Bowling Green Falcons at Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders: How to watch, game time, stream, open thread

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.

Charles Dickens' renowned quote, juxtaposing the conflicting emotions in his iconic work A Tale of Two Cities, maintains its relevance long beyond 1859 — this antithesis accurately portrays the feelings experienced by the Bowling Green faithful during the program's 180-degree turnaround in the past few seasons.

The Bowling Green Falcons program reached its summit during the 2013-2015 years, appearing in all three MAC Championship Games during the span and hoisting the conference championship trophy in 2013 and 2015. Last season, Bowling Green notoriously dropped games 77-3 and 77-10 to Memphis and Ohio State, starting 1-7 and missing out on bowl action. After a brief recovery last November, the Falcons have nosedived below sea level to begin 2017.

The free fall commenced after falling to FCS opponent South Dakota at home in Week 2. Bowling Green lost 37-29 to the Coyotes before getting decimated 49-7 at Northwestern in Week 3. The good news for the Falcons is that they have nothing to lose at this point. The team can only trend upward from this point and there are plenty of experiments Mike Jinks can test — such as depth chart rearrangement, play-call adjusting, and attempting new defensive schemes — in order to figure out how to launch the Falcons to the top of the MAC East once again.

In Week 4, the Falcons stay on the road to battle the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders. Middle Tennessee, a Conference USA member, is 1-2, but don't be deceived. The Blue Raiders have challenged themselves with a difficult non-conference schedule, opening 2017 with three-consecutive dates with the Power Five.

Middle Tennessee lost 28-6 to the Vanderbilt Commodores (3-0) and their relentless defense. The Blue Raiders rebounded nicely with a solid win in the Carrier Dome against Syracuse (2-1), but could not get the offense into rhythm in a 34-3 blowout at the hands of P.J. Fleck and the Minnesota Golden Gophers (3-0).

Your pertinent information...

Kickoff time: 7:00PM

Television: None

Stream: WatchESPN app, pending cable provider

Weather: Partly sunny, 88°

Line: Middle Tennessee -7

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