Bowling Green Falcons vs Wisconsin Badgers Preview

Last week, the Falcons were able to pull out a win against a lower tier B1G opponent. Once again, they are facing another B1G team coming off a bye week. Dino Babers offense finally lived up to its name, snapping the ball a record 113 times in the win against Indiana. Now they go into one of the B1G's most electric atmospheres and will try to be the first non-B1G to beat the Badgers at home since 2003.

Wisconsin has won the past two meetings against the Falcons in 2005/06 by a combined point total of 35. As of today, the Badgers are 27-point favorites in Vegas.

Bowling Green's defense will face their toughest task of the season this week, Melvin Gordon. Gordon is this years Heisman hopeful in Madison standing at 6-1 213 lbs. The junior exploded week one against an SEC defense for 140 on only 16 carries.

Last week, the Falcons defense faltered in the second half against IU's Tevin Coleman who ended the game with three TD's and 190 yards on the ground. Dino Babers warned Falcon fans in his weekly press conference, saying that Gordon is a step ahead of Coleman. That's one way to scare everyone who saw last weeks second half.

Before everyone gets off the bandwagon for the second time in this short season, lets look at what the Falcon Fanatics have to look forward to. This weeks game will be broadcasted on ESPN2 at noon ET. Yes, that means no more low quality streams on a 12-inch monitor.

James Knapke is starting to find his rhythm as the BG starter. He attempted a record 73, completing 46, for 395 and three scores. His favorite receiver? Roger Lewis. Knapke targeted Lewis 24 times in Saturdays upset win, completing 16 of those for 149 yards and the game winning TD. The question this week will be if Knapke can handle the pressure of 80,000 lunatics screaming while he tries to get off a snap every thirteen seconds. Babers alluded to the atmosphere in his press conference when explaining that he's never won in Madison while being on other B1G coaching staffs.

It will be interesting to see if the Falcons decide to stack the box against the Badgers similar to what Western Illinois did in week 2. Western Illinois held the Melvin Gordon to 38 yards on 17 carries but gave up 283 yards in the air. So far, it looks like a lose-lose for opposing defenses and will be something to watch considering the inconsistent BG defenders.

One way to put this, these teams are exact opposites. Expect Wisconsin to have the ball two-thirds of the time if they are running like usual. In order to control this game, the will need to punish the Bowling Green defense with their running game. If they keep Dino's offense off the field, you can expect a lop-sided game in Madison. If the Falcons want to pull-off another upset, get the first downs. The way Babers offense is set up, all they need is momentum. We've seen plenty of three and outs for the Falcons this year but when they get just one first down, they usually don't stop until points go on the board.