FOOTBALL: Live Blog, Bowling Green up 31-0 at halftime

By David Carducci

Director of New Media

The worst case scenario arrived for Kent State early as Bowling Green jumped out to a quick lead that is making it difficult for the Golden Flashes to follow their gameplan.

While the Falcons have a way of getting teams out of what they want to do, the Flashes have damaged their own hopes with some self-inflicted wounds. Their four penalties for 33 yards were critical in Bowling Green taking a 14-0 lead after the game was a little more than 10 minutes old.

The game was little more than seconds old when KSU was flagged for offsides while booting the opening kickoff.

The most damaging penalty was a running into the kicker call against Najee Murray, who bumped into the leg of BGSU’s Tyler Tate on a missed short field goal that would have kept the Falcons off of the scoreboard on their opening drive. The Falcons drive should have ended even earlier, though, as officials missed a clear holding call that sealed off the left side on a fourth-down conversion run.

Given a second and third life, BGSU converted with a 4-yard Matt Johnson touchdown run at the 9:40 mark of the first quarter.

Instead of walking off the field feeling pretty good about a bend-but-don't-break start, KSU's defense walked off with heads hanging.

It was an early turning point.

The Flashes couldn’t get off the field on third or fourth down again on subsequent drives, adding more penalties including an unsportsmanlike conduct on Elcee Refuge, as the Falcons tacked on a 24-yad Johnson-to-Moore touchdown with 4:38 to play in the first, a 11-yard Johnson-to-Burbrink touchdown pass with 14:35 to go in the second quarter, and a 22-yard Tate field goal with 8:45 to play.

In the first quarter alone, BGSU converted two 4th-and-1’s, a 3rd-and-7, a 3rd-and-10 and a 3rd-and-11.

Blown coverage on a well-executed pick play by Bowling Green led to an easy 58-yard hookup between Johnson and Ronnie Moore with 4:21 to play as the Falcons lead swelled to 31-0.

Kent State’s offense couldn’t do much. The Flashes had only one scoring threat, but that ended with a 39-yard field goal attempt by Shane Hynes hitting the left upright and caroming back into the end zone with 3:01 to play before halftime.

A great catch by Dixon on a 40-yard throw by Bollas provided that lone opportunity. The Flashes added a first down on on a targeting play by BGSU’s Dernard Turner on a post throw inside the Falcons 5. Turner was ejected.

All of the scoring has forced Kent State’s offense to be one dimensional...and this is not an offense that can afford to be pass only.

Kent State has seven rushing attempts against 13 passes. Two other pass plays (the targeting penalty and a pass interference call) don’t show up in the stats.

The stats are pretty ugly:

Bowling Green has out-gained Kent State 387-to-94. Those numbers come on 55 plays run by the BGSU offense against KSU's 23.

The Falcons have 21 first downs to Kent State’s five.

They have also possessed the ball for 18:58 compared to KSU’s 11:02.

On third down, Bowling Green is 9-of-14 while KSU is 1-for-5. The Falcons are also 2-for-2 on fourth down.