MUNCIE, Indiana (Ticker) -- Back in the coaches poll after a one-week absence, No. 25 Bowling Green tunes up for next week's showdown against Toledo with a visit to Ball State on Saturday.
The Falcons had climbed to 20th before suffering a 33-10 loss at Miami Ohio on November 4 that dropped them out of the rankings. But Bowling Green got back on track last week with a 42-33 victory over Kent State.
The win left Bowling Green tied with Toledo atop the Mid-American Conference West Division. The Falcons, looking to get another shot at Miami Ohio in the MAC championship game, host the Rockets next week in a showdown that will decide the West title. Toledo eliminated Northern Illinois with a 49-30 victory last week.
After fumbling three times at Miami Ohio, Josh Harris regrouped against the Golden Flashes, passing for 324 yards and three touchdowns. Harris needs 231 yards to become the second Bowling Green to pass for more 3,000 yards in a season. He is 496 yards away from breaking the single-season school record of 3,264 yards set by Brian McClure in 1983.
Cole Manger caught nine passes for 88 yards against Kent State, giving him 74 receptions for 916 yards this season. He needs 10 catches to eclipse Robert Redd, who hauled in a school-record 83 passes last year.
Charles Sharon has been hot with 16 receptions for 343 yards in the last three three games. He had a 91-yard TD reception against Kent State, the third-longest pass play in Bowling Green history.
A victory Saturday will give the Falcons, who are second in Division I-A in total offense, three straight eight-win seasons for the first time since 1983-85, when they went 8-3, 11-1 and 11-1.
Ball State (4-7, 3-4) has dropped three in a row, including a 38-14 loss to Eastern Michigan last week. The Cardinals already have set single-season school records for passing yards (2,519) and completions (225). Last week, they attempted 48 passes, tied for the second-highest total in school history.
Senior quarterback Andy Roesch, who suffered a shoulder injury in Ball State's second game of the season, will be making his final appearance for the Cardinals. He returned to the lineup in Ball State's seventh game against Miami Ohio.
Bowling Green leads the all-time series 16-8-1, including a 38-20 victory last season.
