Three things to know on Bowling Green entering the Quick Lane Bowl

LAS CRUCES - Bowling Green finished the season 6-6 and were 5-3 in the Mid American Conference.

New Mexico State opened as a one-point favorite for their Dec. 26 Quick Lane Bowl matchup at Ford Field in Detroit.

"It's exciting for me to go back to Detroit," Aggies coach Jerry Kill said on Thursday. "It's one of those things where it means so much to us. We are excited to go to Detroit. We are playing a great football team. Both teams are going in the right direction."

Here are three things to know about the Aggies' bowl game opponent:

Bowling Green accustomed to bowling in Detroit

NM State is making its fifth bowl game appearance and its first since the Aggies won the Arizona Bowl in 2017.

Bowling Green is making its 14th bowl game appearance and its first since 2015, but the Quick Lane Bowl is the third bowl game the Falcons have played at Ford Field in Detroit. Bowling Green beat Northwestern in the Motor City Bowl in 2003 and lost to Pittsburgh in the 2013 Little Caesar's Bowl.

Fourth-year coach Scot Loeffler is making his first bowl appearance with Bowling Green.

"I have been dying to get bowl eligible," Loeffler said. "You are able to really evaluate your young players who don't get to play much.

"We still need to move the needle of our program. We don't have elite habits yet at times That's why we are 6-6 instead of 8-4."

Falcons have an elite pass rusher

The NM State offensive line will have its work cut out for it against Bowling Green edge rusher Karl Brooks, who was a member of the Pro Football Focus All American Defense.

Brooks has 10 quarterback sacks this season, which was third in the MAC. Bowling Green was fourth in pass defense in conference games, allowing 204 pass yards per game and led the conference with 37 quarterback sacks as a team and fourth with 81 tackles for loss.

Falcons lean on the pass

Bowling Green senior quarterback Matt McDonald was third in the MAC with 240 passing yards per game. He completed 61 percent of his passes for 2,639 yards with 22 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

Senior receiver Odieu Hiliare was the 12th best receiver in the MAC with 704 yards and six touchdowns on the season.

Bowling Green finished the season ranked No. 58 in FBS in passing offense, which is higher than any of the Aggies opponents this season.

But pass defense has been the strength of the Aggies defense this season, which will be an interesting matchup in Detroit.

The Aggies finished the season No. 13 in FBS in pass defense, allowing 184 yards per game on the season.

Jason Groves can be reached at 575-541-5459 or jgroves@lcsun-news.com. Follow him on Twitter @jpgroves.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Three things to know on Bowling Green entering the Quick Lane Bowl