Four MAC schools earn postseason bowl bids; preseason favorite Temple shut out

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Updated: 5 p.m. Sunday

The University of Toledo will snap a four-year bowl game drought when it plays Florida International on Dec. 26 in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl at Ford Field in Detroit on Dec. 26.

The announcement was made by the Mid-American Conference this afternoon, confirming an earlier report by The Toledo Blade.

UT posted its first winning season since 2005 and finished second in the MAC West Division with an 8-4 overall record and 7-1 conference mark. In their last bowl appearance, the 2005 GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Ala., the Rockets beat Texas-El Paso 45-13.

Florida International (6-6, 5-3 Sun Belt) had an opportunity to win the Sun Belt Conference championship outright, but clinched a share of the the title with Troy (7-5, 5-3 Sun Belt) after losing 28-27 against Middle Tennessee State on Saturday. The game will be FIU’s first bowl game in program history.

The Little Caesars Pizza Bowl had first pick of the bowl-eligible MAC schools, opting not to feature conference champion Miami or West Division champion Northern Illinois.

MU upset the Huskies 26-21 on Friday in the MAC championship game at Ford Field, but drew a sparse crowd 12,021. Bowl officials likely factored that into their decision to extend an invite to Toledo, a more centrally-located school to Detroit.

Miami, Northern Illinois

The GoDaddy.com Bowl had the second pick and selected Miami (9-4, 7-1 MAC) to play Middle Tennessee State, forcing runner up Northern Illinois to head west and play Fresno State in the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Id.

According to a report Saturday in the DeKalb, Ill., Daily Chronicle, Humanitarian Bowl Executive Director Kevin McDonald said the bowl has “had its eye on Northern Illinois for the last month.” The Huskies finished the season 10-3 and 8-0 before losing their first MAC game on Friday.

Temple out, Ohio in

Three MAC schools also finished the season bowl eligible, but only one received an at-large bowl berth. Ohio, which finished 8-4 and 6-2 in the conference, will head south and play co-Sun Belt Conference champion Troy in the New Orleans Bowl.

Despite earning preseason conference championship praise over the summer, 8-4 Temple will not go bowling, confirming an OwlScoop.com tweet from earlier this afternoon. The Owls got off to a fast 3-0 start and looked like they were going to cruise through the conference, but hit a few speed bumps, losing at NIU on Oct. 9 and closing out the season with a pair of losses, effectively ending any hope of winning the MAC East.

At 6-6, Western Michigan had a very slim chance of sneaking into a bowl game and did not receive an invite. The Broncos last bowl appearance was a 38-14 loss against Rice in the 2008 Texas Bowl.

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Complete list of MAC bowl pairings:
(all games to be televised live on ESPN)

uDrove Humanitarian Bowl (5:30 p.m. Dec. 18, Boise, Id.)
Northern Illinois (10-3, 8-0 MAC) vs. Fresno State (8-4, 5-3 WAC)

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl (9 p.m. Dec. 18, New Orleans)
Ohio (8-4, 6-2 MAC) vs. Troy (7-5, 6-2 Sun Belt)

Little Caesars Pizza Bowl (8:30 p.m. Dec. 26, Detroit)
Toledo (8-4, 7-1 MAC) vs. Florida International (6-6, 6-2 MAC)

GoDaddy.com Bowl (8 p.m. Jan. 6, Mobile, Ala.)
Miami (9-4, 7-1 MAC) vs. Middle Tennessee State (6-6, 5-3 Sun Belt)