2010 International Bowl Preview

2010 International Bowl

Date	January 2, 2010
Time	Noon
Television Network	ESPN2
Location	Toronto
Stadium	Rogers Centre

History of the International Bowl

The first International Bowl was held in 2007 and it was the first college bowl game held outside the United States in 70 years, since the Bacardi Bowl was held in Cuba.

In 2004, the city of Toronto lead a failed effort to bring a new bowl game to the city, however, they were successuful the following year and held the first International Bowl after the 2006 season. The bowl signed agreements with the Big East Conference and the Mid-American Conference. The Big East has won all three of the contests.

The game is played at the Rogers Centre, which opened as the Skydome in 1989. In 2004, Rogers Communications, the parent company of the Toronto Blue Jays, purchased the facility and renamed it. The stadium is noted for being the first to have a fully-retractable motorized roof and the 348-room hotel attached to it, with 70 rooms overlooking the field. The Rogers Centre is home to Major League Baseball's Toronto Blue Jays, the Canadian Football League Toronto Argonauts and other local sports. The Buffalo Bills have signed an agreement to play a limited number of games there.

Past Results

2009 - Connecticut 38, Buffalo 20

2008 - Rutgers 52, Ball State 30

2007 - Cincinnati 27, Western Michigan 24

University of South Florida

Location	Tampa
Founded	1956
Enrollment	42,778
Nickname	Bulls

The USF Bulls got off to another fast start, winning their first five games, including a huge victory at Florida State. The team would only win two of its last seven games, but did post victories over two ranked opponents (#18 FSU and #21 West Virginia). This is the school’s fifth straight bowl appearance and only six other programs can make that claim.

When senior quarterback Matt Grothe, the Big East’s all-time leader in total yards, was lost to injury in the third game, red-shirt freshman B.J. Daniels had to step up. Daniels inconsistency lead to the Bulls struggles. Junior Carlton Mitchell, the school's all-time leading receiver, has been the team’s big play receiver and Mo Plancher has lead the running back corps. Junior college transfer Jason Pierre-Paul has emerged as a playmaker on the defense line.

Jim Leavitt, the only coach in USF history, talked about the game. "Our entire program is excited about the upcoming experience in the International Bowl. We can't wait to begin preparations for the challenge in front of us," said Leavitt.

2009 USF Bulls Results (7-5)

Date	Opponent	Result
Sat Sep 5	Wofford	Won 40-7
Sat Sep 12	at Western Kentucky	Won 35-13
Sat Sep 19	Charleston Southern	Won 59-0
Sat Sep 26	at Florida State	Won 17-7
Sat Oct 3	at Syracuse	Won 34-20
Thr Oct 15	Cincinnati	Lost 34-17
Sat Oct 24	at Pittsburgh	Lost 41-14
Fri Oct 30	West Virginia	Won 30-19
Thr Nov 12	at Rutgers	Lost 31-0
Sat Nov 21	Louisville	Won 34-22
Sat Nov 28	Miami, FL	Lost 31-10
Sat Dec 5	at Connecticut	Lost 29-27

Past USF Bowl Games (2-2)

Season	Bowl Game	Result
2008	St. Petersburg	USF 41, Memphis 14
2007	Brut Sun	Oregon 56, USF 21
2006	PapaJohns.com	USF 24, East Carolina 7
2005	Meineke Car Care	NC State 14, USF 0

Northern Illinois University

Location	DeKalb, IL
Founded	1895
Enrollment	25,313
Nickname	Huskies

While the Huskies did not play one ranked team this season, the signature victory was 28-21 at Purdue. Even thought the team lost its last two games, to the teams that would play in the MAC Conference Championship game, they are looking forward to their second consecutive bowl appearance and fourth in six years.

The Huskies lead the conference in rushing (202 yards per game) and were second in scoring (30.8). Junior Chad Spann was the leading rusher with 945 yards and 19 Tds, sophomore Chandler Harnish is an effective passer, junior Landon Cox was the leading receiver and junior Jake Coffman lead the defense with 7.5 sacks.

Second year coach Jerry Kill said of the game, "This is a great time for the Huskies. This is a tremendous opportunity for our program versus a tremendous opponent as we know South Florida is a very good football program. It will be a great challenge for our team."

2009 Nothern Illinois Huskies (7-5)

Date	Opponent	Result
Sat Sep 5	at Wisonsin	Lost 28-20
Sat Sep 12	Western Illinois	Won 41-7
Sat Sep 19	at Purdue	Won 28-21
Sat Sep 26	Idaho	Lost 34-31
Sat Oct 3	Western Michigan	Won 38-3
Sat Oct 17	at Toledo	Lost 20-19
Sat Oct 24	at Miami (Ohio)	Won 27-22
Sat Oct 31	Akron	Won 27-10
Thr Nov 5	Eastern Michigan	Won 50-6
Thr Nov 12	Ball State	Won 26-20
Sat Nov 21	at Ohio	Lost 38-31
Fri Nov 27	at Central Michigan	Lost 45-31

Past Northern Illinois Bowl Games (2-2)

Season	Bowl Game	Result
2008	Independence	Louisiana Tech 17, NIU 10
2006	Poinsettia	TCU 37, NIU 7
2004	Silicon Valley Classic	NIU 34, Troy State 21
1983	California	NIU 20, Cal State-Fullerton 13

USF played NIU back in 2001-2002 with each school winning on its home field, however, BCS programs are almost always heavy favorites over non-BCS teams in bowl games. The Bulls are a touchdown favorite.

South Florida has struggled on the road, as has NIU, but the fact that this game is indoors will neutralize that problem for the Bulls. The Huskies have to hope that a quarterback who completes 66 percent of his passes and a running game ranked 17th in the nation will wear down a fast USF defense and keep the Bulls offense off the field. A few big plays, and a couple of key runs by Daniels, and it could be four in row for the Big East in the International Bowl.

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