The ESPN college football bowl schedule picks up again on Thursday night with the Little Caesars Bowl and the matchup from Ford Field has the Pittsburgh Panthers and the Bowling Green Falcons facing off in what could be a very entertaining matchup and it starts up at 6 PM from Detroit and is the first game back after the Christmas break and the offense could be flowing.
Matt Johnson comes in leading the way for Bowling Green with 3195 yards passing this season and 23 touchdowns and the team comes in after defeating high ranked Northern Illinois in the MAC championship game and now they face off against an ACC team in the Pitt Panthers. Bowling Green can put up points and that could make it tough for the Panthers and the defense has been coming through as well, ranking fifth in the nation in points allowed with under 15 per contest and they have been on a roll heading into the bowl game, winning five games in a row, including the MAC championship game against then number 14 Northern Illinois and they will be playing on Thursday as well and that could also be a good game. The team scored nearly 50 points last time out and now that they were able to handle Jordan Lynch they will get the chance to face off against senior QB Tom Savage, who has passed for nearly 3,000 yards and over 20 scores this season.
Check here for the ESPN Pittsburgh Panthers and Bowling Green live coverage of the bowl game.
Bowling Green comes into the season with the best record and they have 10 wins and another victory would give the team a school record in wins and the last time the two teams played was back in 2008 and that saw Bowling Green win in a near home game for the Panthers at Heinz Field. The Panthers faltered down the stretch this season with four losses over the final six games and they just snuck in as bowl eligible and their best wins this season were against Notre Dame and Duke and now they face off against the Falcons for their postseason game.
Johnson was the key for the Falcons in the championship game, passing for nearly 400 yards and he also added five touchdowns to get the conference title and now Pitt will try and end their season on a high note with a win in the bowl game. The Falcons are ranked in the top part of the nation in passing yards per game and points scored per game and they are going up against a defense that is allowing nearly 30 points per game. The team has been rushing the ball well this season on top of the passing game, going for over 200 yards per contest and now the two teams face off on Thursday after Christmas Day and the Little Caesars Bowl is the next on the schedule in the long line of games this season.