Quick Lane Bowl

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Quick Lane Bowl
StadiumFord Field
LocationDetroit, Michigan
Operated2014–present
Conference tie-insBig Ten, MAC[1]
Previous conference tie-insACC (2014–2019)
PayoutUS$2 million (2019)[2]
Preceded byLittle Caesars Pizza Bowl
Sponsors
Ford Motor Company (2014–present)
2022 matchup
New Mexico State vs. Bowling Green
(New Mexico State 24–19)
2023 matchup
Minnesota vs. Bowling Green
(Minnesota 30–24)

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.[3] The Ford Motor Company serves as title sponsor of the game through its auto shop brand Quick Lane.

The inaugural edition of the bowl was played on December 26, 2014, between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and North Carolina Tar Heels.[4] In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 edition of the bowl was not played; although a specific reason was not given by organizers.[5]

History

Since 2002, Detroit's Ford Field had played host to the Motor City Bowl—later known as the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl for sponsorship reasons; a bowl game between the 8th placed team in the Big Ten Conference and the champion of the Mid-American Conference (MAC), which was first played in 1997 at the Pontiac Silverdome. In May 2013, ESPN reported that the Detroit Lions were planning to organize a new Big Ten bowl game at Ford Field against an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) opponent—Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany had expressed a desire to revamp the conference's lineup of bowl games for the 2014 season to keep them "fresh".[6] In August 2013, the Lions officially confirmed the new, then-unnamed game, tentatively scheduled for December 30, 2014. The team had reached six-year deals with the Big Ten and ACC to provide tie-ins for the game; the teams playing in the bowl are to be picked by representatives from each participating conference.[3]

Ford Field, prior venue of the defunct Little Caesars Pizza Bowl and current venue of the Quick Lane Bowl

The announcement of the Lions' bowl game, and the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl's loss of Ford Field as a venue, left the fate of the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl—which had a relatively lower-profile matchup—in jeopardy. Detroit Lions president Tom Lewand remarked that "very few" markets could adequately support hosting two major bowl games.[7][8] Organizers were open to the possibility of moving the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl across the street to Comerica Park, home stadium of the Detroit Tigers, for 2014 as an outdoor game.[7] Comerica Park, the Tigers, and game sponsor Little Caesars are all owned by Ilitch Holdings.[7] However, these plans never came to fruition.[6][8]

In August 2014, the Lions announced that the Ford Motor Company had acquired title sponsorship rights to the new Detroit bowl, now known as the Quick Lane Bowl—named for its auto shop brand, Quick Lane. It was also confirmed that the inaugural Quick Lane Bowl would inherit the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl's traditional date of December 26, and be televised by ESPN. In a statement to Crain's Detroit Business, Motor City Bowl co-founder Ken Hoffman confirmed that "there is no Pizza Bowl for 2014. We will have to see about the future", implying that the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl had been cancelled indefinitely;[8][9] the December 2013 playing proved to be the final edition of the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl.

On October 21, 2014, the Quick Lane Bowl announced a secondary tie-in with the MAC.[10] The inaugural Quick Lane Bowl, played in December 2014, featured Rutgers of the Big Ten and North Carolina of the ACC. Through the first six playings of the bowl, five ACC teams, four Big Ten teams, and three MAC teams have been featured.

Game results

Date Winning Team Losing Team Attendance Notes
December 26, 2014 Rutgers 40 North Carolina 21 23,876 notes
December 28, 2015 Minnesota 21 Central Michigan 14 34,217 notes
December 26, 2016 Boston College 36 Maryland 30 19,117 notes
December 26, 2017 Duke 36 Northern Illinois 14 20,211 notes
December 26, 2018 Minnesota 34 Georgia Tech 10 27,228 notes
December 26, 2019 Pittsburgh 34 Eastern Michigan 30 34,765 notes
2020 Canceled [11]
December 27, 2021 Western Michigan 52 Nevada 24 22,321 notes
December 26, 2022 New Mexico State 24 Bowling Green 19 22,987 notes
December 26, 2023 Minnesota 30 Bowling Green 24 28,521 notes

Source:[12]

MVPs

2017 Quick Lane Bowl MVP Daniel Jones
Year MVP Team Position Ref.
2014 Josh Hicks Rutgers RB [13]
2015 Mitch Leidner Minnesota QB [14]
2016 Defensive Line Boston College DL [15]
2017 Daniel Jones Duke QB [16]
2018 Mohamed Ibrahim Minnesota RB [17]
2019 Kenny Pickett Pittsburgh QB [18]
2021 Sean Tyler Western Michigan RB [19]
2022 Diego Pavia New Mexico State QB [20]
2023 Darius Taylor Minnesota RB [21]

Most appearances

Updated through the December 2023 edition (9 games, 18 total appearances).

Teams with multiple appearances
Rank Team Appearances Record
1 Minnesota 3 3–0
2 Bowling Green 2 0–2
Teams with a single appearance

Won (6): Boston College, Duke, New Mexico State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Western Michigan
Lost (7): Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Nevada, North Carolina, Northern Illinois

Appearances by conference

Updated through the December 2023 edition (9 games, 18 total appearances).

Conference Record Appearances by season
Games W L Win pct. Won Lost
MAC 6 1 5 .167 2021 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2023
Big Ten 5 4 1 .800 2014, 2015, 2018, 2023 2016
ACC 5 3 2 .600 2016, 2017, 2019 2014, 2018
Independents 1 1 0 1.000 2022  
Mountain West 1 0 1 .000   2021
  • Independent appearances: New Mexico State (2022)

Game records

Team Record, Team vs. Opponent Year
Most points scored (one team) 52, Western Michigan vs. Nevada 2021
Most points scored (losing team) 30, shared by:
Maryland vs. Boston College
Eastern Michigan vs. Pittsburgh

2016
2019
Most points scored (both teams) 76, Western Michigan vs. Nevada 2021
Fewest points allowed 10, Minnesota vs. Georgia Tech 2018
Largest margin of victory 28, Western Michigan vs. Nevada 2021
Total yards 524, Rutgers vs. North Carolina 2014
Rushing yards 352, Western Michigan vs. Nevada 2021
Passing yards 361, Pittsburgh vs. Eastern Michigan 2019
First downs 27, shared by:
North Carolina vs. Rutgers
Duke vs. Northern Illinois
Eastern Michigan vs. Pittsburgh

2014
2017
2019
Fewest yards allowed 242, Nevada vs. Western Michigan 2021
Fewest rushing yards allowed 65, Duke vs. Northern Illinois 2017
Fewest passing yards allowed 26, Bowling Green vs. Minnesota 2023
Individual Record, Player (Team) Year
All-purpose yards 281, Sean Tyler (Western Michigan) 2021
Touchdowns (all-purpose) 2, most recently:
Jaxson Kincaide (Western Michigan)

2021
Rushing yards 224, Mohamed Ibrahim (Minnesota) 2018
Rushing touchdowns 2, most recently:
Jaxson Kincaide (Western Michigan)

2021
Passing yards 361, Kenny Pickett (Pittsburgh) 2019
Passing touchdowns 3, Kenny Pickett (Pittsburgh) 2019
Receiving yards 165, Maurice Ffrench (Pittsburgh) 2019
Receiving touchdowns 2, Tyler Johnson (Minnesota) 2018
Tackles 14, Lorenzo Waters (Rutgers) 2014
Sacks 2, most recently:
Jah Joyner (Minnesota)

2023
Interceptions 1, by several players
Long Plays Record, Player (Team) Year
Touchdown run 62 yds., Ty Johnson (Maryland) 2016
Touchdown pass 96 yds., Kenny Pickett to Maurice Ffrench (Pittsburgh) 2019
Kickoff return 100 yds., Sean Tyler (Western Michigan) 2021
Punt return 27 yds., Le'Meke Brockington (Minnesota) 2023
Interception return 30 yds., Darnell Savage (Maryland) 2016
Fumble return 7 yds., Truman Gutapfel (Boston College) 2016
Punt 59 yds., Julian Diaz (Nevada) 2021
Field goal 51 yds., Alex Kessman (Pittsburgh) 2019

Media coverage

Television

Date Network Play-by-play announcers Color commentators Sideline reporters
2014 ESPN[22] Mark Neely Ray Bentley Niki Noto
2015 ESPN2 Dave Neal Matt Stinchcomb Kayce Smith
2016 ESPN Mark Neely Ray Bentley Alex Corddry
2017 Mike Couzens Allison Williams
2018 Mark Neely
2019 Mike Corey Rene Ingoglia
2021 Bill Roth Dustin Fox Taylor McGregor
2022 John Schriffen Rene Ingoglia Tera Talmadge
2023 Connor Onion Dustin Fox Tori Petry

Radio

WDVD-FM and WJR (AM) were the flagship stations for the Quick Lane Bowl Radio Network for the first 6 years. Availability between the two to carry the game rotated depending on other Detroit area sporting events. That changed in 2021 when the Detroit Lions radio rights moved to WXYT, at which time it also became the flagship station for the Quick Lane Bowl Radio Network.

Date Network Play-by-play announcers Color commentators Sideline reporters
2014 Quick Lane Radio Network Doug Karsch Jon Jansen
2015 Don Chiodo Brock Gutierrez Jim Costa
2016 Frank Beckmann Lomas Brown Kenny Brown
2017
2018 Joique Bell Matt Laurinec
2019 Chris Renwick Devin Gardner
2021 Doug Karsch Jon Jansen
2022 Bowl Season Radio Kyle Wiggs John Denton Adam Jaksa
2023

See also

References

  1. ^ "2021 Quick Lane Bowl tickets on sale August 27".
  2. ^ "2019 Bowl Schedule". collegefootballpoll.com. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Detroit Lions announce agreement with ACC for Bowl Game at Ford Field". detroitlions.com. August 7, 2013. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  4. ^ "Rutgers will meet North Carolina in Detroit's inaugural Quick Lane Bowl". NJ.com. 8 December 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  5. ^ Crawford, Kirkland (October 30, 2020). "Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit canceled this season; hope is to return in 2021". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  6. ^ a b Meinke, Kyle (May 21, 2013). "Report: Detroit Lions to host bowl game with Big Ten tie-in, Pizza Bowl getting dumped". Mlive.com. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  7. ^ a b c Lacy, Eric (May 21, 2013). "Little Caesars Pizza Bowl organizers open to playing outside; Detroit Lions bowl interest confirmed". Mlive.com. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  8. ^ a b c Shea, Bill (August 19, 2014). "Little Caesars Pizza Bowl at Ford Field canceled". Crain's Detroit Business. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  9. ^ "Quick Lane Bowl Announced". Big Ten Conference. August 26, 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  10. ^ "MAC, Quick Lane Bowl Agree To Backup Tie-In". Hustle Belt (SB Nation). Retrieved 2017-12-20.
  11. ^ Buczek, Joe (October 30, 2020). "Detroit's Quick Lane Bowl Canceled for 2020". MIsportsnow.com. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  12. ^ "Quick Lane Bowl" (PDF). Bowl/All Star Game Records. NCAA. 2020. pp. 12–13. Retrieved January 3, 2021 – via NCAA.org.
  13. ^ "Quick Lane Bowl: Rutgers plows North Carolina, 40-21, as Josh Hicks rushes for 202 yards". mlive.com. Associated Press. December 26, 2014. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  14. ^ "Minnesota Golden Gophers beat Central Michigan in Quick Lane Bowl, Mitch Leidner is MVP". Fox Sports. December 28, 2015.
  15. ^ Gravellese, Joseph (December 26, 2016). "Entire BC defensive line named MVP of Quick Lane Bowl". bcinterruption.com. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  16. ^ Goricki, David (December 26, 2017). "Duke rolls past Northern Illinois in Quick Lane Bowl". The Detroit News. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
  17. ^ Schutte, Dustin (December 2018). "Minnesota RB Mohamed Ibrahim named Quick Lane Bowl MVP following career performance". saturdaytradition.com. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  18. ^ @Pitt_FB (December 27, 2019). "Kenny ❄️ Pickett MVP of the Quick Lane Bowl 27-for-39, 361 yards, 3 TD #H2P" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  19. ^ @quicklanebowl (December 27, 2021). "The 2021 Quick Lane Bowl MVP: Sean Tyler" (Tweet). Retrieved December 27, 2021 – via Twitter.
  20. ^ @quicklanebowl (December 27, 2022). "The 2022 Quick Lane Bowl MVP: Diego Pavia. Diego finished with 2 touchdowns on the day with over 167 yards passing and 65 rushing yards!" (Tweet). Retrieved December 26, 2022 – via Twitter.
  21. ^ Ruane, Blake (December 26, 2023). "Quick Lane Bowl Recap: Darius Taylor takes over to power Minnesota past Bowling Green". thedailygopher.com. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  22. ^ "ESPN College Football – Bowl Schedule and Commentators, College GameDay, College Football Awards, Division I Football Championship and More". ESPN Media Zone. 10 December 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2014.

External links