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Bowling Green: How’d they get here?
Bowling Green would like to get back to its old winning ways. That’s been the tune surrounding the program, frankly, for a while now. BG has a history of some success in earlier decades, and the program has teetered in and out of relevance since the turn of the millennium.
BG will always get to say it won a small school national championship back in 1959 when Doyt Perry led the school to its first, and so far only, perfect season (9-0 overall, 6-0 MAC). Perry, a former three-sport athlete at BG, won 82.7% of his games as the football team's head coach from 1955-1964. BG was a real winner in the Perry years as it won five league titles. After him, BG won the MAC once more in the 60s, twice more in each of the 80s and 90s, and only two since then (and it’s been a decade since those).
Urban Meyer got his first shot at being a head coach for BG in 2001. After Blackney got BG to a 2-9 record in 2000, Meyer led BG to 8-3 and 9-3 records in his two seasons with the Falcons. Gregg Brandon followed up by getting BG to the newly-created MAC championship game in his first year (2003, lost to Miami at home), then settled for a co-East division championship claim four years later.
BG found some excitement, but it vanished, so BG asked Dave Clawson to reinvigorate the program. By Year #5, Clawson’s team finally delivered with an East championship and a MAC championship victory over #16 Northern Illinois. Clawson left to coach at NC State, and Dino Babers (from Eastern Illinois) kept the excitement going for a second- and third-straight trip to the championship game at Ford Field.
The 2013 through 2015 seasons, when BGSU and NIU ran into each other in Detroit for the league championship, felt like a trilogy. The minute those days were over, they began to feel like a distant past.
2013 (Dave Clawson): 10-4-0 (7-1-0 MAC); MAC Champions
2014 (Dino Babers): 8-6-0 (5-3-0 MAC); MAC East Champions
2015 Dino Babers): 10-4-0 (7-1-0 MAC); MAC Champions
2016 (Mike Jinks): 4-8-0 (3-5-0 MAC)
2017 (Mike Jinks): 2-10-0 (2-6-0 MAC)
2018 (Mike Jinks): 3-9-0 (2-6-0 MAC)
2019 (Scot Loeffler): 3-9-0 (2-6-0 MAC)
2020 (Scot Loeffler): 0-5-0 (0-5-0 MAC)
2021 (Scot Loeffler): 4-8-0 (2-6-0 MAC)
2022 (Scot Loeffler): 6-7-0 (5-3-0 MAC)
2023 (Scot Loeffler): 7-6-0 (5-3-0 MAC)
2024 (Scot Loeffler): 7-6-0 (6-2-0 MAC)
2025 (Eddie George): 4-8-0 (2-6-0 MAC)
The Mike Jinks era, namely, shouldn’t have ever happened. Jinks, a Texas Tech (and Texas high schools) running backs guy, was hired and squashed all of the excitement Clawson and Babers brought.
Scot Loeffler, a Michigan (Brian Griese years) and Urban Meyer (at Florida, Tim Tebow year) guy, took the BG job and, again, needed some time before he got BG to respectable levels. Loeffler, six years later, took an NFL job with the Philadelphia Eagles in February 2025, which didn’t give BG a great amount of time to find a replacement.
BG’s suitor? None other than former Heisman winner at Ohio State, Tennessee Titans all-time great, and… one-time guest of Comedy Bang! Bang! Eddie George.
George, who spent time as an actor after his playing days, appeared on more television channels than coaching staffs. That wouldn’t happen until 2021, when he immediately became the head coach for Tennessee State. His first three seasons were average, then a 9-4 record helped the Tigers get to the FCS playoffs.
The Falcons went 4-8 in 2025, but there was enough reason to buy some patience with George’s rookie MAC coaching season. For one, he was hired a little bit later than he would’ve in a more normal coaching departure (Loeffler had to wait until after the Eagles’ Super Bowl run). And second, the BG quarterbacks just couldn’t stay healthy last year.
BG can always see potential for future success because it’s always able to look back and see what the school accomplished, no matter how fleeting, just years before. This year, Year #2 of George’s leadership, is going to be a big prove-it year for both George as a coach, and for Bowling Green as a longtime member of the MAC.
PLAYERS OF NOTE
RB, Austyn Dendy — Despite playing less than half of his first season with BGSU, Dendy, a second-year transfer from Missouri, is one of the bigger names to watch in the MAC this season. Against Kent State, he broke the school’s freshman debut rushing record with 93 yards and a TD. He finished the year with 493 rushing yards on 108 attempts (4.6 avg.), and 5 scores.
DE, Kade Kostus — Joins BGSU after four years at Central Michigan (28 games, 15 starts, 31 tackles, 5 TFL, 2 sacks). Kostus was a starter for CMU in 2024, but injuries limited him to just four appearances last season.
DT, Eriq George — Second-year transfer from Tennessee State (Second Team All-Big South/OVC in 2024), but more importantly, he’s Eddie George’s son. Last year, the 300-pound D-tackle recorded 26 tackles (4.5 TFL, 4 sacks), played every game and started only once.
LB, Dorian Pringle — Third-year player at Bowling Green who played in all 12 games as a true freshman in 2024, then missed most of 2025 to an ACL tear. Even in just three games last year, Pringle played like he had a huge chip on his shoulder: 29 tackles (17 solo, 6 for loss, 0.5 sack), 1 interception, and 2 forced fumbles.
FS, Kal-El Pascal — Third-year player who has played in all 25 games of his career. Last year as a starter, Pascal was the #2 tackler on the BG defense with 80 stops (37 solo, 3.5 TFL), 1 interception, 6 pass breakups, and 2 forced fumbles.
