What They Said: BGSU Coach Scot Loeffler Talks Michigan Football, J.J. McCarthy, And More

The Bowling Green head coach is extremely familiar with Michigan and its tradition, but will that be enough to put up a fight against the Wolverines on Saturday?

Bowling Green makes the short hike up north to face Michigan on Saturday night. The Falcons are 1-1 after losing to Liberty and defeating Eastern Illinois. Bowling Green's head coach is a familiar name to long-time Michigan fans: Scot Loeffler.

Loeffler, the former quarterback at Michigan from 1993-1996, is in his fifth season as the head coach with BGSU. Loeffler spent some time as quarterbacks coach with the Wolverines from 2002-2007. He is 13-30 at Bowling Green, but the Falcons are coming off of a bowl game appearance a year ago. 

He knows it's going to be a tall task coming in and competing in Ann Arbor. But Loeffler wants to make Michigan one-dimensional if that's possible. Like UNLV and East Carolina have tried to do, take away the Wolverines' run game, but then J.J. McCarthy can slice up with defense.

“Well, you’ve gotta stop something — or you’ve got to try to stop something,” Loeffler said. “Obviously, whenever you can stop the run game, which is a challenge in itself. They get into 12 personnel and 22 personnel, and they go back to some old-school, NFL power-style runs that, to be quite honest with you, not a lot of people run anymore, and they’re hard to fit. You’ve gotta try to slow down their run game and try to get them in a situation where it’s at least a one-dimensional game.”

Loeffler says his staff has been watching the Michigan tape, and like most coaches have been saying, there really isn't a weakness on the team. He gives credit to Jim Harbaugh for recruiting some great talent and Loeffler believes his team is going up against a playoff team this Saturday. 

“We’ve watched the Michigan film,” Loeffler said. “They’re a playoff team. Coach Harbaugh and his staff, I really believe, have done a wonderful job recruiting some of the best talent that I’ve seen at Michigan. They’re super well-coached, they’re developed and, most importantly, they play the game the way it’s supposed to be played. They play with great effort and great technique. So, we’ve got our hands full.

“We look forward to the challenge. Super excited for our kids to go into that great stadium and compete versus a national championship type of team. They’re good. They’re great. There’s not a position on the field that you see that has weakness. I think they’re way better than they were last year. They’re physical, they run to the ball really well, they’re violent, super athletic. I think J.J. [McCarthy] is outstanding. The offensive line reminds me of the five that we had in 1999 that all went in the first round. They’re a very good football team and very well-coached. The thing that’s most impressive is how they play — they play hard.”

The Michigan quarterback is the most accurate thrower in all of football right now. McCarthy is completing 87.3% of his passes through two games. He has thrown for five scores -- all to Roman Wilson. Loeffler says McCarthy will be one of the greats at Michigan before it's all said and done. 

“He’s really good. He’s really come a long way, too,” Loeffler said. “I think the quarterback coach [Kirk Campbell] and obviously Coach Harbaugh being a quarterback guy have done an excellent job with him. He’s got a lot of weapons around him. The running game is ridiculous. The offensive line is their strength, without a doubt. And J.J. can sit back there -- whenever you watch him, it’s like skelly. Literally, they protect really well, the receivers do a great job of creating separation, they find the holes in the zones, they create separation in man coverage."

“He’s accurate and athletic, and he can make plays with his feet. He’s one of those special ones at that position, there’s no question about that. He’ll follow those great quarterbacks that walked through those doors.”

On the other side of the ball, Loeffler is extremely impressed with how Michigan has handled itself on the defensive side of the ball without hardly using Makari Paige or Will Johnson -- and not having used Rod Moore at all. The Wolverines' young players like Keon Sabb, Quinten Johnson, Jyaire Hill, and inexperienced veteran Keshaun Harris have all played well in their absence. 

“I don’t think the two All-Americans have stepped on the field yet,” Loeffler said. “They’re loaded in the back end. That’s what is impressive. Up front, they’re powerful, they play with their hands really well. The linebackers can run. But their secondary, I think, is one of the better secondaries that I’ve ever seen, and when I was there we had some excellent, excellent guys in the back end. I think they’re as talented as they’ve had there.”

Michigan and Bowling Green will take place on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. and will be aired on the Big Ten Network.