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VOLUME 25, ISSUE 6 95 care about the defense, but you can ask Dino — early in the sea- son (reporters were) hammering him about the defense, 'What's go- ing wrong?' And his response was, 'Well, we're scoring more points, so what does it matter?'" said Thom- as Schmeltz, the beat writer for the Bowling Green Sentinel-Tribune. "That's his only goal, I think. I think that's been his philosophy as long as he's been coaching. That's going to have to be the case to begin this year." The Falcons averaged 30 points and 433 yards per game (41st in FBS) behind a passing offense that ranked 40th in the country (259.9 ypg). But it was more how Bowling Green ran its offense. In Babers' first season, he imple- mented an offense that he's called "70 percent" Baylor's no-huddle playbook — he coached under Art Briles — and also factors in Ohio's weather with more sets under cen- ter and using more run-heavy sets. The Falcons ran 1,103 plays, an av- erage of nearly 79 per game. And that largely was with a re- serve quarterback after starter Matt Johnson suffered a season-ending hip injury in Week 1. Backup James Knapke guided the Falcons to an 8-6 record and bowl game victory, but expectations are higher with Johnson at the helm. In 2013, he threw for 3,500 yards and 25 TDs and led BG to a MAC championship. "Matt is just so smart," Schmeltz said. "He reads the defense very well. It seems like when he gets to the line of scrimmage, he knows what the defense is going to be doing already. Matt has the abil- ity to get outside the pocket and run, which obviously helps, but his biggest thing is his ability to read the defense and make smart deci- sions." All of Johnson's supporting cast is back. First-team All-MAC receiver Rog- er Lewis was the first true fresh- man in school history with at least 1,000 receiving yards — he caught 73 passes for 1,093 and seven touchdowns. The second and third top options are back, too, with se- nior Ryan Burbrink (64-758-3) and junior Ronnie Moore (56-690-5). Senior running back Travis Greene had 949 yards and 12 touch- downs rushing last season. The offensive line is largely in- tact, as well, led by two-time all-con- ference right guard Alex Huettel. The defense appears to be in a tougher spot. The unit already had to replace seven starters, including two all-conference players and a start- ing DB, and then first-year defen- sive coordinator Brian Ward in- stalled a new scheme this spring. The group wasn't particularly successful in 2014 either — rank- ing 122nd (out of 125) in pass de- fense, 115th in total defense and 106th in scoring defense — so maybe the infusion of new players and a new scheme could help ener- gize the group. "I think the defensive coaching change is going to help, but I don't think the guys that they're losing is going to help. The guys they lost were big pieces," Schmeltz said. "They seem to really like Brian Ward. They like what he's doing. But, personally, I just don't know with the players they have that are filling in, it's going to be tough to have a solid year (on defense). "But I think (the team will) be in a better place this year. You look at the non-conference sched- ule and by the end of the season, they could easily be 6-6 and in the MAC championship game, and that would probably be a fairly success- ful season." — Stacy Clardie Close Calls Against Big Boys G O L D A N D B L AC K 'S E A R LY L I N E : P U R D U E - 2 Since 2012, Bowling Green has played four games against Power Five opponents decided by two touchdowns or less. 2012 at Florida, L 27-24 2013 at Mississippi State, L 21-20 2013 vs. Pittsburgh, L 30-27 2014 vs. Indiana , W 45-42