The 2023 Quick Lane Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 26, 2023, at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. The ninth annual Quick Lane Bowl game featured the Minnesota Golden Gophers from the Big Ten Conference and the Bowling Green Falcons from the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The game began at approximately 2:00 p.m. EST and was aired on ESPN.[4][5] The Quick Lane Bowl was one of the 2023–24 bowl games concluding the 2023 FBS football season. This was the final game under the title sponsor automotive chain Quick Lane Tire and Auto Center.
| 2023 Quick Lane Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 9th Quick Lane Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 26, 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Ford Field | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Detroit, Michigan | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Darius Taylor (RB, Minnesota)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Minnesota by 3.5[2] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Tim Rich (AAC)[3] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 28,521 | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Connor Onion (play-by-play), Dustin Fox (analyst), and Tori Petry (sideline) | ||||||||||||||||||
Teams
editConsistent with conference tie-ins, the bowl featured the Bowling Green Falcons of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and the Minnesota Golden Gophers of the Big Ten Conference.
This was the fifth meeting between Bowling Green and Minnesota; entering the game, the all-time series was tied at 2–2.[6]
Bowling Green Falcons
editThe Falcons entered the game with a 7–5 record (5–3 in the MAC), having finished in third place in their conference's East Division.
This was Bowling Green's second Quick Lane Bowl, making the Falcons the second team (after Minnesota) to appear in multiple Quick Lane Bowls. The Falcons previously lost the 2022 edition to New Mexico State.
Minnesota Golden Gophers
editThe Golden Gophers entered the game with a 5–7 record (3–6 in the Big Ten), having finished tied for fourth place in their conference's West Division. Under normal circumstances, a losing record would make Minnesota bowl-ineligible; however, because of insufficient bowl-eligible teams to fill all bowl berths, the Golden Gophers received a berth due to having the highest Academic Progress Rate (APR) among 5–7 teams.[7]
This was Minnesota's third Quick Lane Bowl, giving them the most appearances in the game. The Golden Gophers previously became the first team both to appear in and to win multiple Quick Lane Bowls, having won the 2015 edition (which they also entered with a 5–7 record) and the 2018 edition.
Game summary
edit| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bowling Green | 7 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 24 |
| Minnesota | 6 | 3 | 14 | 7 | 30 |
at Ford Field • Detroit, Michigan
- Date: Tuesday, December 26, 2023
- Game time: 2:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: N/A (indoor stadium)
- Game attendance: 28,521
- Referee: Tim Rich
- TV announcers (ESPN): Connor Onion (play-by-play), Dustin Fox (analyst), and Tori Petry (sideline)
- Box score
| Game information |
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Statistics
edit| Statistics | BGSU | MINN |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 18 | 19 |
| Plays–yards | 60–303 | 60–281 |
| Rushes–yards | 21–82 | 44–255 |
| Passing yards | 221 | 26 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 22–39–0 | 8–16–1 |
| Time of possession | 26:38 | 33:22 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bowling Green | Passing | Connor Bazelak | 22/38, 221 yards, 1 TD |
| Rushing | Pasean Wimberly | 3 carries, 63 yards, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | Odieu Hiliare | 10 receptions, 152 yards, 1 TD | |
| Minnesota | Passing | Cole Kramer | 8/16, 26 yards, 2 TD 1 INT |
| Rushing | Darius Taylor | 35 carries, 208 yards, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | Darius Taylor | 2 receptions, 11 yards |
References
edit- ^ Ruane, Blake (December 26, 2023). "Quick Lane Bowl Recap: Darius Taylor takes over to power Minnesota past Bowling Green". thedailygopher.com. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
- ^ Parks, James (December 11, 2023). "College football bowl schedule, game odds, point spreads for 2023-24". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
- ^ Austro, Ben (December 3, 2023). "2023-24 bowl officiating assignments". footballzebras.com. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
- ^ Straka, Dean (May 31, 2023). "2023-24 college football bowl schedule, games, dates, locations, kickoff times, TV channels". CBS Sports. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
- ^ Lewis, Barry (June 3, 2023). "2023-24 College Football Bowl Schedule, Dates, Times Announced". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
- ^ "Winsipedia – Bowling Green Falcons vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers". Winsipedia.com. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
- ^ "Minnesota Golden Gophers score bowl spot, thanks to good grades". KARE (TV). November 26, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
External links
edit- Game statistics at statbroadcast.com