Facing a must-win game to have a chance for a Mid-American Conference East title, Bowling Green brutally collapsed on its home field Friday night dropping a 40-34 double-overtime decision to Buffalo.

The Falcons led 27-7 with 13:16 remaining in regulation, but faltered on both sides of the ball as the Bulls rallied to secure their first division title since joining the MAC in 1999. Buffalo is 7-4 overall and 5-2 in the MAC, while BG drops to 5-6, 3-4.

“A favor was done here. There is no doubt about it,” said Buffalo head coach Turner Gill. “This season has been outstanding. Our players have demonstrated what kind of chemistry we have, what kind of teamwork we have and the love that they have for everybody on this team.”

After taking the three-touchdown lead, Bowling Green seemed to lose all momentum on offense. BG had three more possessions in the fourth quarter and managed to gain only 24 yards on 16 plays after running 56 plays for 317 yards and putting four scores on the board.

“Offensively we felt that we were still in control. I didn’t think that at any point we lost momentum offensively,” BG quarterback Tyler Sheehan said. “As a team I could kind of feel the momentum shift, but there is going to be momentum shifts in any game you play in.”

Defensively the Falcons went away from their base defense and the Bulls rallied using their two-minute offense to score three touchdowns in 13 minutes.

Buffalo’s three fourth-quarter scoring drives took only 5:29 with 24 plays needed to go 203 yards.

“We just didn’t finish,” said BG senior defensive back Kenny Lewis. “It was obvious, we had chances to make plays and we didn’t make them.

“I think the defense started to play a little passive when we had the lead. We weren’t playing to win, we were playing not to lose.”

With 6:13 remaining in regulation and with a 27-13 lead, Bowling Green held Buffalo at the Bulls 26-yard line.

However, three plays netted only six yards and the Falcons were forced to try a 37-yard field goal, which probably would have iced the game.

Instead holder Derek Brighton dropped the snap and ended up losing nine yards.

Seven plays and 1:36 later it was 27-20 after Drew Willy was 6-of-7 for 71 yards, including a 4-yard scoring pass to Brett Hamlin.

The Bulls’ Alex Pierre recovered the ensuing on-side kick. Buffalo then used 1:50 to go 58 yards in nine plays for a TD. Willy was 6-of-8 passing for 52 yards, including a 5-yard scoring toss to Naam Roosevelt. A.J. Principe’s extra-point kick tied the game with 37 seconds remaining.

 

After the ensuing kickoff, Bowling Green elected to take a knee to run out the clock in regulation rather than taking a shot down the field.

“We thought about it. But you know you throw the ball up and they can make a play,” BG head coach Gregg Brandon said about the play call at the end of regulation. “I think it was smarter. 

“Maybe it was conservative to just sit on it there. I think it was the right thing to do. You got to take care of the football in that situation and get a chance to win it in overtime. And we had a chance.”

In the first overtime, Buffalo scored first on Willy’s 26-yard scoring pass to Brett Hamlin and the PAT kick.

The Falcons countered on their possession with a 23-yard TD pass from Sheehan to Corey Partridge, who made a sliding catch for the score. The PAT kick tied the game.

In the second overtime, BG got the ball first and had a first-and-goal from the 8-yard line after Sheehan’s 17-yard pass to Freddie Barnes.

Then on second down, Anthony Turner rushed the ball to the 1-yard line.

However, Turner fumbled the ball on a third down run with teammate Brandon Curtis recovering at the 2-yard line.

The fourth down play was a pass from Sheehan to Turner in a cluster formation featuring four wide receivers, which had worked previously in the game for the Falcons.

However, Buffalo’s defenders broke up the cluster and the pass was high.

“Buffalo’s defense did an excellent job on that play call,” Sheehan said.

“We probably should have run it,” Brandon said.

James Starks finished off the Falcons on the Bulls’ first play, breaking several tackles to go 25-yards for the deciding touchdown.

“When you control the clock like we did. We were solid on third down. We ran 80 plays and we did everything we could from an offensive and defensive standpoint to win the game. We just didn’t make plays in the end,” Brandon said.

“The on-side kick, we get that, its over. If we handle the snap and kick the field goal, possibly it’s over. We convert on the third-and-four (the play before the field goal attempt) and possibly it’s over,” he continued. “Again it’s about finishing down the stretch which we haven’t done a good job of that this season. We haven’t finished off people when we’ve had leads in the fourth quarter.”