2003 Motor City Bowl

Last updated

2003 Motor City Bowl
1234Total
Northwestern737724
Bowling Green0771428
DateDecember 26, 2003
Season 2003
Stadium Ford Field
Location Detroit, Michigan
MVP Josh Harris
Jason Wright
Referee Jerome Boger (C-USA)
Attendance51,286
United States TV coverage
Network ESPN
Announcers Dave Barnett (Play-by-Play)
Rod Gilmore (Analyst)
Motor City Bowl
 < 2002   2004 > 

The 2003 Motor City Bowl was a post-season college football bowl game between the Northwestern Wildcats and the Bowling Green Falcons on December 26, 2003, at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. Northwestern led early after shutting down Bowling Green's running game but Bowling Green made a comeback in the second half led by a strong passing game under quarterback Josh Harris and won 28–24. It was the seventh time the Motor City Bowl had been played and the final game of the 2003 NCAA Division I FBS football season for both teams.

The game between the Mid-American Conference (MAC) team Bowling Green and Big Ten Conference Northwestern was played at neutral-site Ford Field. As then organized the Motor City Bowl matched a MAC team and a team from either the Big Ten, the Big East Conference, or an at-large team. Bowling Green accepted a bid for the Motor City Bowl after losing to Miami (OH) in the MAC Championship Game. It was Bowling Green's first appearance in a bowl game since the 1992 Las Vegas Bowl. [1] Northwestern was the first Big Ten team to play in the Motor City Bowl and had not appeared in a bowl game since the 2000 Alamo Bowl. Bowling Green and Northwestern last played each other on November 17, 2001, a meeting that Bowling Green won 42–43. [2]

The Motor City Bowl was one of two bowl appearances by the MAC; the other was by Miami in the 2003 GMAC Bowl. Miami defeated Louisville 49–28, making the MAC 2–0 in bowl games that year. Unusually for the Motor City Bowl there were two MVPs: Bowling Green quarterback Josh Harris and Northwestern running back Jason Wright. Harris passed for 386 yards, including three touchdown passes, and rushed for Bowling Green's fourth touchdown. Harris' completion record of 38/50 and total offense of 454 yards set Motor City Bowl records. Wright had 21 carries for 237 yards, including a 77-yard touchdown run which was the second-longest in Motor City Bowl history. [3] [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2004–05 NCAA football bowl games</span>

The 2004–05 NCAA football bowl games were a series of 32 post-season games played in December 2004 and January 2005 for Division I-A football teams and their all-stars. The post-season began with the New Orleans Bowl on December 14, 2004, and concluded on January 29, 2005, with the season-ending Senior Bowl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat Fitzgerald</span> American football player and coach (born 1974)

Patrick William Fitzgerald Jr. is an American football coach and former player who was most recently the head coach of the Northwestern Wildcats football program, until his 2023 termination in the aftermath of a hazing scandal.

Jeff Genyk is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the special teams coordinator for Northwestern. Genyk served as the head football coach at Eastern Michigan University from 2004 to 2008, compiling a record of 16–42 in five seasons. He was a television analyst for Atlantic Coast Conference football for ESPN during the 2009 season.

Joshua Harris is a former American football quarterback.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bowling Green Falcons football</span> Sports program

The Bowling Green Falcons football program is the intercollegiate football team of Bowling Green State University. The team is a member of the NCAA, playing at the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly Division I-A, level; BGSU football competes within the Mid-American Conference in the East Division. The Falcons have played their home games in Doyt Perry Stadium since 1966. The stadium holds 24,000 spectators. In their 93-year history, the Falcons have won 12 MAC championships and a College Division national championship – as voted by the UPI in 1959. The head coach is Scot Loeffler.

The 2007 Miami RedHawks football team represented the Miami University in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Shane Montgomery and played their homes game in Yager Stadium in Oxford, Ohio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gregg Brandon</span> American football coach

Gregg Brandon is a former American football coach and player. He was most recently the head football coach at the Colorado School of Mines, a position he had held from 2015 until his retirement after the 2021 season. Prior to that, he was the offensive coordinator at New Mexico State University and coached tight ends in the United Football League (UFL) for the Las Vegas Locomotives. He also spent two years as the offensive coordinator at the University of Wyoming and was offensive coordinator for the Virginia Cavaliers for the duration of the 2009 season. He was head coach for the Bowling Green Falcons, but was fired following the conclusion of the 2008 season, after six years at the helm, which included three bowl appearances and shares of two division titles. Brandon had previously been an assistant coach and offensive coordinator at Bowling Green under head coach Urban Meyer before Meyer left for the University of Utah in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Bowling Green Falcons football team</span> American college football season

The 2008 Bowling Green Falcons football team represented Bowling Green State University during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team's head football coach was Gregg Brandon. The Falcons played their home games at Doyt Perry Stadium in Bowling Green, Ohio. They were a member of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 6–6, 4–4 in MAC play to finish in a tie for second place in the East Division. Despite being bowl eligible, they were not selected to participate in a bowl game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 Bowling Green Falcons football team</span> American college football season

The 2009 Bowling Green Falcons football team represented Bowling Green State University during the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Dave Clawson and played in the East Division of the Mid-American Conference. They played their home games at Doyt Perry Stadium. They finished the season 7–6, 6–2 in MAC play to finish in third place in the East Division. They were invited to the Humanitarian Bowl where they lost to Idaho.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 MAC Championship Game</span> College football game

The 2009 Marathon MAC Championship Game was a college football game played by the Central Michigan Chippewas and the Ohio Bobcats. The game, sponsored by Marathon Oil, was the final regular season contest of the 2009 college football season for the Mid-American Conference. The game was held at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, where it was moved to following the 2003 MAC Championship Game.

The 2002 Motor City Bowl was a post-season college football bowl game between the Boston College Eagles and the Toledo Rockets on December 26, 2002, at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. Boston College scored touchdowns on its first six possessions and routed Toledo 51–25. It was the sixth time the Motor City Bowl had been played and the final game of the 2002 NCAA Division I FBS football season for both teams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Kafka</span> American football player and coach (born 1987)

Michael John Kafka is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the offensive coordinator for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). After attending St. Rita of Cascia High School in Chicago, Illinois, he played college football for Northwestern, where he received second-team All-Big Ten Conference honors as a senior. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft, and spent six seasons in the NFL as a journeyman quarterback. Kafka became the quarterbacks coach for the Chiefs in 2018, and Patrick Mahomes, the starting quarterback for the Chiefs, earned the NFL Most Valuable Player award that season. Kafka helped the team win Super Bowl LIV the following season.

The 2013 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl is an American college football bowl game that was played on December 26, 2013 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. The 17th edition of Little Caesars Pizza Bowl featured the Pittsburgh Panthers from the Atlantic Coast Conference against the Bowling Green Falcons from the Mid-American Conference. It was one of the 2013–14 bowl games that concluded the 2013 FBS football season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quick Lane Bowl</span>

The Quick Lane Bowl is a post-season college football bowl game certified by the NCAA that began play in the 2014 season. Backed by the Detroit Lions of the National Football League, the game features a bowl-eligible team from the Big Ten Conference competing against an opponent from the Mid-American Conference. The Quick Lane Bowl is played at Ford Field in Detroit as a de facto replacement for the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl, and inherited its traditional December 26 scheduling. Unlike its predecessor, which placed the 8th place team in the Big Ten against the Mid-American champion, the competing teams are selected by conference representatives and not based on final rankings. The Ford Motor Company serves as title sponsor of the game through its auto shop brand Quick Lane.

The 1992 Las Vegas Bowl was an American college football bowl game played at Sam Boyd Stadium in Whitney, Nevada, on December 18, 1992. It was inaugural Las Vegas Bowl and the first game of the bowl season that concluded the 1992 NCAA Division I-A football season. The game featured the Bowling Green Falcons, champions of the Mid-American Conference (MAC), and the Nevada Wolf Pack, champions of the Big West Conference. Bowling Green won the game by a score of 35–34.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 Northern Illinois Huskies football team</span> American college football season

The 2015 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University as a member of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by third-year head coach Rod Carey, the Huskies compiled an overall record of 8–6 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, finishing in a four-way tie for the MAC West Division title with Central Michigan, Toledo, and Western Michigan. Northern Illinois advance to the MAC Championship Game, where they lost to Bowling Green. The Huskies were invited to the Boca Raton Bowl, to the Poinsettia Bowl, where they were defeated by Boise State. The team played home games at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, Illinois.

The 1984 Big Ten Conference football season was the 89th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1984 NCAA Division I-A football season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Buffalo Bulls football team</span> American college football season

The 2020 Buffalo Bulls football team represented the University at Buffalo in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bulls were led by sixth-year head coach Lance Leipold and played their home games at the University at Buffalo Stadium as members of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference. In a limited season, which was initially canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic before being reinstated, the Bulls finished the season 6–1, 5–0 in MAC play to win the East Division. They lost to Ball State in the MAC Championship. They received an invite to the Camellia Bowl where they defeated Marshall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Ohio Bobcats football team</span> American college football season

The 2022 Ohio Bobcats football team represented Ohio University as a member of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Tim Albin and played their home games at Peden Stadium in Athens, Ohio. They finished the season 10–4 and 7–1 in the MAC and won the MAC East for the first time since 2016. They lost to Toledo in the MAC Championship Game. Ohio defeated Wyoming in the Arizona Bowl

The 2022 Quick Lane Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 26, 2022, at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The eighth annual Quick Lane Bowl, the bowl featured New Mexico State, an FBS Independent, and Bowling Green of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The game began at 2:34 p.m. EST and aired on ESPN. It was one of the 2022–23 bowl games concluding the 2022 FBS football season. The game's title sponsor was automotive chain Quick Lane Tire and Auto Center.

References

  1. "Bowling Green to Motor City". The Ledger . December 5, 2003.
  2. "Northwestern faces high-scoring Falcons in Motor City Bowl". The Argus-Press. December 26, 2003. Retrieved January 10, 2010.
  3. "Harris throws 3 second-half TDs". ESPN.com . December 26, 2003. Retrieved January 10, 2010.
  4. Vample, Ron (December 26, 2003). "Bowling Green defeats Northwestern 28–24 in Motor City". USA Today . Retrieved January 10, 2010.