BOWL ELIGIBLE FOR THE 9TH TIME IN 10 YEARS!

Men's Sports Football
41

I want Myrtle!

42

I want Cure Bowl 2, typhoon boogaloo!

2 Likes
43

I suppose clinching a spot in the MACC means itā€™s unlikely Ford Field will be our eventual bowl game destination this year.

MAC only has 5 bowl eligible teams this year, and it appears wide open for speculation as to where we may land. I have seen predictions of everything from Boca, Myrtle, Boise, Tucson, and Albuquerque. Most all appear to be great spots for our team and fans to enjoy!

44

Hoping for a good matchup. Fresno State or Northwestern would be fun!

1 Like
45

As a friend said to me at the game yesterday, letā€™s play 7-5 UC, anywhere.

8 Likes
46

If/when we win the MAC I wouldnā€™t be surprised to see us matched up against the C-USA champ (or Troy if they upset JMU). A loss and who knows where we go or who we play.

47

Updated ESPNā€™s two pundits predictions for MAC:

Venture Bowl:

Both have CMU vs. Georgia Southern or Coastal Carolina

Idaho:

UT or OU vs. San Diego State

Boca Raton:

Miami vs. FIU

Detroit:

WMU vs. Penn State or NW

Snoop Dog:

OU or UT vs. Fresno State

New Mexico:

Miami vs. New Mexico

48

Based on these predictions, we would miss out on some of the better ā€œnameā€ opponents like Fresno, San Diego State, or B10 matchups. Looks like there is an assumption that WMU plays in Detroit which would of course drive the attendance up.

49

Iā€™m hoping for the New Mexico Bowl since I live in Santa Fe. UNM would be a tough opponent & a hostile crowd would be present.

50

Itā€™s pretty amazing at how lucky weā€™ve been in avoiding the Potato Bowl for years now.

2 Likes
51

Yes, University of New Mexico won their last 6 games and went 9-3. They would be a tough draw.

52

It makes sense considering the struggles we had when bowl expansion really took off and how frequently weā€™ve made the MACC during our good years. Weā€™ve been bowl eligible in 12 seasons from 2003-24; weā€™ve played in the MACC for 7 of those (finalists usually donā€™t have to play in Boise/Detroit) and were left out twice. That leaves 4 times where we were a regular team that didnā€™t play in the championship, and we went to other first-time locations in Shreveport, St. Pete, Bahamas, and Tucson instead. I wouldnā€™t be surprised if we ended up in New Mexico or Boca.

53

I agree w your last comment on where you might expect Miami to go this bowl seasonā€¦for some unknown reason I have a feeling that it will be Albuquerque.

54

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I spent a bit of time in Albuquerque as a young man (while based on Denver w a job that required traveling all over the Rockies), and I never found it all that appealing. Santa Fe area is much more interesting. Still might be a fun place for a bowl although the weather can be chilly there in December. I suspect they would have the team take an excursion up the Sandia Peak tram for a group event.

2 Likes
56

Albuquerque is OK. Lots of good food in Old Town. Too bad La Placida closed permanently about 20 years ago. It was a classic. Easy run up to Santa Fe for a day.

1 Like
57

I was surprised to find out recently that we actually play UC next year on September 19.

I think the game is at Paycor Stadium.

1 Like
58

At least one outlet has us in the TBA replacement for the Bahamas Bowl at a TBA date and location. Does anyone truly believe this bowl is actually going to happen, given the lack of and type of announcement as of December 3?

59

If itā€™s an ESPN-owned bowl, theyā€™ll put something together just for programming sake.

60

Perhaps it isnā€™t needed.The MAC has only 5 eligible teams and neither Delaware nor Missouri State are eligible this season.