Quick Lane Bowl
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 Atlantic Coast Conference, or a Mid-American Conference team if there are no more eligible teams from either.
| Quick Lane Bowl | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Stadium | Ford Field |
| Location | Detroit, Michigan |
| Operated | 2014–present |
| Conference tie-ins | Big Ten ACC MAC (secondary) |
| Payout | US$2 million (2019)[1] |
| Preceded by | Little Caesars Pizza Bowl |
| Sponsors | |
Ford Motor Company (2014–present) | |
| 2018 matchup | |
| Minnesota vs. Georgia Tech (Minnesota 34–10) | |
| 2019 matchup | |
| Eastern Michigan vs. Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh 34–30) | |
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.[2] The Ford Motor Company serves as title sponsor of the game through its auto shop brand Quick Lane.
The inaugural game between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and North Carolina Tar Heels was played on December 26, 2014, marking the first time the two teams had ever played each other in a bowl game.[3]
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".[4] 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.[2]
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.[5][6] 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.[5] Comerica Park, the Tigers, and game sponsor Little Caesars are all owned by Ilitch Holdings.[5] However, these plans never came to fruition.[4][6]
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;[6][7] 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.[8] 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 |
MVPs
| Year | MVP | Team | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Josh Hicks | Rutgers | RB |
| 2015 | Mitch Leidner | Minnesota | QB |
| 2016 | Defensive Line | Boston College | DL |
| 2017 | Daniel Jones | Duke | QB |
| 2018 | Mohamed Ibrahim | Minnesota | RB |
| 2019 | Kenny Pickett | Pittsburgh | QB |
Most appearances
Updated through the December 2019 edition (6 games, 12 total appearances).
- Teams with multiple appearances
| Rank | Team | Appearances | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minnesota | 2 | 2–0 |
- Teams with a single appearance
Won: Boston College, Duke, Pittsburgh, Rutgers
Lost: Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Georgia Tech, Maryland, North Carolina, Northern Illinois
Appearances by conference
Updated through the December 2019 edition (6 games, 12 total appearances).
| Conference | Record | Appearances by season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | W | L | Win pct. | Won | Lost | |
| ACC | 5 | 3 | 2 | .600 | 2016, 2017, 2019 | 2014, 2018 |
| Big Ten | 4 | 3 | 1 | .750 | 2014, 2015, 2018 | 2016 |
| MAC | 3 | 0 | 3 | .000 | 2015, 2017, 2019 | |
Game records
| Team | Record, Team vs. Opponent | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Most points scored (one team) | 40, Rutgers vs. North Carolina | 2014 |
| Most points scored (losing team) | 30, shared by: Maryland vs. Boston College Eastern Michigan vs. Pittsburgh |
2016 2019 |
| Most points scored (both teams) | 66, Boston College vs. Maryland | 2016 |
| Fewest points allowed | 10, Minnesota vs. Georgia Tech | 2018 |
| Largest margin of victory | 24, Minnesota vs. Georgia Tech | 2018 |
| Total yards | 524, Rutgers vs. North Carolina | 2014 |
| Rushing yards | 340, Rutgers vs. North Carolina | 2014 |
| 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 | 249, Minnesota vs. Central Michigan | 2015 |
| Fewest rushing yards allowed | 65, Duke vs. Northern Illinois | 2017 |
| Fewest passing yards allowed | 77, Minnesota vs. Georgia Tech | 2018 |
| Individual | Record, Player, Team vs. Opponent | Year |
| All-purpose yards | ||
| Touchdowns (all-purpose) | 2, most recently: Mohamed Ibrahim, Minnesota vs. Georgia Tech Tyler Johnson, Minnesota vs. Georgia Tech | 2018 2018 |
| Rushing yards | 224, Mohamed Ibrahim, Minnesota vs. Georgia Tech | 2018 |
| Rushing touchdowns | 2, most recently: Mohamed Ibrahim, Minnesota vs. Georgia Tech | 2018 |
| Passing yards | 361, Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh vs. Eastern Michigan | 2019 |
| Passing touchdowns | 3, Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh vs. Eastern Michigan | 2019 |
| Receiving yards | 165, Maurice Ffrench, Pittsburgh vs. Eastern Michigan | 2019 |
| Receiving touchdowns | 2, Tyler Johnson, Minnesota vs. Georgia Tech | 2018 |
| Tackles | ||
| Sacks | ||
| Interceptions | 1, by several players | |
| Long Plays | Record, Player, Team vs. Opponent | Year |
| Touchdown run | 62, Ty Johnson, Maryland vs. Boston College | 2016 |
| Touchdown pass | 96, Kenny Pickett to Maurice Ffrench, Pittsburgh vs. Eastern Michigan | 2019 |
| Kickoff return | 55, Teldrick Morgan, Maryland vs. Boston College | 2016 |
| Punt return | 14, KiAnte Hardin, Minnesota vs. Central Michigan | 2015 |
| Interception return | 30, Darnell Savage, Maryland vs. Boston College | 2016 |
| Fumble return | 7, Truman Gutapfel, Boston College vs. Maryland | 2016 |
| Punt | 56, Zach Oakley, Central Michigan vs. Minnesota | 2015 |
| Field goal | 51, Alex Kessman, Pittsburgh vs. Eastern Michigan | 2019 |
Media coverage
Television
| Date | Network | Play-by-play announcers | Color commentators | Sideline reporters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | ESPN[9] | Mark Neely | Ray Bentley | Niki Noto |
| 2015 | ESPN2 | Dave Neal | Matt Stinchcomb | Kayce Smith |
| 2016 | ESPN | Mark Neely | Ray Bentley | Alex Corddry |
| 2017 | ESPN | Mike Couzens | Ray Bentley | Allison Williams |
| 2018 | ESPN | Mark Neely | Ray Bentley | Allison Williams |
| 2019 | ESPN | Mike Corey | Rene Ingoglia | Allison Williams |
Radio
WDVD-FM and WJR (AM) are the flagship stations for the Quick Lane Bowl Radio Network. Availability between the two to carry the game rotates depending on other Detroit area sporting events.
| Date | Network | Play-by-play announcers | Color commentators | Sideline reporters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Quick Lane Radio Network | Doug Karsch | Jon Jansen | |
| 2015 | Quick Lane Radio Network | Don Chiodo | Brock Gutierrez | Jim Costa |
| 2016 | Quick Lane Radio Network | Frank Beckmann | Lomas Brown | Kenny Brown |
| 2017 | Quick Lane Radio Network | Frank Beckmann | Lomas Brown | Kenny Brown |
| 2018 | Quick Lane Radio Network | Frank Beckmann | Joique Bell | Matt Laurinec |
| 2019 | Quick Lane Radio Network | Chris Renwick | Devin Gardner | Matt Laurinec |
See also
References
- "2019 Bowl Schedule". collegefootballpoll.com. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
- "Detroit Lions announce agreement with ACC for Bowl Game at Ford Field". detroitlions.com. August 7, 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
- "Rutgers will meet North Carolina in Detroit's inaugural Quick Lane Bowl". NJ.com. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
- 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.
- 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.
- Shea, Bill (August 19, 2014). "Little Caesars Pizza Bowl at Ford Field canceled". Crain's Detroit Business. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
- "Quick Lane Bowl Announced". Big Ten Conference. August 26, 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
- "MAC, Quick Lane Bowl Agree To Backup Tie-In". Hustle Belt (SB Nation). Retrieved 2017-12-20.
- "ESPN College Football – Bowl Schedule and Commentators, College GameDay, College Football Awards, Division I Football Championship and More". ESPN Media Zone. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
