University of Missouri
Bowling Green
Tigers Fall To Falcons, 51-28
9/14/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept 14, 2002
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Josh Harris passed for 311 yards, caught a touchdown pass and had two short scoring runs to lead Bowling Green to a 51-28 victory over Missouri on Saturday night.
Wide receiver Cole Magner threw two scoring passes for the Falcons (2-0), who put up 557 yards of offense. Robert Redd caught 10 passes for 209 yards and a touchdown for Bowling Green, and James Hawkins had five catches for 112 yards.
Brad Smith was 28-of-50 for 334 yards, two touchdowns and an interception for the Tigers (2-1). Justin Gage caught a Missouri-record 16 passes for 236 yards and a touchdown.
The Falcons, playing just their second home game against a Big 12 team, beat the Tigers for the second straight season. Bowling Green won 20-13 in last season's opener in Columbia.
Harris, who completed 16-of-31 passes and rushed for 66 yards on 22 carries, caught a 34-yard touchdown pass from Magner on the game's first possession. Harris took the snap and threw a lateral to Magner, who found his quarterback streaking down the field for a 7-0 lead.
Missouri tied it minutes later on Zack Abron's 2-yard run. Bowling Green went ahead for good on Shaun Suisham's 34-yard field goal with 6:19 left in the first quarter.
Harris added scoring runs of 3 and 2 yards in the second quarter to help Bowling Green go up 34-14 at the half. The Falcons have scored 191 points in four games since Harris became the starter late last season.
Smith pulled Missouri within 13 points early in the third with a 19-yard TD pass to Gage. Bowling Green responded with Magner's second touchdown pass, a 30-yarder to Redd with 8:12 to play in the third.
The Falcons broke 50 points on Mitch Hewitt's 27-yard interception return early in the fourth.
Abron added a late 2-yard touchdown run for Missouri, which was held to 55 yards rushing on 30 carries.
Bowling Green's Joe Alls ran 16 times for 119 yards and a touchdown, a 29-yard run in the first quarter.
