Penn State's a BigTen Contender, Bowling Green's Scot Loeffler Says

Loeffler, who lavished praise on the Nittany Lions, has led Bowling Green to some impressive wins as an underdog.

Bowling Green Falcons head coach Scot Loeffler reacts to the officials during a game against UCLA at the Rose Bowl. / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

On past visits to Beaver Stadium, notably as Michigan's quarterbacks coach, Scot Loeffler walked the field pre-game with his quarterbacks under a blanket of noise. He remembers the Penn State student section filling the bleachers long before kickoff and even making pre-game conversations a challenge.

Loeffler also remembers some of those Penn State defensive backfields he coached against. They barely resemble the one his Bowling Green team will face Saturday on the road.

"Their [secondary], that's where they're completely different than when I used to play against them in the Big Ten," Loeffler, Bowling Green's fifth-year head coach, said this week. "Their secondary is lights out."

Though he's making his first trip to Beaver Stadium as a head coach, Loeffler is quite familiar with the surroundings from his nearly three-decade career. The former Michigan quarterback has been to Beaver Stadium several times with the Wolverines as a graduate assistant and quarterbacks coach, a position he held from 2002-07.

Loeffler was a Michigan student assistant in 1997, when the Wolverines routed unbeaten Penn State 34-8 on their way to the national championship. And he was Michigan's quarterbacks coach in 2005, when Chad Henne threw the last-second touchdown pass to Mario Manningham that ended Penn State's potential undefeated season.

Now at Bowling Green, Loeffler views Penn State from a different perspective. After the No. 8 Nittany Lions handled West Virginia 34-12 last week, Loeffler said he expects to see a Big Ten contender on Saturday.

"It’s as good a Penn State team as I’ve seen in a long time," Loeffler said. "They don’t have too many holes at all, if any, and I think [Penn State coach James] Franklin has done a super job recruiting and a super job developing the team. They're 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 we're facing this weekend."

RELATED: Penn State vs. Bowling Green preview, predictions

Loeffler lavished praise across Penn State's roster but was particularly impressed with a defense that allowed just one touchdown and 85 yards rushing at West Virginia. Loeffler became the latest coach to scout Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter as a first-round NFL draft pick. He called the Nittany Lions' defensive front seven "ridiculous." And he referenced a secondary that looked fast, aggressive and deep against the Mountaineers.

"I bet [defensive coordinator Tom] Allen is having a ton of fun coaching this group," Loeffler said.

There are some unique ties between the rosters. Loeffler worked with Penn State offensive line coach Phil Trautwein and analyst Frank Leonard at Boston College in 2018. And Allen is quite familiar with Bowling Green quarterback Connor Bazelak, who was his starting quarterback in 2022, when Allen was head coach at Indiana.

Loeffler called Beaver Stadium "one of those top-five special places in the country," adding that the "student section rocks." But, as Franklin said, Bowling Green has won in some hot spots recently. Bowling Green has won five games since 2021 as a double-digit underdog. As the program noted in its weekly release, no other FBS program has done that.

RELATED: Keys to the Penn State-Bowling Green game

Bowling Green won at Minnesota (a 31-point favorite) and Buffalo (a 14.5-point favorite) in 2021. Last year it won at Georgia Tech as a 21.5-point underdog. The Falcons, who defeated Fordham 41-17 in their opener, are 34.5-point underdogs at Penn State, according to FanDuel.

"This team reminds me a lot of the Michigan team last year [which defeated the Falcons 31-6]," Loeffler said. "I think they're super talented. I think they've got every piece that it takes to win it and I'm very impressed, and not shocked, that coach Franklin has done such as good job of developing such a great roster."

Kickoff for the Penn State-Bowling Green game is scheduled for noon ET on Big Ten Network.

More Penn State Football

Penn State announces another $10 million donation for Beaver Stadium renovation

Defensive end Smith Vilbert makes his long-awaited return for the Nittany Lions

Penn State playoff projections after college football's Week 1

Penn State on SI is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on X (or Twitter) @MarkWogenrich.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.