Gophers' 6-game bowl win streak began in Detroit in '15. They're back in Quick Lane vs Bowling Green
Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck walks the sidelines during their NCAA college football game against Ohio State, Nov. 18, 2023, in Columbus, Ohio. Minnesota will face Bowling Green in the Quick Lane Bowl on Tuesday, Dec. 26. Credit: AP/Jay LaPrete
Quick Lane Bowl: Bowling Green (7-5) vs. Minnesota (5-7), Dec. 26, 2 p.m. EST (ESPN).
FanDuel Sportsbook College Line: Minnesota by 4 1/2.
Series record: Tied 2-2.
WHAT’S AT STAKE
The Gophers, who qualified for a bowl game by NCAA rule because they had the best Academic Progress Rate score among the five-win teams after there was a shortage of eligible teams, are 4-0 in bowl games under coach P.J. Fleck. They went 0-4 in November after entering the final third of the season in control of the Big Ten West Division. Minnesota also will seek to avenge a stunning 14-10 home loss to Bowling Green in 2021, when the Falcons were 31-point underdogs. The Gophers are 34-5-1 all-time against MAC teams, but they're 2-2 against Bowling Green. The Falcons lost to New Mexico State 24-19 in last year's Quick Lane Bowl. Scot Loeffler, in his fifth season, has led Bowling Green to consecutive postseasons for the first time since the program was in four straight from 2012-15.
KEY MATCHUP
Minnesota WR Daniel Jackson vs. Bowling Green secondary. Jackson was third in the Big Ten with 831 receiving yards and second with eight TDs. Anchored by first team all-conference CB Jalen Huskey, the Falcons led the MAC with 16 interceptions. Huskey had four picks and six pass breakups this season.
Bowling Green head coach Scot Loeffler walks on the field before an NCAA college football game against Michigan, Sept. 16, 2023, in Ann Arbor, Mich. Bowling Green will face Minnesota in the Quick Lane Bowl on Tuesday, Dec. 26. Credit: AP/Jose Juarez
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Bowling Green: TE Harold Fannin. He was one of two players on the team to make first-team, All-Mid American Conference. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Canton, Ohio, native had 39 catches for 573 yards and six TDs, ranking among national leaders at his position.
Minnesota: QB Cole Kramer. The fifth-year career backup will make his first college start for his home-state program, after starter Athan Kaliakmanis entered the transfer portal. Kramer has attempted just 14 passes over five seasons and has two rushing TDs.
FACTS & FIGURES
Minnesota wide receiver Daniel Jackson (9) attempts to catch a pass as Wisconsin cornerback Nyzier Fourqurean defends during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023, in Minneapolis. Fourqurean was called for pass interference on the play. Credit: AP/Abbie Parr
The Falcons are playing at Ford Field in a bowl game for the fourth time, including the Motor City Bowl in 2003 when they beat Northwestern. ... Bowling Green won five Mid-American Conference games for the second straight year after winning a total of four in Loeffler's first three seasons. ... Terion Stewart, who led the Falcons with 762 yards rushing and eight TDs, is out with a broken leg and Taron Keith, the team's second-leading rusher and receiver, will not play in Detroit after entering the transfer portal. ... Bowling Green DB Jalen Huskey, who had four INTs, was voted All-MAC. ... Bowling Green is the only MAC team to have beaten Minnesota more than once, also winning at the Metrodome in the 2007 season opener, and the all-time series is tied at two wins each. ... The Gophers have a six-game bowl winning streak that began with the 2015 Quick Lane Bowl. ... Gophers defensive coordinator Joe Rossi left the program for the same job at Michigan State. Minnesota was third-best in the FBS in yards allowed and sixth-best in points allowed in 2021 and ninth and fourth, respectively, in 2022. This year, the Gophers were 60th and 71st in those rankings. ... Minnesota's Dragan Kesich was selected as the Big Ten Kicker of the Year after going 22 for 26 on field goals and making all 24 of his PATs.
