The 2010 GMAC Bowl, the eleventh edition of the

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, was played at Ladd–Peebles Stadium in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

, on January 6, 2010, as one of the final games of the

2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on September 3, 2009, and ended o ...

. The game was telecast on

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and matched the Central Michigan Chippewas, champions of the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

, against the

Troy Trojans The Troy Trojans are the sports teams of Troy University. They began playing in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's Division I (NCAA), Division I-A in 2001 in sports, 2001, became a American football, football only member of the ...

, champions of the

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that has been affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football confe ...

. Central Michigan won in double overtime, 44-41, on a 37-yard field goal by Andrew Aguila, his fifth of the game. The opponent for the MAC team was scheduled to be the ninth selection of a team from the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

. However, the ACC produced only seven bowl-eligible teams in 2009. Therefore, the GMAC Bowl was able to select an at-large team that was bowl eligible and did not have a prior conference tie-in. Many had felt that the invitation would go to Notre Dame, who finished the season at 6-6. After lengthy meetings the Notre Dame administration made the decision that they will not go to a bowl game following the 2009 season. Also, Notre Dame would only have been eligible to fill the slot after all available teams with 7 or more wins had been accommodated. Several sportswriters pointed to the comparatively low payout of the bowl and the potential humiliation if Central Michigan (then the likely opponent) defeated the Irish. Troy ultimately filled the slot after Southern Miss claimed

Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...

's slot in the 2009 New Orleans Bowl. Although that game has a guaranteed berth for the Sun Belt champion, the organizers used their prerogative to invite the conference's second-place team,

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, not wishing to repeat its Troy–Southern Miss matchup from

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. As a 9-win team, Troy had priority over any 6–6 teams not already tied to specific bowl games.

Game facts

* This was the first-ever football game between the two teams. * Neither team had appeared in the GMAC Bowl prior to this matchup. * The game was the only non-BCS game to match two conference champions. * MAC representatives are 6-3 in the game. CMU's victory broke a 14-game bowl losing streak for the conference.

Game summary

Scoring summary

References

External links

ESPN summary
{{DEFAULTSORT:2010 Gmac Bowl GMAC Bowl 68 Ventures Bowl Central Michigan Chippewas football bowl games Troy Trojans football bowl games GMAC Bowl