BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (AP) - Chris Jones and Gabe Martin had 2.5 sacks each and Jones returned a fumble for a touchdown as Bowling Green smothered Eastern Michigan 24-3 Saturday.
The Falcons (6-3, 4-1 Mid-American Conference) won their fifth straight. They've allowed just 33 points and three touchdowns in those five games and haven't given up a touchdown in their last two.
Eastern Michigan (1-7, 0-4), which had gained 1,201 yards in its past two games, was held to 178 by the Falcons, who limited Massachusetts to 118 yards in a 24-0 win last week.
Jones punctuated the effort with a 23-yard touchdown return after Martin sacked Eastern Michigan's Tyler Benz.
A trick play gave Bowling Green an early 7-0 lead. Jordan Hopgood took a backward pass from Matt Schilz and hit a wide-open Shaun Joplin for a 53-yard score.
John Pettigrew carried 24 times for 136 yards for the Falcons, who became bowl-eligible.
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| Scoring Summary |
| BGREEN | Shaun Joplin 53 yd pass from Jordan Hopgood (Stephen Stein kick) |
| EMICH | Dylan Mulder 42 yd FG |
| BGREEN | Andre Givens 27 yd run (Stephen Stein kick) |
| BGREEN | Chris Jones 23 yd fumble return (Stephen Stein kick) |
| BGREEN | Tyler Tate 28 yd FG |
| Team Stats | ||
| EMICH | BGREEN | |
| First Downs | 11 | 16 |
| Third Down Efficiency | 3-12 | 7-15 |
| Fourth Down Efficiency | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Plays-Net Yards | 51-178 | 62-356 |
| Rushes-Yds | 27-64 | 41-225 |
| Passing Yds | 114 | 131 |
| Kick Return Yds | 122 | 32 |
| Punt Return Yds | -1 | 16 |
| Passes | 11-24-1 | 10-21-0 |
| Punts | 8-313 | 6-240 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 2-2 | 1-0 |
| Penalties-Yds | 4-35 | 7-61 |
| Time of Poss. | 25:10 | 34:50 |
| Individual Stats |
| RUSHING |
| EMICH: Bronson Hill 13-57, Ryan Brumfield 4-22, Alex Gillett 1-3, Tyler Benz 9--18 |
| BGREEN: John Pettigrew 24-136, Jordan Hopgood 7-61, Andre Givens 4-29, Matt Schilz 4-3, Team 2--4 |
| PASSING |
| EMICH: Tyler Benz 11-24-114-1 |
| BGREEN: Matt Schilz 9-20-78-0, Jordan Hopgood 1-1-53-0 |
| RECEIVING |
| EMICH: Demarius Reed 4-18, Tyreese Russell 2-50, Donald Scott 2-24, Dustin Creel 2-14, Garrett Hoskins 1-8 |
| BGREEN: Alex Bayer 3-29, Shaun Joplin 2-58, John Pettigrew 2-21, Chris Gallon 2-10, Ryan Burbrink 1-13 |
| Standings | |||
| Team | Standings | Conference | Overall |
| Eastern Michigan | 6th Mid American West | 1-7 | 2-10 |
| Bowling Green | 2nd Mid American East | 6-2 | 8-5 |
