The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1508023
OCTOBER 2023 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 9 BY ANTHONY BROOME M ichigan did battle with Bowling Green on Sept. 16 in a 31-6 win, but it was more than a nonconference tune-up. It was also a home- coming. When Falcons head coach Scot Loeffler — who played and coached at U-M in the 1990s and early 2000s — and his BGSU team came through Ann Arbor, it was the first time a Michigan alum had led a foot- ball team into battle against his alma mater since Pete Elliott coached at Illinois in the 1960s. "Coach [Bo] Schembechler is from my hometown," Loef- fler said. "It's probably the biggest reason that I went to Michigan, believe it or not. All my life I was a Buckeye, and Coach Schembechler was re- ally the reason why I probably went there. "And then obviously Coach [Gary] Moeller recruiting me, Lloyd Carr, who I consider a father figure without a doubt, and the ties that Coach Schem- bechler had to Doyt Perry [longtime Hall of Fame Bowling Green head coach and namesake of the school's football stadium] I think is really cool. You look at the Harbaugh family: Jack was here. Jack and Jackie, I believe met here. Jim and John lived some of their youth here and went to St. Aloysius, and my room- mate in college is the defensive line coach: Mike Elston, who's a great man and great memories. Mike Hart and Ron Bellamy I coached — the running back, receiver coaches." Loeffler and Jim Harbaugh go way back, and Jack Harbaugh was an assis- tant at BGSU from 1968-70. The Har- baugh patriarch made sure to sneak in some trash talk during game week, too. "Always been friends with Scot, and we keep in touch and text and talk sometimes," Jim Harbaugh said on Sept. 11. "He's doing a heck of a job there. … There hasn't been a time where we haven't driven on 23 — whether we were going to Crestline or Cleveland, Ohio — that we didn't look over to the right and look at the stadium. Or, if we were coming back to Michigan, look over to the left and see the stadium and hear the stories. "My dad has been right there now for a couple of weeks: 'Bowling Green is going to come up here and kick your ass!' So, we've got that as well." L o e f f l e r p l aye d a t U- M from 1993-96 before spend- ing 1996-99 as a student/grad assistant with the program. After a two-year stint coach- ing quarterbacks at Central Michigan, he returned to Ann Arbor in 2002 to coach the QBs through the 2007 season. Loef- fler also spent time as an as- sistant with the Detroit Lions (2008), Temple (2011), Auburn (2012), Virginia Tech (2013-15) and Boston College (2016-18) before taking over at Bowling Green in 2019. Loeffler, who is 14-41 at BGSU after the first three weeks of the 2023 season, takes and applies lessons from his time at U-M frequently while leading his Falcons. "I say this all the time, and I learned this from Gary Moeller the first week I was in camp," Loeffler said. "He said, 'You'll never be able to repay Michigan back for what Michigan's go- ing to do for you.' "That's the message that we try to teach our players here. Our players are never going to be able to repay Bowling Green for what Bowling Green is going to do for them. "With all the transfer portal, with all the NIL — at the end of the day, the things that are important in col- lege football still are education, playing as a team, playing a game that we love, and the relationships that we build. And then obviously winning champi- onships." ❑ ❱ Inside Michigan ATHLETICS Scot Loeffler Returns To Coach Against Alma Mater Scot Loeffler, who both played and coached at Michigan, returned to the Big House Sept. 16 as head coach of Bowling Green. PHOTO COURTESY BOWLING GREEN ATHLETICS