2023 Quick Lane Bowl pairs Bowling Green, Minnesota in rematch of 2021 upset of Gophers
In the ninth annual Quick Lane Bowl, both teams should know their way around Ford Field in Detroit.
The matchup for the Dec. 26 bowl, announced Sunday afternoon, features Minnesota against Bowling Green, with both schools having appeared in the bowl previously. The Golden Gophers and Falcons are set to kick off at 2 p.m. the day after Christmas, with ESPN televising the game.
The Falcons, who went 7-5 in the MAC this season under coach Scot Loeffler — a former Lions assistant coach — lost last season’s Quick Lane Bowl, 24-19 to New Mexico State.
LAST YEAR'S BOWL: New Mexico State holds off Bowling Green, 24-19
The Golden Gophers haven’t appeared in Detroit quite that recently — it’s the third Ford Field appearance for the Golden Gophers, as well as their second under head coach P.J. Fleck, but their first since 2018. That year, Minnesota beat Georgia Tech, 34-10. The Golden Gophers also beat Central Michigan, 21-14, in 2015.
The bowl is also a chance for the Gophers to avenge one of their more embarassing losses, as Bowling Green beat Fleck's squad, 14-10, on Sept. 25, 2021, in Minneapolis.
Bowling Green struggled this season in its only game against a Big Ten squad; the Falcons held Michigan to seven first-half points in September in Ann Arbor, but scored just six themselves as injuries depleted their quarterbacks corps. Connor Bazelak, formerly of Missouri and Indiana, finished the season going 148-for-242 (61.2%) for 1,709 yards, 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions. After the loss to the Wolverines, BGSU went 6-3 with an upset of Power Five school Georgia Tech to end September.
Minnesota had its own issues with Michigan, getting crushed 52-10 on Oct. 7 in Minneapolis. In that game, first-year starting quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis completed just five passes in 15 attempts, for 52 yards and a touchdown. He also had two interceptions. Kaliakmanis finished the season completing 53.1% of his passes for 1,838 yards, 14 TDs and nine interceptions. The Gophers won’t have Kaliakmanis available, however, as he announced his intention to transfer this week. Cole Kramer is the only other Gopher to attempt a pass this season; the senior went 0-for-1. In four previous seasons with Minnesota, Kramer is 8-for-13 for 103 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Kramer played in the Gophers' 2021 loss to Bowling Green, though he didn't attempt a pass; he rushed twice for 22 yards and a touchdown.
The Golden Gophers were stung by injuries in their backfield this season, with star freshman Darius Taylor of Walled Lake Western playing in just five games (with 103 carries for 591 yards). By the end of the regular season, Jordan Nubin — who started the season as the fourth-string back — had emerged as the main ballcarrier. Nubin enters the Quick Lane Bowl with 124 carries for 535 yards and three touchdowns, albeit with 204 of those yards and two TDs (on 40 carries) coming against Michigan State on Oct. 28.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 2023 Quick Lane Bowl pairs Bowling Green, Minnesota
