Conference champion Miami to play in Mobile on Jan. 6 against Middle Tennessee State.
View full sizeMiami of Ohio's Jordan Stevens (21) and Austin Brown (90) celebrated the MAC football championship on Friday, and the RedHawks learned on Sunday that they'll play Middle Tennessee State in the Jan. 6 GoDaddy.com Bowl in Mobile, Ala.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Mid-American Conference placed four teams in bowl games this postseason as invitations were officially extended Sunday afternoon.
Ohio was invited to the R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, giving the conference an extra team in the postseason beyond the MAC's three contracted bowl relationships.
The MAC has sent four or more teams to bowl games in five of the last seven years.
"We are extremely excited for the bowl invitations to our four MAC institutions," said conference commissioner Dr. Jon Steinbrecher. "I strongly feel that this reflects on the competitive nature of our conference and I congratulate all of our universities, coaches and student-athletes for their efforts this year."
Two MAC programs -- Temple (8-4) and Western Michigan (6-6) -- were bowl eligible, but did not receive a bowl invitation.
The MAC bowl schedule:
Dec. 18: uDrove Humanitarian Bowl -- Boise, Idaho.
5:30 p.m. / ESPN
Northern Illinois (10-3, 8-0 MAC) vs. Fresno State (8-4, 5-3 Western Athletic Conference)
Northern Illinois is making is third consecutive bowl appearance under coach Jerry Kill. This is the Huskies' fourth bowl appearance in the last five years.
Dec. 18: R+L Carriers Bowl -- New Orleans, La.
9 p.m. / ESPN
Ohio (8-4, 6-2-0 MAC) vs. Troy (7-5, 6-2 Sun Belt)
Ohio is making its second consecutive bowl appearance (2009 Little Caesars). The Bobcats received a bowl invitation for the third time in five years.
Dec. 26: Little Caesars Pizza Bowl -- Detroit, Mich.
8:30 p.m. / ESPN
Toledo (8-4, 7-1 MAC) vs. Florida International (6-6, 6-2 Sun Belt)
Note: Toledo is making its first bowl appearance since 2005 (GMAC Bowl) and its first under coach Tim Beckman. Toledo has 11 bowl appearances, the most of any MAC program. The Rockets are 8-2 in their previous 10 games.
Jan. 6: Go Daddy.com Bowl - Mobile, Ala.
8 p.m. / ESPN
Miami (9-4, 7-1 MAC) vs. Middle Tennessee State (6-6, 5-3 Sun Belt)
Winner of this year's MAC title game, the RedHawks under second-year coach Mike Haywood recorded the best turnaround in college football after going 1-11 in 2009. Miami will be making its first bowl appearance since the 2004 Independence Bowl. This is the RedHawks' 10th bowl game, and they have a 6-3 record.