Falcons notebook: No headsets, no problem

Bowling Green's P.J. Pope dives past Temple's Ryan Gore for one of his four touchdowns. Pope rushed for 106 yards on eight carries.

PHILADELPHIA - Bowling Green had problems with its headsets in yesterday's game at Temple.

Of course, that wasn't much of a problem in the Falcons' 70-16 victory.

On offense, the headset that connected coordinator Greg Studrawa in the press box with quarterbacks coach Mick McCall on the sidelines was the only one that worked. Defensive coordinator Tim Beckman's headset didn't work, forcing him to come down from the press box. And head coach Gregg Brandon went headset-free all game long.

"I didn't get to wear headphones today, and 'Stud' and 'Beck' were probably pretty happy about that," Brandon said. "My coaches are probably going to think we're onto something now, but not so fast."

The one offensive headset that worked was enough for Studrawa to direct the offense from the press box. The Falcons rolled to 639 yards of total offense and posted the fourth-highest point total in school history.

"Basically we called the game from the press box," Brandon said. "We lined up in a formation, and Omar would get the signal from the boundary that 'Stud' was calling from the box. We felt when we lined up in a formation we could get them to show us their defense, and that's what they did."

What made the Falcons' offensive output more impressive is that Brandon said BG pared down its offense from its first three games.

"We stayed in basically two formations in the first half, what we call solo and trio," he said. Meanwhile, Beckman called the defenses from the sidelines and the Falcons limited Temple to just 294 yards of total offense, the lowest total for an opponent all season.

HANG ON: After Jacobs' first-quarter interception the Falcons did not have a turnover the rest of the game.

BG forced two fumbles, recovering one that halted a Temple drive that had moved inside the Falcon red zone.

For the season BG has forced seven turnovers while losing the ball four times for a plus-three margin. Last season the Falcons were minus-six in that category to rank 11th in the MAC.

THREE-DOT DATA: With his 10 point-after touchdown kicks, Shaun Suisham became BG's all-time career scoring leader with 285 points. He passed quarterback Josh Harris, who scored 284 points from 2000-03. Suisham, who tied the MAC record for PAT kicks in a game, moved into 11th place on the league's career scoring list. ... The win was the Falcons' 13th straight win when they compile 500 or more yards of total offense and 12th straight victory when BG holds the opposition under 100 yards rushing. ... BG now is 8-2 against BCS-affiliated schools since 2001, the best record in the MAC. ... The Falcons now are 8-1 following a loss since 2001, including a 4-1 mark on the road. ... BG's 28 points in the second quarter tied the MAC record set by Toledo against Davidson in 1969 and tied by Marshall against East Carolina in 2001. ... The defeat was the worst for the Owls since Miami (Fla.) pounded them 55-0 in 1999.

THE LAST WORD: P.J. Pope was asked which of his touchdowns plays was more exciting: Extending parallel to the ground to catch a 28-yard TD pass or running 77 yards for a score.

"I liked them both; I don't have a favorite," Pope said. "A touchdown is a touchdown. It's the first time I scored this year, so it felt good to get one."