiver Cole Magner threw two scoring passes, and Robert Redd caught 10 passes for 209 yards. The playbook was wide open but it wasn’t trick plays and gimmicks that won the football game- it was the better, more complete football team that won the game.

9/1/01 BG 20, at Missouri 13
Greatness Score: 7.6 (7, 8, 8 )
Following the resignation of Gary Blackney, whose 2000 team finished 2-9 and gave Buffalo their first 1A victory, it was time for a change. The Falcons “plucked” the Wide Receivers coach from Bob Davie’s Notre Dame staff. Baby-faced Urban Meyer, whose highest coaching ranking was positions coach, led a slimmed down version of the Falcons in to Big XII country. They were slimmer because the head coach, named after a Pope, quite literally ran a decent amount of players off the team. Using a wide open offense that saw a drop back and running quarterback utilized and a lot more motion and trickery the Falcons upended the Tigers in Meyer’s head coaching debut.

12/26/03 Motor City Bowl BG 28, Northwestern 24
Greatness Score: 7.6 (6, 8, 9)
The Falcons went bowling for the first time since 1992 and faced a familiar opponent in the Big Ten’s Northwestern Wildcats. BG was favored by a couple of scores in this game but the Wildcats were no fools and were destined not to be ambushed a second time by this little old MAC squad. The Falcons struggled with stopping the run, but once again put their faith on the arm and legs of senior quarterback Josh Harris who once again seemingly willed this team to victory on his way to being named MCB MVP. He passed for 386 yards and three touchdowns and helped BG win its third consecutive bowl game in as many attempts.

11/17/01 BG 43, at Northwestern 42
Greatness Score: 8 (6, 9, 9)
The Falcons were originally scheduled to take on South Carolina on September 15, but events earlier in the week canceled that contest and the schedule-makers scrambled to pit BG at Northwestern in November. A winning season was already guaranteed for first year head coach Urban Meyer- but he and the Falcons wanted more. The new-look Falcons hung with the defending Big Ten Champion Wildcats but all looked lost when a purple ball carrier passed the first down marker with 1:30 to play and a seven point lead. But before he was wrestled to the ground a Falcon defender pried the ball loose and it was BG ball in their own territory. Quarterback Josh Harris, who ran for 91 yards and threw for 402, led the Falcons down the field for the score with :36 ticks on the clock. The Wildcats sent out their fieldgoal block team while Meyer and offensive coordinator Gregg Brandon kept Harris and the O on the field. Harris took the snap and went to his left as Magner was coming on the end around and took the ball the other direction and in to the end zone for the two-point conversion. A Chad Long interception sealed the win and BG became the first MAC school to defeat member of three different BcS conferences in a single season.

11/23/01 at BG 56, Toledo 21
Greatness Score: 8.3 (7, 9, 9)
Any time you can beat your rival it is great. Pounding your rival is even better and it feels especially nice knowing your rival was most likely looking past you. Toledo finished 2001 with a 10-2 record, a MAC Championship victory over Marshall and Motor City Bowl win over Cincinnati. Urban Meyer, who to date is 16,532-4 against rivals dating back to his little league days, stressed the importance of beating Toledo and called for the goal posts to be carried through town to which Falcon fans obliged in a lively postgame celebration that resulted in zero major injuries. With the resounding victory Urban Meyer and Bowling Green football became a force to be reckoned with and left many Falcon fans itching to see what could be done in year two of the Urban Renewal Plan.

10/25/03 at BG 34, #12 Northern Illinois 18
Greatness Score: 8.3 (7, 10, 8 )
Could anything be more stylish then to basically win the game in the first 5 minutes of the game with long runs, deep routes, pass backs to the quarterback, interceptions, and a Heisman candidate on the other team being held to minimal gains on nearly every carry? Oh yeah, and the game was on national television. Oh yeah, the game sold out early in the week- the first time in a long time ticket scalpers could actually make a buck in BG. And oh yeah, ESPN’s College Gameday, the American Bandstand, the Ed Sullivan Show of sports, was in Bowling Green for their weekly show! The place was rockin and the Falcons did not disappoint beating their second ranked opponent of the season.

11/29/03 at BG 31, Toledo 23
Greatness Score: 8.3 (7, 8, 10)
The winner of this game would “Win The West”. Toledo was the defending MAC West champion and had knocked off a ranked Pittsburgh team earlier in the season. Bowling Green hadn’t played for a conference championship since the 1994 season and had never appeared in a MAC Championship game. That all changed as the Falcons came back in exciting fashion to knock of their arch rivals. The Falcons scored on their first four possessions in the second half after trailing 14-7 after two quarters. Harris did it all, accounting for 379 of Bowling Green’s 433 offensive yards.

12/22/04 GMAC Bowl BG 52, Memphis 35
Greatness Score: 8.3 (7, 9, 9)
Aided by a brawl between rivals Clemson and South Carolina, the Falcons went bowling for the a second consecutive season. Omar Jacobs, who set an NCAA mark throwing 41 touchdowns with just 4 interceptions, was electric passing for 365 yards and 5 tds with just 1 interception in the game. Jacobs became the second straight Falcon qb to be named a bowl game MVP. The Falcons led in all statistical categories and held the Tigers, with highly touted running back D’Angelo Williams (who got injured in the game), to under 100 yards rushing.

9/6/03 BG 27, at #16 Purdue 26
Greatness Score: 8.6 (9, 9, 8 )
First year head coach Gregg Brandon’s first road game was in Big Ten country against a ranked opponent picked as a dark horse contender in the league. Kyle Orton had talented receivers around him and the Boiler quarterback amassed 357 passing yards but it was BG who seemingly willed themselves big play after big play to win the game. Harris’ performance, 376 total yards and 32 yard touchdown heave to Charles Sharon on a 4th down, prompted his coach to say “If Josh Harris isn’t a legitimate Heisman candidate, I don’t know who is!!”. The victory is not unmatched in the annals of Falcon football history as Don Nehlen’s 1972 Falcons shocked the #18 Boilermakers 17-14 in West Lafayette.

There is my list of the top ten biggest wins of Falcon football over the last ten years. Where does the Minnesota win rank? They weren’t ranked or even coming off a good year, they had a new coach, but it was on the road against a Big Ten team and we were giving the start to a true sophomore who won the game for us in exciting fashion. I’ve got my greatness score, why don’t you leave a comment and give me yours- see formula above for the score breakdown.

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