The Quick Lane Bowl may be low on the prestige scale, but I doubt you’ll hear any complaints in Minneapolis. While the Gophers didn’t reach the 6-6 mark that’s usually the threshold for bowl eligibility, there are now so many bowl games that there literally weren’t enough .500 teams to play in them all. Seventy-seven teams finished 6-6 or better, with 80 slots available. Academic Progress Rate became the determining factor among the 5-7 teams, and the lucky three were Nebraska, Minnesota, and San Jose State.
It was a disappointing season for the Maroon and Gold, who finished 8-4 the last two seasons and were expected to finish with a similar record this year, despite losing leading rusher David Cobb and top pass-catcher Maxx Williams to the NFL. The Gophers lost close games to #15 Michigan and #5 Iowa, and gave #3 Ohio State a much closer game than I think anyone had expected. The offensive line was in flux all season due to injuries, and while the defense kept the team in games early on, by mid-November the injury bug had hit there as well. Most trying for the team was the loss of much-loved head coach Jerry Kill, who retired mid-season due to health concerns. Defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys took over head coaching duties and was awarded a three-year contract extension a few weeks later.
Central Michigan finished third in the West division of the Mid-American Conference, behind 9-2 Toledo and 8-5 Northern Illinois. Of the five losses on the Chippewas’ record, three came against Power Five schools (Oklahoma State, Syracuse, Michigan State) and another came against Toledo, which was ranked for several weeks of the season.
The Gophers and the Chippewas will face off December 28 at 5 p.m. at Ford Field in Detroit. The game will air on ESPN 2. I’ll have a full pre-game breakdown here at LWOS closer to the game.
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