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94 GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED U nder second-year coach Dino Babers, Bowling Green has become a furi- ous up-tempo machine, generating more plays last season than all but three programs in FBS. And that offense could be even more efficient in 2015 with the re- turn of its best quarterback from in- jury. It'll probably need to be — the defense appears to have significant work to do. Not that Babers, a former Purdue assistant under Jim Colletto, seems all that concerned about the D. "I don't want to say they don't 8/29 at Western Kentucky . L, 31-59 9/6 VMI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . W, 48-7 9/13 INDIANA . . . . . . . . . . . W, 45-42 9/20 at Wisconsin . . . . . . . L, 17-68 9/27 at UMass . . . . . . . . . . W, 47-42 10/4 BUFFALO . . . . . . . . . . W, 36-35 10/11 at Ohio . . . . . . . . . . . . W, 31-13 10/18 WESTERN MICHIGAN L, 14-26 11/4 at Akron . . . . . . . . . . . W, 27-10 11/12 KENT STATE . . . . . . . . W, 30-20 11/19 at Toledo. . . . . . . . . . . L, 20-27 11/28 BALL STATE . . . . . . . . L, 24-41 12/5 N. ILLINOIS . . . . . . . . L, 17-51 12/20 SOUTH ALABAMA . . . W, 33-28 Who's in Charge? COACH DINO BABERS Record at Bowling Green: 8-6 (first season) Record vs. Purdue: 0-0 Bowling Green Last year, Roger Lewis became the first true freshman in Bowling Green history with at least 1,000 receiving yards. His 73 receptions, 1,093 yards and seven TDs landed him on the All-MAC first team. Bowling Green Falcons 2015 OPPONENT PRE VIE W S E P T. 26 • RO S S - A D E S TA D I U M, W E S T L A FAYE T T E • T I M E: T BA • T V: T BA 9/5 TENNESSEE 9/12 at Maryland 9/19 MEMPHIS 9/26 at Purdue 10/3 at Buffalo 10/10 UMASS 10/17 AKRON 10/24 at Kent State 11/4 OHIO 11/11 at W. Michigan 11/17 TOLEDO 11/24 at Ball State 2014 Results (8-6) 2015 Schedule OF NOTE: Bowling Green is undefeated in Ross-Ade Stadium with wins in 1972 and 2003. The Boilermakers were ranked in each upset, one of only three times in school history a ranked Purdue team lost to a MAC foe. to begin with, but just playing within what the defense does creates a lot of opportunities for them to go in there and wreak some havoc. "I think this year with all guys back on the defensive line, they might be able to create enough pressure with that front four that they don't need to blitz as often, but Bud Foster is a guy who likes to create chaos and likes to throw guys from all sorts of differ- ent angles at the offense to confuse them. I think it's sort of in his DNA to blitz a lot." It should help that there is comfort with the secondary, led by third-team AP All-America cornerback Kendall Fuller. With 15 pass breakups and two interceptions Fuller excelled despite playing with a cast on an injured wrist for most of the season. Though he isn't overwhelmingly fast or physical, he uses a high football IQ and smart positioning for success, Bitter said. Even with as talented as the de- fense should be, the offense is going to have to score something. Another year of experience for former Texas Tech quarterback Mi- chael Brewer (2,692 yards, 18 TDs, 15 INTs) should help. But a shaky line will need to come together — injuries played a role in allowing the third-most sacks (34) in the ACC. Brewer's biggest weapon could be sophomore tight end Bucky Hodges, who uses his 6-foot-6, 250-pound frame as a mismatch when he lines up in the slot, which he did frequent- ly in the spring. Sophomore receivers Isaiah Ford (56-709-6) and Cam Phil- lips (40-498-3) are solid options, too, after playing as true freshmen last year. "They finished 7-6 last year, 6-6 in the regular season, but they had ton of injuries and on top of that, they were a pretty young team," Bitter said. "I think you take all that stuff and put it together, I think there's some hope and optimism that this offense could maybe turn a little bit of a corner this year." — Stacy Clardie