COLUMBUS, Ohio – Bowling Green, Cincinnati and Ohio University are all headed to bowl games.
MAC champion Bowling Green will return to Detroit to face Pittsburgh in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl on Dec. 26. It’s the third bowl bid in five seasons for Bowling Green and the 11th in school history.
The Falcons (10-3) beat previously undefeated Northern Illinois 47-27 in the MAC title game at Ford Field on Friday, their fifth straight win.
Pitt went 3-5 in their first season in the ACC, are 2-1 against Bowling Green since 1999.
Cincinnati will look to defend its Belk Bowl title Dec. 28 against North Carolina. The Bearcats will be making their second straight appearance in the game after defeating Duke 48-34 last year in Charlotte, Belk Bowl officials announced Sunday night.
Cincinnati (9-3) finished second place in the American Athletic Conference, winning six of their final seven games. North Carolina (6-6) also finished the season strong, winning five of its last six games to become bowl eligible.
Ohio University is headed to the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl to face East Carolina of Conference USA.
It’s the second straight season that the Mid-American Conference will be represented in the pre-Christmas game held at Tropicana Field, home of baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays. Ball State made the trip last December, receiving the bid when the Big East was unable to fulfill the league’s bowl commitments.
This time, the American Athletic Conference was unable to supply a team, and Ohio (7-5) will face East Carolina (9-3) on Dec. 23. It will be the fifth straight bowl trip for the Bobcats under coach Frank Solich.