The football program was born shortly after the university opened, at the time known as the Bowling Green Normal School.

[5] In the early years of Bowling Green State Normal College, common nicknames of BG athletic teams used by sports writers were “B.G.

[7] The first football game in BG's history was held on October 3, 1919, against Toledo University, a series that would turn into a rivalry that still exists in the present day.

[7][9] Despite dropping the following game 27–0 to Ashland College, the team finished the season with a record of 3–1–1 and won the Northwest Ohio League conference championship, the first title in school history.

[10] During the same season, Ivan "Doc" Lake, a BG alumnus and football player on the original team, suggested the nickname “Falcons”.

[10] The team was led by Chet Chapman, who received the conference MVP award and also became Bowling Green's first All-American.

[7] Perry, who attended Bowling Green and was a three-sport athlete for the Falcons and the captain of the football, basketball and baseball teams in 1931–32 returned to Bowling Green after serving as a high school coach at Upper Arlington and the offensive backfield coach of Ohio State.

[19][20] Perry changed the culture of the program,[21] and focused on decreases in mistakes, penalties, fumbles, interceptions, blocked kicks and missed assignments.

[23] Shortly after the victory, news spread that the Mustangs' plane crashed on takeoff when leaving Toledo.

[19] The team flew to California to play Fresno State at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

[19] Bowling Green repeated as MAC champions in 1962, and finished the season with a record of 7–1–1 with a 24–24 tie at Miami (OH) and a 23–7 non-conference road loss to West Texas State.

[19] In the ninth game of the season, Bowling Green faced tough rival, Ohio and was held scoreless with the Bobcats winning 21–0.

[7] Miles teammate, Dave Preston earned a position as the career leader in rushing with 3,423 yards during his time with the Falcons.

The major wins gave Nehlen the unofficial title of the “Master of the Upset” from many BGSU fans.

[38] Stolz left his Bowling Green team out in California and never got the Falcons ready to play vs Fresno State and the Falcons were beaten for the first time all season and ended 11–1, while Stolz went to San Diego to coach San Diego State,[39] leaving BGSU after two MAC titles and a 56–45–1 record,[40] going 34–12–0 in his last four seasons.

[51] In 1994, his team came within one game of winning a third MAC title, before a loss to Central Michigan on a fake punt touchdown.

[53] Four games in with an 0–4 start, Blackney decided to quit as soon as the season ended,[54] leaving the Falcons after compiling a 60–50–2 record.

[60] He helped turn around a team that had gone 2–9 in 2000 in large part due to QB Josh Harris, a player tailor-made for Meyer's scheme.

[62] After Meyer left for Utah, offensive coordinator Gregg Brandon was promoted to serve as the 16th head coach of the Falcons.

The 2008 season proved to be his final year in which they finished 6–6 after high expectations,[67] being fired after his last game, a win against Toledo.

[74] The rumors intensified following Middle Tennessee State's head coach Rick Stockstill turning down the East Carolina job after interviewing.

[75][76] However, Bowling Green stated that neither athletic director Greg Christopher or Clawson himself were contacted by East Carolina officials.

[88] Texas Tech running backs coach Mike Jinks was hired to replace Babers on December 9, 2015.

In what would be his final season, the Jinks-led Falcons were 1–6 after falling to Western Michigan on October 13 after holding a two-touchdown lead with 8:51 left in the third quarter.

[90][91] On November 28, 2018, Boston College offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler was named the 20th head coach at Bowling Green.

Loeffler would pick up his biggest win as the head coach in 2021 when the Falcons beat the Minnesota Gophers 14–10 at Huntington Bank Stadium.

Bowling Green then lost to FCS opponent Eastern Kentucky in their longest game played with seven overtimes 57–59.

The 2023 season highlighted a non-conference 38–27 upset win against Georgia Tech and another Quick Lane Bowl invitation.

[101] Another incident came in 1951, when a fight broke out after a hard hit by a BGSU player on fullback Mel Triplett.

In Greenwood's view, the officials should have called a penalty for excessive roughness, and he had a duty to protect his players.