For the second consecutive year, the BG football team will be headed to a postseason bowl game as it faces the University of Pittsburgh Panthers in the Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl, Dec. 26, at Ford Field in Detroit.
The 10-3 (7-1) Falcons earned their 2013 bowl bid after defeating the then-No. 14 nationally ranked Northern Illinois University Huskies in the Mid-American Conference Championship game on Dec. 6.
“It’s an honor to go to a bowl game for the second year in a row,” BG quarterback Matt Johnson said. “And to play a BCS team in Pitt, it’s going to be a hard task, but we’re really looking forward to the challenge.”
This win marked the first time since 1992 that BG won a MAC title.
This will not be the first time that the Falcons will play a bowl game in Detroit. The 2003 BG football team was invited to the Motor City Bowl after a 47-27 loss to the Miami University RedHawks in the MAC Championship game. BG went on to defeat the Northwestern University Wildcats 28-24.
“We are thrilled to have the Falcons back with us this year, after such an outstanding 2013 championship season,” said Ken Hoffman, CEO and executive director of the Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl. “Their nationally-ranked 2003 team and their sizable fan base brought one of the most exciting games in our bowl’s history to Detroit.”
The Falcons have not won a bowl game since 2004 when they defeated the University of Memphis Tigers 52-35 in the GMAC Bowl.
BG has been to three bowls since 2004 including the 2008 GMAC (lost to Tulsa 63-7), the 2009 Humanitarian Bowl (lost to Idaho 43-42) and the 2012 Military Bowl (lost to San Jose State 29-20).
The upcoming bowl game against Pittsburgh will be BG’s first football game without Dave Clawson as the head coach since Nov. 28, 2008.
Special teams coordinator Adam Scheier will be taking the head coaching reigns as interim head coach after Clawson left for the head coach position at Wake Forest University this past week.
This game is a special one for BG quarterback Matt Johnson, who hails from Harrisburg, Pa. Johnson is coming into the game with a little motivation after learning that he will be facing the Pittsburgh Panthers on Dec. 26.
“I know a lot of guys on [Pittsburgh’s] team,” Johnson said. “I played against them in high school. It’s going to be exciting going up against guys I personally played against.”
The bowl game will also be the final time the senior players will be suiting up as a member of the BG football program.
“It was kind of difficult, the first couple of years, not being able to experience [a bowl game],” senior tight-end Alex Bayer said. “So to go back, especially in my last year, and being able to go out and play in another game, it’s exciting.”
Fans can buy discounted tickets and bus tickets for the Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl from the athletic department website, bgsufalcons.com.
Follow @BGNewsSports on Facebook and Twitter for live updates from the Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl on Dec. 26 at 6 p.m.
