CANTON — Jordan Oladokun returned to Bowling Green State University’s football team this year for a reason.
So did a lot of his other senior teammates, and that reason has a realistic opportunity of coming to fruition in a handful of months.
“To be honest, it’s the reason I came back to Bowling Green — to leave a legacy and win a (Mid-American Conference) championship,” Oladokun said during Friday’s MAC media day at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton.
“We haven’t done it since 2015. We’ve seen a lot of bad days here, so really turning that page around for Bowling Green, we’ve done that already. Now, it’s time to win the MAC championship. We’re ready and we have 30-plus seniors to do it. We’re ready. We’re ready to do it this year.”
With 32 seniors on the roster — most of whom have been with the program for multiple seasons — and arguably the most amount of talent and experience in head coach Scot Loeffler’s six years as coach, the Falcons have their sights set on winning their first league championship in nine years. BGSU has had a productive summer with workouts and other organized team activities, and perhaps more importantly, the Falcons are getting healthier.
“I think we’ll be able to walk into training camp a week from this coming Sunday with everyone set and ready to go,” Loeffler said.
The 2023 campaign was another step forward in the Loeffler era as BGSU (7-6, 5-3 MAC) posted its first winning season in eight years. The Falcons were one of the hottest teams in the league the last half of the season in winning five of their last seven games. The only losses were a 32-31 last-minute defeat to Toledo and a 30-24 setback to Minnesota in the Quick Lane Bowl.
BGSU was picked to finish tied for third with Northern Illinois in the 2024 MAC preseason coaches’ poll. Defending champion Miami and Toledo were chosen first and second, respectively.
“We know that we have a legitimate shot this year, and it’s probably the first shot for guys like me and [defensive lineman Anthony] Hawkins, who have been here since 2020, almost when Loeffler first got here, that we can potentially do it,” BGSU senior offensive lineman and third-team All-MAC honoree Alex Wollschlaeger said. “On top of it, for those fifth-year or fourth-year guys who might be playing their last year, it’s really cool to be able to get the respect that we’ve deserved and kind of put that on the field for people to see.”
Seniors like Oladokun, a second-team all-league cornerback in 2023, have a common mindset of doing anything it takes to bring home the MAC championship trophy from Ford Field in Detroit later this year. Staying at BGSU to do it was something Oladokun certainly wanted.
When news of transfer portal entries was flooding social media outlets in December, BGSU’s football account on X, formerly known as Twitter, started posting messages of who was coming back for the Falcons.
Oladokun was first on Dec. 5.
A whole lot of others weren’t far behind.
“It’s an honor to come back and play for Bowling Green, and that’s what we wanted to do,” said Oladokun, who spent the 2021 season at Samford before coming to northwest Ohio. “I wanted to show that, you know what, it’s an honor to come back to play and for everyone that may have thought because I had a good year that I was going to leave that no, I’m staying. I want to win here.”
Added Loeffler: “They made a decision in December. They made a decision, we had 15 guys that could’ve transferred, probably would’ve made more money than I do, no question. They made a decision, 12 made a decision that they were going to stay.”
Oladokun will be one of the anchors of a defense that finished tied for first in the FBS with 28 turnovers forced in 2023. He had four of BGSU’s 17 interceptions.
Offensively, the Falcons have plenty of weapons as well. Senior quarterback Connor Bazelak, who was playing his best ball of the 2023 season down the stretch, said he is close to 100 percent healthy after missing spring practice while recovering from knee surgery.
“I’m pretty close. It’s just getting back, starting to do some cutting and deceleration after sprinting,” Bazelak said. “I feel great running. I’m pretty close and just got to keep working.”
For Loeffler, the biggest message he has been preaching to his team has been how the daily habits, actions, and mindset will have a direct outcome in the fall.
“We’re really focusing on us, and then we’ve got to win the war within,” Loeffler said. “In college football, there’s a lot of selfishness going on out there.
“We’ve got to understand it’s all about the team. No one remembers how many interceptions you had, no one remembers how many touchdowns. Everyone remembers if you won it. Whenever you’ve been a part of championship teams like our staff has, we get that, when you win, there’s enough for everyone.”
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