MARYLAND, Sporting Alert – NCAA college bowl games resume on Monday with two more games with the Military Bowl and Quick Lane Bowl trophies up for the taking.
College Football Preseason Games Full Schedule, TV Channels
At Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland, No. 21 Navy and Pittsburgh will battle for the Military Bowl presented By Northrop Grumman, live on ESPN at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Navy has been having a breaking season and at one point was even in the conversion for a College Football Playoffs spot. Beating then-No. 13 Memphis 45-20 in November was a key moment for the program, but the Midshipmen (10-2) were unable to perform against Houston and were beaten 52-31 in an American Athletic Conference clash.
Nevertheless, the Navy is still a top college football team and it will start as 3-point favorites to win against Pittsburgh on Monday.
Quarterback Keenan Reynolds, who finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting, will again run the offense for the Midshipmen as he makes his final collegiate game.
The talented combo QB Reynolds has thrown for 1077 yards and rushed for another 1229 yards on the ground with 21 touchdowns, which makes him one of the best in his position in FBS.
The Panthers (8-4), in the meantime, have won eight games this season, which is the most since 2010.
Head coach Pat Narduzzi, who recently had a two-year extension to his contract, is buzzing with confidence about his team’s chance of winning against the odds on Monday.
The last time these two programs battled, Navy picked up a narrow 24-21 victory in 2013 in Annapolis.
Pittsburgh leads this series 22-14-3.
In their last bowl game, the Panthers, who are 13-18-1 all-time in bowls, were edged 35-34 by Houston in the 2015 Armed Forces Bowl.
Navy’s last appearance in the postseason was in the Poinsettia Bowl (2014) when it celebrated a close 17-16 win over San Diego State. The Midshipmen Bowl History sit at 9-10-1.
Navy enters this game looking for a school-record 11th win on the season and a third straight bowl win for the first time in program history. The Mids have collected 10 win campaigns four times in their history, and they included – 1905, 2004, 2009 and 2015.
Meanwhile, at Ford Field in Detroit, Central Michigan and Minnesota will battle for the Quick Lane Bowl at 5 p.m. live on ESPN2.
Minnesota (5-7) leads this series 1-0 with the only meeting coming in September 1987, when the Golden Gophers pushed off to a 30-10 win.
Quarterback Cooper Rush leads the Chippewas into Monday’s matchup.
The Central Michigan junior has passed for 3703 yards on 309 of 460 passes with 25 touchdowns. Rush is expected to be one of the players to watch in this game.
Schedule For Monday, Dec. 28
Military Bowl presented By Northrop Grumman
Pittsburgh vs. Navy
Annapolis, Maryland | Jack Stephens Field at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
2:30 p.m. on ESPN, WatchESPN
Quick Lane Bowl
Central Michigan vs. Minnesota
Detroit | Ford Field
5 p.m. on ESPN2, WatchESN
