DaytonDailyNews.com

OXFORD — Any resemblance between last year's Bowling Green State University football team and the Falcons who have arrived in Oxford for this afternoon's Mid-American Conference game at Yager Stadium is nonexistent.

Last year's Falcons ran the ball, and ran, and ran, and as they ran, they stumbled in the standings.

They led the MAC in rushing yards and lost their last five games to finish 4-8 overall and 3-5 in the conference. This was not traditional Bowling Green football.

Now the Falcons have returned to their traditional role as MAC contender and on offense are back to basics. Which means one thing.

"They're wide open on offense," Miami RedHawks head coach Shane Montgomery said. "They throw the ball about 75 percent of the time. We'll see a lot of four- and five-wide receiver sets."

Bowling Green's offense is in the hands of sophomore quarterback Tyler Sheehan, and he loves to put the ball in the air.

Sheehan, who played high school football at La Salle in Cincinnati, ranks third in the nation with 30.8 completions per game and eighth with 315.8 passing yards per game.

Bowling Green's 55-24 loss last weekend at Boston College, however, will not be included on Sheehan's highlight reel. He was intercepted four times in the final six minutes of the first half, and two were returned for touchdowns.

"Bowling Green, until last week, had been playing really, really well," Montgomery said.

"Defensively, they're very sound," the Miami coach said. "They're one of those teams that doesn't try to trick you. They've played well at times, at other times they've given up some points. We've got to put some points on the board and keep our defense off the field."

The RedHawks are hoping for good weather today. The Falcons, too. They're due.

Two years ago, Bowling Green's game was delayed for more than two hours by the threat of severe storms approaching Oxford. The severe storms didn't materialize, but wind-swept rain did (once the game did start), and it played a factor in three first-half safeties on Miami punts in a 42-14 victory by the Falcons.

Last fall the weather was just as bad at Bowling Green on Nov. 15 when Miami prevailed 9-7 in what amounted to a pit of mud.

"Last year's game was probably the muddiest game I've ever played in," Miami senior center Steve Meister said. "There was a lot of slipping around. We couldn't get our footing, so we'd just try to get in people's way. There's really no technique at that point."