In his first year as defensive coordinator, Bowling Green cut its points allowed per game by over 14 points. Now, Lewis looks to take the next step.
Every year from 2016 until climaxing in 2020, Bowling Green regressed from bad to worse in its scoring defense rank with seemingly no light at the end of the tunnel.
Tenth-to-last, then eighth-to-last.
Sixth-to-last, then fifth-to-last.
Then, in the pandemic-riddled 2020 campaign, the Falcons stumbled to an 0-5 record while permitting an alarming 45 points per contest, falling to second-to-last in the process. There stood a program in desperate need of a spark.