What Bowling Green’s head coach said about Penn State ahead of matchup at Beaver Stadium
Bowling Green head coach Scot Loeffler held a press conference Monday ahead of his Falcons’ matchup against Penn State in Beaver Stadium Saturday at noon.
Here’s what Loeffler, who played quarterback at Michigan from 1993-1996 and was on the Wolverines’ staff from 1996-1999 and from 2002-2007, had to say about the Nittany Lions.
On the program in general
“Going to Happy Valley, been there many times. I think Coach Franklin and his staff has done an unbelievable job. You look at their talent and it’s as good [of a] Penn State team as I’ve seen in a long time. They don’t have too many holes at all, if any. And I think he’s done a super job recruiting, a super job developing the team, really well coached, super talented. They’ll make a run, in my opinion, for the Big Ten Championship. I think that’s the type of caliber of team that we’re facing this weekend.”
On Beaver Stadium compared to Michigan Stadium, where Bowling Green played in 2023
“I think both places are awesome to play at. I think this is my either eighth or ninth trip to Happy Valley. I think the student section rocks. Football is important at Penn State, as well as it is in Ann Arbor. It’s one of those top five special places in the country, and the people do an unbelievable job supporting their team. And just like I said, this team reminds me a lot of the Michigan team last year. I think they’re super talented. I think they’ve got every piece that it takes to win it, and very impressed and not shocked that Coach Franklin has done such a good job of developing such a great roster.”
On playing in difficult environments
“We’ve played in some really great places, Tennessee, the Big House, and then now going to Happy Valley. There’s a lot of challenge to it. There’s a lot of challenge with communication. We got to be on point. We got to know exactly what to do, because it is hard to hear. It is a loud place, the student section will be rocking and rolling. There’ll be an unbelievable amount of people when you’re just warming up. I remember always taking the quarterbacks out to warm up there, and the entire student section is packed whenever we were the first people to go out to warm up. So it’s important there, they do a great job with supporting their team.”
On Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Allen
“Yeah, I’ve got a ton of respect for Coach Allen. There’s some guys that have played for me that had been their coordinators before, Tom’s coordinator. And I think he does a great job in every aspect. They’re fundamentally sound. Their scheme is great. Their gap integrity is off the charts. And on top of (that) they have really good players. I’m talking really good players. Super impressed with, obviously, the front. The front seven is ridiculous. Number 11 (Abdul Carter), will be another one of those great defensive ends that will get drafted in the first round. He’s a first round draft pick, and I think their back end. That’s where I think they’re completely different in comparison to when I used to play against them in the Big 10. I think their secondary is lights out. I think they all can run. They’re long, they’re physical, and I bet you Coach Allen’s having a ton of fun coaching this group because they are super talented.”
On preparing for Penn State
“Yeah, it’s a little bit of a challenge for us on offense, because Coach Allen hasn’t called [the defense] in a while. So you know, you’re digging up old film of when he did call it. You’re obviously putting a ton of stock into the film that that was from this Saturday against West Virginia. Offensively, we’re somewhat familiar with the offensive coordinator because he was at Buffalo and then he was at Kansas. We study Kansas’ tape all the time. I think offensively, Penn State does a great job with a bunch of different personnel groupings similar to us. There’s plays off of plays, very similar to how we do it. They’re trying to set up plays based upon what type of sets, formations, run schemes and the play actions off of it all marry. I think he does a great job. And very similar to the defensive side of the ball, I think the offensive line is very good. Guy that I worked with coaches the offensive line, and I think he does a great job, along with Frank Leonard helping out over there. And then I think the quarterback is outstanding, the backs are great. So it’s a great formula. You know, anytime that you’ve got a good offensive line, you can run the ball and play great defense, it’s hard to beat.”
