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Officials for the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho, are excited to have Idaho playing in the Dec. 30 game against Bowling Green.
About 16,000 Idaho alumni live in the Boise area, and thousands more live a short distance away, said Kevin McDonald, executive director of the bowl. They will likely be thrilled that Idaho is making its first bowl appearance since 1998, he said.
"We've always considered the Humanitarian Bowl the state of Idaho's game," McDonald said. Indeed, Boise State has played three times in the 12-year-old bowl.
Idaho's only previous bowl appearance was in the Humanitarian Bowl's second year, when they beat Southern Mississippi 42-35 in one of the game's most exciting matches, McDonald said.
Idaho (7-5) backed into the bowl despite losing four of its last five games. But those loses were to Boise State, Nevada and Fresno State, which are all headed to bowl games, and Utah State, which is not.
By contrast, Bowling Green (7-5) won six of its last seven and four in a row to win a bid.
This is the first time that both the major college football teams in Idaho will be appearing in bowl games in the same season. No. 6 Boise State (13-0) plays TCU (12-0) on Jan. 4 in the Fiesta Bowl.
"I've got to believe that's going to make for a more Merry Christmas for everyone in the state," Idaho coach Robb Akey said. "All the fans in the state got a team they can be rooting for."
Akey said he expected fans of each team to root for the other.
Idaho averages 31 points per game behind quarterback Nathan Enderle, who is seventh in the country in passing efficiency.
Akey, who is in the midst of recruiting, has caught just snippets of Bowling Green games on television this year.
"I'm not fully schooled on them," he said. The Vandals beat Northern Illinois, a MAC rival of Bowling Green, earlier this season.
This is Bowling Green's fourth bowl since 2003. They also played on the blue turf at Boise State's stadium last year, losing 20-7 to the Broncos.
Under first-year coach Dave Clawson, the Falcons are led by quarterback Tyler Sheehan, who is averaging 305 yards per game through the air. He has thrown for 3,664 yards and 23 touchdowns.
His main target is Freddie Barnes, a Biletnikoff finalist. Barnes leads the country in receptions (138) and touchdowns (16) and is third in receiving yards (1,551). He is just five catches away from breaking the NCAA mark of 142 catches in a season, held by Manny Hazard (Houston) since 1989.
McDonald said the possibility that record could be broken in the bowl game is an added plus.
Clawson expects the crowd in Boise to heavily favor the Vandals.
"I'm sure it'll be like an away game for us," he said. "Our guys are excited to get back on the blue turf."
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
