CMU to play Troy in GMAC Bowl on Jan. 6
The CMU football team will play a bowl game outside Detroit for the first time in more than a decade.
The Mid-American Conference Champions will face the Sun Belt Conference Champion Troy Trojans (9-3 overall, 8-0 Sun Belt) at 8 p.m. Jan. 6 in the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Ala.
The game will be televised on ESPN.
It is No. 25 CMU's fourth consecutive bowl-bound season after playing the last three at Ford Field in Detroit for the Motor City Bowl. The last out-of-state bowl game for Central was at the Las Vegas Bowl in 1994, where CMU lost to UNLV 52-24.
"We're excited to represent Central Michigan University and the Mid-American Conference in the GMAC Bowl and would like to thank the GMAC Bowl for inviting us to compete in their great event," said coach Butch Jones. "It's another opportunity for our university and our football program to be in the national spotlight. I'm excited for our 13 seniors who will be participating in their fourth consecutive bowl game and have one more opportunity to represent the 'C' of Central Michigan."
Troy, from Troy, Ala., also went undefeated in its conference, losing to the MAC's Bowling Green (31-14) and the Southeastern Conference's No. 5 Florida (56-6) and Arkansas (56-20).
The Trojans rank third in the Football Bowl Subdivision in total offense with 478.5 yards per game and fourth in passing offense with 331 yards per game.
Their quarterback, Levi Brown, has thrown for 3,828 yards, 22 touchdowns and nine interceptions this season.
Troy's defense, however, ranks 100th out of 120 FBS teams, giving up 417.9 yards per game. It gives up 277.8 passing yards per game, 117th in the nation.
Senior quarterback Dan LeFevour said the team is excited to play in a fourth consecutive bowl game.
"This is something that's never been done at CMU, so I think that is pretty impressive," he said. "For our senior class, it's another opportunity to spend some time together and play football. We know this is the last time that we'll get that opportunity together."
Ohio and Marshall will play in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl on Dec. 26 at Ford Field in Detroit. It is the first year since 2005 the bowl game, formerly named the Motor City Bowl, will not feature CMU.
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