BOWIE, Md. - The Saginaw Valley State University football team traveled to face the 25th ranked Bowie State University Bulldogs on Saturday. The Cardinals took a 10-0 lead after quarter number one but the Bulldogs were able to stand tall and come out with the 28-19 victory. SVSU falls to 1-1 on the season.

After the two teams traded punts on their opening drives, SVSU got a drive going and were able to go ahead 3-0 thanks to a Connor Luksic 28-yard field goal. Later in the quarter, the SVSU defense had Bowie State backed up deep into their own territory when Leonard Henry broke through the line and sacked Bulldog quarterback Ja'rome Johnson at the one yard line. The ball was knocked free into the endzone and Victor Abraham fell on it for the touchdown, making the score 10-0 Cardinals after one. 

In the second quarter, SVSU quarterback Matt Considine's pass was intercepted and taken back 38 yards to make it 10-7. With a little over five minutes remaining in the half, the Bulldogs put together an 11 play, 92 yard drive capped off by touchdown pass by Johnson with under two minutes to play in the first half. The Bulldogs took a 14-10 lead into the halftime break.

The third quarter saw SVSU take the lead right back when Matt Considine found Casey Williams for a 40-yard touchdown pass. After Luksic hit the extra point, the Cardinals held a 17-14 lead going into the fourth quarter. 

Just under three minutes into the final quarter, the Bulldogs found themselves in the lead again when Johnson found Keshan Hinckley from 37 yards out, making it 21-17. After an SVSU punt, the Cardinals had the Bulldogs backed up again deep in their own territory when a Bowie State offensive linemen was called for a holding penalty in the endzone, resulting in a safety and cutting the Bowie State lead in half 21-19.

Following the free kick, the Cardinal offense went three and out and Bowie State took over on their own 22-yard line. The Bulldogs were able to put together a 13 play, 78 yard touchdown drive that took almost six minutes off the clock. Quarterback Johnson capped it off with a four yard touchdown pass to Victor Olayinka and made the score 28-19 after the extra point. SVSU would get the ball back with 1:39 remaining, but Considine's pass on third down was intercepted and Bowie State was able to run out the clock. 

Inside the Box Score:

• SVSU quarterback Matt Considine completed nine passes on 28 attempts for 124 yards
• Running back Tommy Scott had 15 carries for 45 yards
• Casey Williams led the SVSU receiving core with two catches for 52 yards and one touchdown
• Isaiah Johnson-Mack had two catches for 30 yards
• Victor Abraham and Trevor Nowaske both had 10 tackles to lead the defense
• The Cardinal defense sacked Johnson five times
• Bowie State outgained SVSU 410-178
• The Bulldogs had over 34 minutes of possession time while SVSU was just under 30 minutes

Up Next: 

SVSU will travel to Ferris State University for week three and the GLIAC opener. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. next Saturday (Sept. 18) in Big Rapids, Michigan

Head Coach, Ryan Brady:

"Hard fought game. Disappointing we came up a little short. Bowie State is a very good football team. We had our opportunities to put the game away and we did not do the things we needed to do to finish and win the ball game. Our special teams were outstanding today and I thought our defense played tough. Offensively we struggled throughout. We had no answer for their defensive front and we struggled to sustain drives and get the ball to our playmakers. Credit their defense, they were as advertised."

"We had to overcome adversity today and we did that well throughout the game I thought. We just couldn't overcome the last hurdle late in the fourth quarter. Proud of how we competed against a team that is 31-6 over the past three seasons. It was a tough road game. Unfortunate we let it slip away. We will get back to work immediately and focus on the things we need to do to be a better football team next week."