The End Zone: BGSU 09-09

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For some Bowling Green football fans, Jan. 6, 2008 will leave a bad taste in their mouths.

On that day Tulsa set a record for the widest margin of victory in a bowl game, humiliating the Falcons 63-7 in the GMAC Bowl. To add insult to injury, the Golden Hurricane left starters in the blowout to help them set school and NCAA season records.

“They had a lot of back-ups in on the line, but they kept a lot of their skill guys in,” said senior defensive tackle Angelo Magnone, who played in the game. “You can look at it as if they were still throwing the ball and running it up, or you can look at it as some of their players staying in their last college game.”

Many Falcon fans look at Saturday's game as a chance to gain a payback, or at least send a message, to Tulsa's program.

Well, here's a message: Get over it.

Magnone admitted that 80 percent of the current Falcon roster wasn't around for that game. And coach Dave Clawson said using a past slight for motivation usually isn't effective.

“A lot of coaches get into revenge and all that, but I think that type of motivation wears off in about three minutes,” Clawson said. “If we focus on what happened three years ago, I think we're devoting our energy the wrong way. I think you focus week to week on what you need to do to be successful.”