BGSU football to renew rivalry with Northern Illinois

BOWLING GREEN — When C.J. Brown steps into Doyt Perry Stadium for Bowling Green State University’s football game against Northern Illinois on Saturday, he will have officially been on both sides of the matchup.

It’s a rivalry that has had a memorable and significant past, and with the Mid-American Conference’s new scheduling format implemented this year, it could have a meaningful future.

“I think it’ll be pretty well, especially for the MAC,” said Brown, a two-time all-MAC safety at Northern Illinois before transferring to BGSU earlier this year. “Back in ’03 they were competitive against each other when College Gameday was here, and a decade ago, a couple MAC titles were between NIU and Bowling Green. So just to restore that because obviously we’re a great team, they’re a great team, and then come out here and compete and see who’s better.”

The Falcons and Huskies will play each other every season under the MAC’s new model after the two teams were paired with Toledo in a three-team pod. BGSU and Northern Illinois haven’t had many matchups recently — they have played just three times in the past eight seasons and not since 2021 — but it would be hard for Falcons fans to forget the showdowns they’ve had this century.

On Oct. 25, 2003, with ESPN’s College Gameday making its first visit to a MAC stadium, the No. 23-ranked Falcons knocked off the No. 12 Huskies 34-18 in front of 31,007 fans, the second largest in stadium history. A decade later started a three-year span of meeting at Ford Field in Detroit with a MAC title on the line.

BGSU topped Northern Illinois 47-27 in the 2013 MAC championship, lost 51-17 in 2014, then tallied a 34-14 victory a year later. The win in 2015 was the Falcons’ last over the Huskies, and BGSU hasn’t won at home over Northern Illinois since the ranked contest in 2003.

“They’ve always been a really good team,” BGSU senior quarterback Connor Bazelak said of Northern Illinois. “They’re a great team this year, and I think playing them is awesome.

“It’s another MAC team that we didn’t play last year, I haven’t played, so it should be a fun game, and I’m excited for it.”

Among the handful of connections between the two schools for Saturday’s game include Brown, who has made an immediate impact for the Falcons after a standout career as a Huskie. The 5-foot-11, 195-pound junior has started all five games this season for BGSU (2-3, 1-0 MAC) and leads the team in total tackles (31) while ranking tied for first in solo tackles (16).

UP NEXT

■ Matchup : Northern Illinois (3-2) at Bowling Green (2-3).

■ When : Saturday, 3:30 p.m.

■ TV : ESPN Plus

■ Follow along : Updates and analysis will be published throughout the game at toledoblade.com .

“He’s playing at a high level,” sixth-year BGSU coach Scot Loeffler said. “He tackles well, so I’m happy with how C.J.’s been playing.”

Brown will be reunited with numerous former players and coaches, including sixth-year Northern Illinois coach Thomas Hammock. Over the next couple of days and during the game, however, his focus is solely on helping the Falcons get a win.

“I think I’m going to pretty much treat it like a normal game because obviously, we’re at home too, so it’s not going to get the real feel of being back in DeKalb. But treat it like a regular game, treat it like similar opponents,” Brown said. “I’m going to know a lot more obviously going into this game.

“It’s going to feel different preparing. But when we go onto the field, it’s going to be normal football.”

Brown said his time at Northern Illinois “meant a lot” to him. He was first-team all-MAC in 2021, as well as the defensive player of the game in the Huskies’ MAC championship win over Kent State when he returned an interception for a touchdown and collected 10 total tackles, including a sack.

Brown was a second-team all-league honoree in 2022, and for his four-year stint with Northern Illinois (35 games), he totaled 206 tackles (110 solo).

“He’s a great player. Great person, great leader,” Bazelak said. “I know he’s really excited for this game, obviously playing against his former teammates and coaches. So he’s fired up for this game.”

Although it is still early in the MAC portion of the schedule, a win over Northern Illinois (3-2, 0-1) would be critical for BGSU. Both teams were picked to finish tied for third in the MAC preseason coaches’ poll, and both have had numerous highs and lows early in the season.

Northern Illinois suffered back-to-back losses by 10 combined points after stunning then-No. 5 Notre Dame 16-14 on Sept. 7 for the MAC’s first victory over a top-five team. BGSU has given each of its opponents, including then-No. 8 Penn State and then-No. 25 Texas A&M, a battle, but has lost its three games by a combined 16 points.

Loeffler is expecting another close fight on Saturday.

“We’re playing one of the better teams, in my opinion, in the Mid-American Conference. I think they’re extremely well coached, my hat’s off to Thomas,” Loeffler said. “Thomas is a great guy, great coach. He’s built a great program, he’s built it on the right stuff. Very similar to what we’ve done.

“… On offense, they’re going to control the ball. It’s a run-first organization with great play-action pass. I think the offensive line is extremely physical. They’ve got a mentality about running the football, I think the backs are outstanding. Overall, I think it is a super well-coached football team, and we’re going to have to play our very best game to give ourselves a chance.”