A near capacity crowd of 29,718 turned out for the first meeting between the two school, a night game with temperatures in the 70s.
The game will be remembered fro a malfunctioning scoreboard which went on the fritz in the crucial fourth quarter.
The Falcons scored the winning points on a 39-yard field goal.
The Cougars had the ball with seconds remaining when Bowling Green intercepted and fell on the ball for the final play of the game.
Falcons backs Dan Saleet and Dave Preston combined for 256 yards rushing.
