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2023 Bowling Green

7–⁠6 (5–⁠3 Mid-American Conference), coached by Scot Loeffler.

Schedule and results

Bowling Green in 2023, game by game: lost at Liberty 24–34; won vs. Eastern Illinois 38–15; lost at No. 2 Michigan 6–31; lost vs. Ohio 7–38; won at Georgia Tech 38–27; lost at Miami (OH) 0–27; won at Buffalo 24–14; won vs. Akron 41–14; won vs. Ball State 24–21; won at Kent State 49–19; lost vs. Toledo 31–32; won at Western Michigan 34–10; lost vs. Minnesota 24–30+30−31Lost 24–34 at Liberty-10LibertyWon 38–15 vs. Eastern Illinois+23Eastern IllinoisLost 6–31 at No. 2 Michigan-25No. 2 MichiganLost 7–38 vs. Ohio-31OhioWon 38–27 at Georgia Tech+11Georgia TechLost 0–27 at Miami (OH)-27Miami (OH)Won 24–14 at Buffalo+10BuffaloWon 41–14 vs. Akron+27AkronWon 24–21 vs. Ball State+3Ball StateWon 49–19 at Kent State+30Kent StateLost 31–32 vs. Toledo-1ToledoWon 34–10 at Western Michigan+24Western MichiganLost 24–30 vs. Minnesota-6Minnesota
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2atLibertyL 24–⁠3430%
Sep 9vsEastern IllinoisW 38–⁠1581%
Sep 16at2MichiganL 6–⁠3111%
Sep 23vsOhioL 7–⁠3838%
Sep 30atGeorgia TechW 38–⁠2731%
Oct 7atMiami (OH)L 0–⁠2728%
Oct 14atBuffaloW 24–⁠1437%
Oct 21vsAkronW 41–⁠1478%
Nov 1vsBall StateW 24–⁠2169%
Nov 8atKent StateW 49–⁠1962%
Nov 14vsToledoL 31–⁠3238%
Nov 21atWestern MichiganW 34–⁠1049%
Dec 26Bowls & playoffvsMinnesotaQuick Lane BowlL 24–⁠3052%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Minnesota 30–⁠24 in the Quick Lane Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 30th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 73 on file).

Record
7–⁠6
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 4th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
340–⁠312
Coach
Scot Loeffler
Elo
1497 +70 this season
SP+ rating
-7.8 No. 94 of 133; offense No. 93, defense No. 75, special teams No. 117
SRS
−4.2 No. 87 of 133 in FBS
Returning
30% of last season’s EPA, No. 111 of 131
Recruiting class
No. 119 roster talent No. 113 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Max Warner and Greg Nosal
Defensive coordinators
Steve Morrison and Sammy Lawanson
Offense
Multiple
Defense
Multiple

How good, play by play

  • Offense87th of 133
  • Defense17th of 133
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted90th of 133
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted29th of 133
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0540%1.3487th of 133
Defense0.0142%1.1817th of 133
Opponent-adjusted0.06 off
0.05 def		40% off
44% def		—90th off
29th 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
Offense3.6own 3319% allowed
Defense3.7own 3018% caused

CORE rating -1.9, 72nd of 133 (offense -1.8, defense 0.0).

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 yardsConnor Bazelak QB1,935 yds
Passing touchdownsConnor Bazelak QB12 TD
Rushing yardsTerion Stewart RB762 yds
Rushing touchdownsTerion Stewart RB8 TD
Receiving yardsHarold Fannin TE623 yds
Receiving touchdownsHarold Fannin TE6 TD
TacklesDarren Anders LB85 tkl
SacksCashius Howell DE9.5 sacks
InterceptionsJalen Huskey DB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2023 class

Tracy Revels S★★★No. 1331
Shawn Thigpen WR★★★No. 1619
Alijah Williams DE★★★No. 1751
Jabari Mitchell ATH★★★No. 2302
Jackson Kleather K★★★No. 2317

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

The 2023 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs13.00.816
Receivers22.50.814
Offensive line13.00.810
Defensive line33.00.818
Defensive backs13.00.853
Athletes and specialists23.00.817
Whole class102.90.819

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 108

The 2023 roster

108 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2023 line; 64 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 2

The 2023 portal
Connor Bazelak QB★★★★from Indiana
Hunter Deyo DL★★★★from Iowa State

Transfers out 15

Jordan Anderson S★★★★to UCLA
Tyrone Broden Jr. WR★★★★to Arkansas
J.B. Brown LB★★★to Kansas
Jalen Grant OL★★★to Purdue
Jaedyn McKinstry TE★★★no new school on file
Jalen Holly WR★★★no new school on file
Javonte Kinsey WR★★★no new school on file
Jaylen Jennings RB★★★no new school on file
Jeremiah Banks-Wall OT★★★no new school on file
Marcus Sheppard CB★★★to North Dakota State
Owen Bainbridge QB★★★no new school on file
Willie Jones S★★★no new school on file

And 3 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2023 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Toledo8–⁠011–⁠3
Miami (OH)7–⁠111–⁠3
Ohio6–⁠210–⁠3
Bowling Green5–⁠37–⁠6
Northern Illinois5–⁠37–⁠6
Eastern Michigan4–⁠46–⁠7
Central Michigan3–⁠55–⁠7
Western Michigan3–⁠54–⁠8
Ball State3–⁠54–⁠8
Buffalo3–⁠53–⁠9
Akron1–⁠72–⁠10
Kent State0–⁠81–⁠11

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