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2021 Bowling Green

4–⁠8 (2–⁠6 Mid-American Conference), coached by Scot Loeffler.

Schedule and results

Bowling Green in 2021, game by game: lost at Tennessee 6–38; lost vs. South Alabama 19–22; won vs. Murray State 27–10; won at Minnesota 14–10; lost at Kent State 20–27; lost vs. Akron 20–35; lost at Northern Illinois 26–34; lost vs. Eastern Michigan 24–55; won at Buffalo 56–44; lost vs. Toledo 17–49; lost at Miami (OH) 7–34; won vs. Ohio 21–10+17−32Lost 6–38 at Tennessee-32TennesseeLost 19–22 vs. South Alabama-3South AlabamaWon 27–10 vs. Murray State+17Murray StateWon 14–10 at Minnesota+4MinnesotaLost 20–27 at Kent State-7Kent StateLost 20–35 vs. Akron-15AkronLost 26–34 at Northern Illinois-8Northern Illino…Lost 24–55 vs. Eastern Michigan-31Eastern MichiganWon 56–44 at Buffalo+12BuffaloLost 17–49 vs. Toledo-32ToledoLost 7–34 at Miami (OH)-27Miami (OH)Won 21–10 vs. Ohio+11Ohio
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2atTennesseeL 6–⁠3824%
Sep 11vsSouth AlabamaL 19–⁠2242%
Sep 18vsMurray StateW 27–⁠1058%
Sep 25atMinnesotaW 14–⁠1015%
Oct 2atKent StateL 20–⁠2729%
Oct 9vsAkronL 20–⁠3566%
Oct 16atNorthern IllinoisL 26–⁠3428%
Oct 23vsEastern MichiganL 24–⁠5537%
Oct 30atBuffaloW 56–⁠4416%
Nov 10vsToledoL 17–⁠4934%
Nov 16atMiami (OH)L 7–⁠3416%
Nov 26vsOhioW 21–⁠1040%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Ohio 21–⁠10; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 10th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 66th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 73 on file).

Record
4–⁠8
Conference
2–⁠6 tied for 10th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
257–⁠368
Coach
Scot Loeffler
Elo
1327 −9 this season
SP+ rating
-12.4 No. 111 of 130; offense No. 125, defense No. 95
SRS
−15.3 No. 119 of 130 in FBS
Returning
33% of last season’s EPA, No. 121 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 103 roster talent No. 110 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Terry Malone
Defensive coordinator
Eric Lewis
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3 or 4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense113th of 130
  • Defense79th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted131st of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted77th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0336%1.33113th of 130
Defense0.1544%1.2279th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.01 off
0.15 def		34% off
44% def		—131st off
77th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense3.3own 3120% allowed
Defense4.2own 3216% caused

CORE rating -16.5, 113th of 130 (offense -16.0, defense 0.5).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsMatt McDonald QB2,555 yds
Passing touchdownsMatt McDonald QB12 TD
Rushing yardsTerion Stewart RB412 yds
Rushing touchdownsTerion Stewart RB5 TD
Receiving yardsTyrone Broden Jr. WR596 yds
Receiving touchdownsTyrone Broden Jr. WR5 TD
TacklesDarren Anders LB124 tkl
SacksKarl Brooks DL6.5 sacks
InterceptionsDeshawn Jones Jr CB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Tae’Shaun Johnson WR★★★No. 1395
Jaylen Smith WR★★★No. 1471
Willie Jones S★★★No. 1767
Diego Neri LB★★★No. 1855
Alex Padgett OT★★★No. 1855

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs23.00.817
Receivers62.70.812
Offensive line32.30.800
Defensive line43.00.813
Linebackers13.00.826
Defensive backs33.00.813
Athletes and specialists13.00.814
Whole class202.80.812

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Roster 107

The 2021 roster

107 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 59 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 5

The 2021 portal
Ali Saad DL★★★from Minnesota
Bryce Brand DE★★★from West Virginia
Davon Ferguson S★★★from Kansas
Drew Gunther PROfrom Syracuse
Tommy Guajardo TEfrom Michigan State

Transfers out 14

Andrew Clair RB★★★to Northwestern
Cameron Stage OL★★★to Western Kentucky
Isaiah Johnson-Mack WR★★★no new school on file
Noah Massey WR★★★to Angelo State
Roland Walder DE★★★to Eastern Kentucky
Caleb Biggers CB★★to Boise State
Jerry Roberts LB★★to Arizona
Joe Maxwell OT★★to North Alabama
Joe Ware OT★★to Austin Peay
Julian Ortega-Jones WR★★to Texas State
Kholbe Coleman LB★★no new school on file
Shon Strickland WR★★no new school on file

And 2 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2021 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Central Michigan6–⁠29–⁠4
Northern Illinois6–⁠29–⁠5
Kent State6–⁠27–⁠7
Toledo5–⁠37–⁠6
Miami (OH)5–⁠37–⁠6
Western Michigan4–⁠48–⁠5
Eastern Michigan4–⁠47–⁠6
Ball State4–⁠46–⁠7
Ohio3–⁠53–⁠9
Buffalo2–⁠64–⁠8
Bowling Green2–⁠64–⁠8
Akron1–⁠72–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.