Papajohns.Com Bowl
|
|
|
The PapaJohns.com Bowl made its debut in 2006. The game is held at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. The game features teams from the Big East and Conference USA. If the Big East does not have enough bowl eligible teams, a school from the Mid-American Conference would be selected. PapaJohns pizza is the official sponsor of the game. Each school received a $300,000 payout for their participation in the bowl.
The inaugural contest featured the South Florida Bulls against the East Carolina Pirates. It was the first bowl game to be played in Birmingham since the All-American Bowl ended in 1990. South Florida got off to a quick start, scoring on their opening drive on a touchdown run by running back Benjamin Williams. Williams added another first quarter touchdown to give the Bulls a 14-0 lead.
The South Florida defense held East Carolina to only one touchdown and forced two turnovers. South Florida was 5-for-5 on fourth down conversions. The Bulls won the game despite being without starting quarterback Matt Grothe for the second half. South Florida went on to win the inaugural PapaJohns.com Bowl 24-7. It was the first bowl victory in the program’s history. Williams was named game MVP.
This year’s game will be played on December 22, 2007. The game will be televised on ESPN2. Southern Mississippi has already accepted Conference USA’s bid to appear in the bowl. It is unclear at this time which Big East team will be the opponent. Southern Mississippi head coach Jeff Bower recently announced his resignation. Bower compiled an impressive 119-82-1 record during his tenure. Bower will coach the team in the upcoming bowl game.
|
|
Print
E-mail
Del.icio.us
Digg
