BGSU History • Falcon Tradition BGSU History
Buffalo and Temple, surpassing their victory total of the previous year. BGSU posted its first winning season since 1994 when it reeled off three straight wins to end the season. The Falcons’ 43-42 victory at Northwestern made them the first MAC team to ever defeat three teams from BCS conferences in a single season. The Falcons ended the season six days later with a 56-21 pasting of MAC Champion Toledo. In 2002, BGSU roared to an 8-0 start including wins over Missouri and Kansas and were ranked in both the AP and Coaches polls at the same time for the first time in school history.
Paul Miles is second on the BG career rushing list with 3,238 yards while he is also the only football player to have his number retired. At the time of his graduation, he was only the third running back in NCAA history to rush for 1,000 yards in three consecutive seasons.
He would rewrite the BG and MAC record books before his career was over, setting five NCAA records as well. McClure still holds numerous school and MAC records. In 1991, Gary Blackney was tabbed as the 14th head football coach, and much like the arrival of McClure, he made an immediate impact on the program. In his first season, he took a team which compiled a 3-5-2 mark the previous season and molded them into an 11-1 squad, going undefeated in the MAC while winning the program’s first bowl game.
Meyer’s offensive coordinator, Gregg Brandon, took over as head coach in December, 2002, and guided the Falcons to their first-ever MAC West title and Motor City Bowl Championship and finished ranked in the top 25 (No. 23) in both major polls at the end of a season for the first-time in school history. One player who links Blackney, Meyer and Brandon was All-American quarterback Josh Harris. The Westerville, Ohio native came to BGSU with the intention of sitting out the 2000 season as a redshirt, but was pressed into duty when injuries decimated the Falcon backfield. Serving as a running back and kick returner for the bulk of the season, Harris showed signs of greatness in glimpses and even started his first career game on ESPN against Toledo. Meyer took over the program the following season and inserted Harris into the starting
The following season was more of the same as the Falcons were again perfect in league play and a win over Nevada in the first Las Vegas Bowl made it back-to-back bowl victories. The 1993 squad would extend the conference winning streak to a league-record 19 games while going unbeaten in the first 22 MAC games of Blackney’s tenure. Urban Meyer took over the reins of the Falcon program in 2001 and engineered the top turnaround in Division IA. The Falcons opened the Meyer era with an impressive road win at Missouri and followed that up with wins over
2012 BGSU Football Media Guide
Coach Gregg Brandon and assistant coach Dennis Springer celebrate the Falcons’ 27-26 win over No. 16 Purdue.
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The Mid-American Conference title won by the 1991 team was the first of two consecutive championships. The 1991 team won all eight of its MAC games, the first of what would turn into a league-record 19-game winning streak.
lineup for good in the ninth game of the season and watched his team win 11 straight games over the next two seasons and earn its first national ranking since 1985. The Motor City Bowl MVP guided the Falcons to a 6-1 record in three seasons as a starter against BCS competition. The 2003 season gave BGSU its highest national profile and elevated the program to new heights. Longtime Falcon fans have viewed the program’s 1972 win over the Boilermakers as one of the biggest in BGSU history. Well, lightning strikes twice. While Purdue entered the day with a No. 16 national ranking and visions of BCS aspirations dancing in their heads, the Falcons were able to keep it close and the Falcons converted twice on fourth down,
Charles Sharon hauls in this 32-yard touchdown pass with 2:08 left in BGSU’s upset win over Purdue in 2003.