Middle Tennessee (6-6, 5-3 Sun Belt) vs.
Miami (OH) (9-4, 7-1 MAC)
January 6, 2011 8:00 PM EST ESPN
History: This will be the first year that this particular bowl game is known as the GoDaddy.com Bowl, being previously named the GMAC Bowl. The game pits a MAC school against a Sun Belt school currently. Played annually in Mobile, Alabama, the 2001 edition of the game between Marshall and East Carolina set the record (at that time) for the highest scoring bowl game ever, concluding with a 64-61 Marshall victory in double-overtime. Last year’s contest was also a high-scoring affair, with Central Michigan knocking off Troy by a score of 44-41 in another double-overtime thriller.
Cost of parking a regular vehicle for the 2011 game stands at $10 per vehicle. Cost of parking an RV or motor-home is $25/day. Awesome.
Middle Tennessee: The Blue Raiders, whose mascot appears to be a flying horse snotting out a lightning bolt, enter the game with a 6-6 record on the season. They finished the year on a three-game winning streak to inch their way into bowl eligibility despite an up-and-down year that began with a loss to our Big Ten colleague Minnesota.
Middle Tennessee will be playing in only its third bowl game, the most recent of the previous two being last year’s 42-32 win over Southern Miss in the New Orleans Bowl. Quarterback Dwight Dasher is a dangerous player, as evidenced by his 201 rushing yards from the QB position in last year’s bowl game. Dasher is only the 15th player in NCAA history to throw for 5000 yards and rush for 2000 yards over the course of his college career. Those numbers were achieved despite missing the first four games of the 2010 season due to a monetary loan-related suspension. Dasher does have his weaknesses though, as he threw for 14 picks in his abbreviated season compared to only 6 touchdowns.
Miami (OH): The Redhawks of Miami are a great success story from this college football season just past, as coach Michael Haywood took them from a 1-11 2009 campaign to a 9-4 2010 record that finished with five consecutive wins. Unfortunately for the Miami program, Haywood has since accepted, and in an odd turn of events been fired from, the head coaching position at Pittsburgh. As a result of Haywood’s departure, the Redhawks will be coached by assistant coach Lance Guidry. Michigan State offensive coordinator Don Treadwell has already been hired as Haywood’s replacement for next season.
The Redhawks will be led by backup quarterback Austin Boucher, who was called upon when starting QB Zac Dysert suffered the rather awful-sounding injury of a lacerated spleen in early November. Running back Thomas Merriweather balances the passing attack with a decent running game. Merriweather averaged over 100 yards per game during the second half of the season.
Who are we picking?
- Mali – Miami
- Jeff – Miami
- Eric – Miami
- Jim – Middle Tennessee
- Joe – Miami
- Jay – Middle Tennessee
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