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FACTS & STATS: Site: Dix Stadium (25,000) -- Kent, Ohio. Television: FSN-OH. Home Record: BGSU 1-2, KSU 2-1. Away Record: BGSU 0-2, KSU 0-2. Neutral Record: BGSU 0-0, KSU 0-0. Conference Record: BGSU 0-1, KSU 1-0. Series Record: Bowling Green leads, 54-16-6.

GAME NOTES: The Falcons will try to snap their recent skid when Bowling Green travels to Kent State to take on the Golden Flashes in a Mid-American Conference battle this Saturday afternoon at Dix Stadium.

The Falcons opened the new year with a 31-14 victory over Troy, but since then the team has dropped four consecutive matchups. Last week Bowling Green was upended by conference foe Ohio, 44-37. BGSU won just six games last year, but surprisingly five wins came on the road. However, this season the Falcons are winless in two matchups as the visitor.

As for the Golden Flashes, they are coming off a 31-15 setback to Baylor. It was the third loss on the season for Kent State, which is 1-0 in league play after defeating Miami-Ohio, 29-19, on September 26th. However, playing against MAC opponents has been troublesome for the Golden Flashes over the two past seasons, as the team is just 4-12 against league foes.

The Falcons have dominated this series against Kent State, winning seven of the last eight meetings, while posting a commanding 54-16-6 edge overall.

The Falcons have lived off the pass this season, as the team comes into this weekend averaging 301.4 ypg through the air. Overall, the offensive unit for BGSU is producing 371.6 ypg, and that has translated to just 22.4 ppg. Tyler Sheehan has been one of the top quarterbacks in the conference, completing 63.5 percent of his throws for 1,455 yards and has seven touchdowns against three interceptions. Freddie Barnes has thrived off the success of the passing attack, as the wideout has hauled in 53 passes for 444 yards and two scores. The last time BGSU was in action the team put up 37 points on the scoreboard, but still fell to Ohio by a seven-point margin. The Falcons soared offensively, racking up 474 total yards, but once again the majority of the team's success came through the air, as Sheehan threw for 390 yards and two touchdowns. Barnes continued his incredible season in the loss, leading the team with seven receptions and 84 yards. Unfortunately the ground game was bottled up once again, as the Falcons finished with just 84 rushing yards on 2.5 yards per attempt.

The Falcons have been inconsistent defensively, as the team is surrendering 390.2 total ypg, and that has led to 30.2 ppg. The main issue has been the inability to stop the run, as opponents are gashing Bowling Green for 190.2 ypg on the ground, and out of the 19 touchdowns allowed by this unit, 11 have come via the run. The team has also been void of the big play, recording just six takeaways and five sacks in the first five contests. In the team's recent loss to Ohio, it was once again Bowing Green's inability to stop the run that did the team in, as the Falcons were punished for 216 yards and three touchdowns on 6.2 yards per attempt. Overall the defense surrendered 419 yards and finished the game with only one takeaway and did not get to the opposing quarterback once.

The Golden Flashes have not been very golden offensively this season, as the team heads into this matchup averaging just 299.8 total yards per contest, and that has led to just 16.6 ppg. KSU has scored just nine offensive touchdowns thus far, and the ground and passing games have struggled tremendously. The Golden Flashes are only churning out 117.6 ypg on 3.5 yards per attempt, while also posting a mere 182.2 ypg through the air. However, there is reason to be optimistic, thanks to the emergence of Spencer Keith and Jacquise Terry. Keith has taken over as the starting quarterback for the Flashes and has completed 60.2 percent of his throws for 587 yards and four touchdowns, while Terry has started just one of the five games, but overall the tailback is leading the team with 212 yards on a whopping 7.9 yards per carry. In the recent loss to Baylor, the Flashes only posted 15 points, but the team racked up 424 total yards. Keith threw for 206 yards in the contest, but also tossed an interception on 21-of-39 passing. As for Terry, he rumbled for 109 yards and one score on an eye-popping 9.1 ypc.

Defensively the Golden Flashes have been abused by the opposition, allowing 372.8 total ypg, but fortunately that only led to 23.6 ppg. Kent State is allowing 210.6 ypg through the air, but it has been the team's inability to stop the run that has hampered the defense, as opponents are gashing KSU for 162.2 ypg and out of the 14 touchdowns allowed by this unit, nine have come via the run. What has helped this squad has been its ability to make big plays, as the team has forced 13 turnovers (five interceptions and eight sacks), while also grabbing 10 sacks. However, against Baylor on Saturday the defense only forced one turnover, but did hold the Bears to 374 total yards. What hurt Kent State was once again its run defense, as the Bears pounded the defensive unit for 158 yards and four touchdowns on 45 carries. The Flashes limited Baylor to just 3-of-14 on third down attempts, but did allow the Bears to convert on 3-of-4 red zone chances.

The Golden Flashes' weakness has been their run defense, but running the ball has been a problem for Bowling Green. If Kent State can limit Sheehan and Barnes, then look for the Flashes to improve to 2-0 in league action.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Kent State 27, Bowling Green 24