MAC JUGGERNAUT: Eddie's Bowling Green Will be Fun in 2026
Who do you think you are? I AM!
- Pete Weber, professional bowler
College football has undergone enormous changes over the past 20 years, particularly within the last five. One such development is the great migration that takes place in the Midwest each portal cycle. As a flock of warblers do when temperatures turn frigid, the MAC’s most prominent players fly out of the rustbelt conference and, typically, into second- and third-string roles elsewhere.
But often lost in the great migration are the quiet counter-winds blowing upward—or downward, however you want to think about this analogy. Failed P4 prospects, once highly coveted recruits out of high school, dolefully retreat to this great conference in search of opportunity.
These are usually three and four star prospects who’ve been in college for two or three seasons (though the MAC is no stranger to welcoming in former five stars either). These players have already been exposed to ‘big league’ college football, and are in need of game tape to attract the opportunities at the P4 they hoped to attain out of high school.
It shouldn’t be a surprise then that so often the best players in this conference started their careers elsewhere in the P4. Could that be the case for Bowling Green in 2026?
Two Potential Program Cornerstones for 2026
Bowling’s latest transfer, QB Austin Novosad, may very well be one of the highest rated high school QBs to ever throw passes in the MAC. The former four star from Texas began his career at Oregon in 2023, choosing the Ducks over offers from Ohio State, TCU, Texas A&M and Notre Dame, among others.
While his high school pedigree is great, it’s fair to say that we don’t really know how good Novosad is. He made the seemingly fatal mistake of committing—as a QB—to Oregon, who traditionally shop in the portal for pivots rather than promote from within. Thus, Novosad found himself riding the pine for three seasons; first behind OU/UCF transfer Dillon Gabriel, and then UCLA transfer Dante Moore.
Across three years in college, Novosad attempted a grand total of 15 passes, and zero rush attempts.
So, in the absence of any meaningful CFB data, we look towards his evaluation coming out of high school. Here’s what Gabe Brooks of 247 Sports had to say on Novosad:
Good height and length with big hands and a lean, athletic frame. Should be able to add considerable mass. Physical upside is a plus.
Excels delivering from the pocket over the middle in the short-to-intermediate passing game. Has shown impressive ball placement consistency to multiple levels. Particularly dangerous hitting moving targets on slants and other inward-breaking routes.
Keeps the ball fairly high with a relatively overheard release. Ball gets out quickly enough. Generates encouraging throw power on the run.
Good athletic profile that includes experience in the 110-meter hurdles, 300-meter hurdles, and triple jump. Also owns solid combine testing data.
Enormous production across three full varsity seasons. Averaged about 275 passing yards per game across nearly three dozen contests from 2020-22.
Sometimes requires noticeable load-up to push the ball downfield. Will need over-the-middle intermediate velocity to translate to similar throws outside the numbers. Was not asked to run much in high school, but still can translate multi-sport athleticism better to QB position when required to run.
Considered among the top quarterbacks in Texas and nationally in the 2023 recruiting class. Projects as a high-major prospect and potential multi-year impact starter with a long-term ceiling that leads to serious NFL Draft consideration.
As mentioned above, this conference is no stranger to producing future stars who came with limited or no resumes in the collegiate game. The “big fish, little pond” theorem is one of CFFers’ favourite doctrines, and it isn’t hard to envision a path to relevancy here for the former four star from Texas. He still has to win the job, and if he can’t, that tells us all we need to know.
At RB is one of my favourite players for 2026—returning workhorse Austyn Dendy, who was a transfer from Missouri in the 2025 offseason. The redshirt sophomore was listed as an ATH/WR prospect in high school, with a versatile projection including positions of RB, S, and WR.
Dare I say, the BGSU staff convincing him to return after his finish last season may be one of the greatest coups of 2026.
Dendy enrolled as a safety prospect at Missouri, but did not make an appearance, redshirting in 2024. Ultimately, he appears to have landed at RB, and if his final five games are any indication for 2026, he’ll be a focus in this system under head coach Eddie George.
You remember Eddie, right? Ironically, he was a similar sized commodity to his young scion, standing at 6 feet two inches tall, and 238 pounds with Ohio State in the 90s. Dendy is currently listed at 6’1, 225 pounds. Close enough. The weight difference isn’t anything a little offseason regiment in the progrum can’t solve.
I imagine George’s presence was probably a selling point for Dendy, and also part of how BGSU managed to retain him this offseason, which is nothing short of a miracle in my opinion. Did I mention that already?
Dendy wears #14 currently, but it would be pretty gangster if he swapped to Eddie’s old number (while also playing in the state of Ohio, go figure). A man can dream, at least.
Of course, like many MAC programs, there was a lot of attrition for the Bowling Green Falcons during 2026’s transfer period. RBs Cameron Pettaway and Mar’Kel Porter saw the writing on the wall and defected to Iowa State and Northwestern, respectively. That leaves Ke'Marion Baldwin and Nakai Amachree as the primary competitors for touches out of the backfield.
QB Lucian Anderson transferred to South Carolina. WR RJ Garcia to FAU. TE Jacob Harris to Wisconsin. Other receivers like Caleb Goodloe are still in the portal.
I don’t know who’s going to be catching passes for this squad but the cornerstones of the backfield look set, which is a good start.
Unfortunately, like most MAC programs, BGSU opens the season with somewhat of a murderer’s row (relatively speaking): Nebraska, Iowa State and USF round out the September schedule after opening against FCS school Tarleton State, who are usually one of the stronger teams in the lower division.
After that, however, the flood gates should open. Thinking about some of the most productive RBs that originated from the MAC in recent years, Penny Boone’s 2023 output of 1400 yards, Carson Steele’s 1556 yards in 2022, and Lew Nichols’ legendary torching in 2021 that netted him 1800+ yards round out the most prolific runners since COVID.
On average, the MAC produces 4.6 RBs per season that hit 1000+ rushing yards, though the top rusher has been less productive lately relative to the earlier 2020s. Sieh “Bang Man” Bangura led the way in ‘25 with 1300 yards, and his Bobcat predecessor Anthony Tyus did so in 2024 with 1200 yards.
The redshirt freshman Austyn Dendy averaged just shy of 100 rushing yards per game in his five appearances in 2025, and a rushing TD per game. Extrapolate that out to 12 games and now we’re cooking. Of course, it’s never that simple.
Coincidentally, Eddie George also scored five rushing TDs in his (true) freshman season. Though, in Eddie’s case, this proved not to be an antecedent for a breakout performance the following season. It wasn’t until his junior year when he totalled 1500 yards and 12 scores (on just over 275 touches) during the course of 12 games.
That was Eddie’s third season in CFB, a symmetry that would align neatly with this article should Dendy follow a similar path nearly 30 years later, entering his own third collegiate season in Fall 2026.
So, with that in mind, I’m going to make a bold prediction as I sit here writing this (on a cold, frigid night in January, so take it for what it’s worth), I think Dendy will outpace the previous two MAC leaders in rushing and hit ~1400 rushing yards in 2026. He’ll average over 100 yards rushing per game just like Eddie did, and finish the season with a similar workload figure.
The RB room cleared out around him, and there should (hopefully) be enough juice in the passing game to move the chains and keep defences honest to provide necessary space in the run game. BGSU should be able to move the ball well enough versus USF and Tarleton, maybe even vs. ISU, and then the MAC schedule awaits.
I also believe that we will see a more advanced receiving profile from Dendy in 2026. His final three appearances previewed an ability to provide value in this regard, catching passes of 11, 27, and 16 yards. As was mentioned previously, this player occupied many roles in HS including WR, so there should be good clay for Eddie to sculpt this offseason. ◾
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