Music City Bowl
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The Music City Bowl has been played annually since 1998. The inaugural game was held at Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. It featured the Virginia Tech Hokies against the Alabama Crimson Tide. Virginia Tech won the game 38-7. The game moved to LP Field, home of the NFL’s Tennessee Titans in 1999. Since its inception, the game has featured a team from the Southeastern Conference. From 1998-2001, the opposing team came from the Big East. The Big Ten assumed the conference tie-in from 2002-2005. Beginning in 2006, the Atlantic Coast Conference replaced the Big Ten. The bowl game currently has two official sponsors. It is known as the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl presented by Bridgestone.
The Music City Bowl has built a reputation for its history of upsets. The favored team has only won twice. Virginia Tech in 1998 and Auburn in 2003 were the only favored teams to come away with a victory.
The 2005 contest featured the Minnesota Golden Gophers and the Virginia Cavaliers. Even though the SEC has a conference tie-in, the conference did not have enough bowl eligible teams that season. As a result, Virginia from the ACC took their spot and defeated Minnesota 34-21.
The 2006 contest between the Kentucky Wildcats and Clemson Tigers earned each program a payout of $1.6 million. Kentucky entered the game a ten-point underdog but pulled off a 28-20 upset.
Past MVP’s of the Music City Bowl have gone on to the NFL. Former Auburn quarterback Jason Campbell led his team to a 28-14 victory over Wisconsin. Campbell went on to be drafted by the Washington Redskins. In 2004, Minnesota running back Marion Barber led his club to a big 20-16 win over Alabama. Barber currently plays for the Dallas Cowboys.
This year’s Music City Bowl will be played on December 31, 2007.
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