2010 GMAC Bowl
The 2010 GMAC Bowl, the eleventh edition of the college football bowl game, was played at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama on January 6, 2010. The game was telecast on ESPN and matched the Central Michigan Chippewas, champions of the Mid-American Conference, against the Troy Trojans, champions of the Sun Belt Conference. Central Michigan won in double overtime, 44-41, on a 37-yard field goal by Andrew Aguila, his fifth of the game.
The opponent for the MAC team was scheduled to be the ninth selection of a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference. However, the ACC only produced seven bowl-eligible teams in 2009. Therefore, the GMAC Bowl was able to select an at-large team that was bowl eligible and did not have a prior conference tie-in. Many had felt that the invitation would go to Notre Dame, who finished the season at 6-6. After lengthy meetings the Notre Dame administration made the decision that they will not go to a bowl game following the 2009 season. Also, Notre Dame would only have been eligible to fill the slot after all available teams with 7 or more wins had been accommodated. Several sportswriters pointed to the comparatively low payout of the bowl and the potential humiliation if Central Michigan (then the likely opponent) defeated the Irish.[1][2]
Troy ultimately filled the slot after Southern Miss claimed Conference USA's slot in the 2009 New Orleans Bowl. Although that game has a guaranteed berth for the Sun Belt champion, the organizers used their prerogative to invite the conference's second-place team, Middle Tennessee, not wishing to repeat its Troy–Southern Miss matchup from 2008. As a 9-win team, Troy had priority over any 6–6 teams not already tied to specific bowl games.
Game facts
- This was the first-ever football game between the two teams.
- Neither team had appeared in the GMAC Bowl prior to this matchup.
- The game was the only non-BCS game to match two conference champions.
- MAC representatives are 6-3 in the game. CMU's victory broke a 14-game bowl losing streak for the conference.
Game summary
Scoring summary
| Scoring Play |
Score |
| 1st Quarter |
| Troy — DuJuan Harris 9-yard pass from Levi Brown (Michael Taylor kick), 3:52 |
Troy 7–0 |
| CMU — Andrew Aguila 28-yard field goal, 0:10 |
Troy 7–3 |
| 2nd Quarter |
| CMU — Andrew Aguila 35-yard field goal, 8:45 |
Troy 7–6 |
| Troy — Michael Taylor 22-yard field goal, 3:59 |
Troy 10–6 |
| CMU — Andrew Aguila 44-yard field goal, 1:28 |
Troy 10–9 |
| 3rd Quarter |
| Troy — Shawn Southward 1-yard run (Michael Taylor kick), 13:10 |
Troy 17–9 |
| CMU — Andrew Aguila 42-yard field goal, 9:47 |
Troy 17–12 |
| CMU — Antonio Brown 7-yard run (Andrew Aguila kick), 2:46 |
CMU 19–17 |
| Troy — DuJuan Harris 6-yard run (Michael Taylor kick), 0:23 |
Troy 24–19 |
| 4th Quarter |
| Troy — DuJuan Harris 1-yard run (Michael Taylor kick), 8:01 |
Troy 31–19 |
| CMU — Antonio Brown 95-yard kickoff return (Andrew Aguila kick), 7:47 |
Troy 31–26 |
| CMU — Bryan Anderson 4-yard pass from Dan LeFevour (Kito Poblah pass from Dan LeFevour 2 point attempt good), 1:17 |
CMU 34–31 |
| Troy — Michael Taylor 46-yard field goal, 0:31 |
TIE 34–34 |
| Overtime |
| CMU — Dan LeFevour 13-yard run (Andrew Aguila kick) |
CMU 41–34 |
| Troy — Shawn Southward 1-yard run (Michael Taylor kick) |
TIE 41–41 |
| 2nd Overtime |
| CMU — Andrew Aguila 37-yard field goal |
CMU 44–41 |
|
References