The 2023 68 Ventures Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 23, 2023, at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Alabama. The 25th annual 68 Ventures Bowl (although the first edition played under that name) featured the Eastern Michigan Eagles from the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and the South Alabama Jaguars from the Sun Belt Conference. The game began at approximately 7:00 p.m. CST and was aired on ESPN.[4][5] The 68 Ventures Bowl was one of the 2023–24 bowl games concluding the 2023 FBS football season. 68 Ventures—an Alabama-based company involved in Gulf Coast development, investment, and construction—was the title sponsor of the game.[6]
| 2023 68 Ventures Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 25th 68 Ventures Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 23, 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Hancock Whitney Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Mobile, Alabama | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Gio Lopez (QB, South Alabama)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | South Alabama by 15.5[2] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Cal McNeill (Mountain West)[3] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 20,926 | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Taylor Zarzour (play-by-play), Matt Stinchcomb (analyst), and Alyssa Lang (sideline) | ||||||||||||||||||
Teams
editConsistent with conference tie-ins, the bowl featured the Eastern Michigan Eagles of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and the South Alabama Jaguars of the Sun Belt Conference.
This was the first time that Eastern Michigan and South Alabama played each other.[7] While Hancock Whitney Stadium is the regular-season home stadium of South Alabama, Eastern Michigan was designated the home team for the bowl.
Eastern Michigan Eagles
editThe Eagles entered the game with a 6–6 record (4–4 in the MAC), finishing in third place in their conference's West Division.
This was Eastern Michigan's second 68 Ventures Bowl; they previously appeared in the 2021 LendingTree Bowl (when the bowl operated under a different name), which they lost.
South Alabama Jaguars
editThe Jaguars entered the game with a 6–6 record (4–4 in the Sun Belt), tied for second place in their conference's West Division.
This was South Alabama's first 68 Ventures Bowl.
Game summary
edit| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Alabama | 17 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 59 |
| Eastern Michigan | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
at Hancock Whitney Stadium • Mobile, Alabama
- Date: Saturday, December 23, 2023
- Game time: 6:00 p.m. CST
- Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 64 °F (18 °C) • Wind: 4 mph (6.4 km/h) SE
- Game attendance: 20,926
- Referee: Cal McNeill
- TV announcers (ESPN): Taylor Zarzour (play-by-play), Matt Stinchcomb (analyst), and Alyssa Lang (sideline)
- Box score
| Game information |
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Following the game, an altercation took place on-field between the teams prior to the trophy presentation, initiated by Eastern Michigan cornerback Korey Hernandez sucker punching South Alabama defensive back Jamarrien Burt while the South Alabama marching band and team were singing the school's alma mater.[8][9] Eastern Michigan's athletic director apologized the next day, stating (in part) "We strongly condemn the actions of some of the student-athletes".[10]
Statistics
edit| Statistics | USA | EMU |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 29 | 10 |
| Plays–yards | 73–627 | 61–150 |
| Rushes–yards | 37–320 | 31–77 |
| Passing yards | 307 | 73 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 23–36–1 | 12–30–2 |
| Time of possession | 30:53 | 29:07 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Alabama | Passing | Gio Lopez | 14/19, 192 yards, 3 TD |
| Rushing | Gio Lopez | 7 carries, 88 yards, TD | |
| Receiving | Jamaal Pritchett | 8 receptions, 127 yards, 2 TD | |
| Eastern Michigan | Passing | Cam'Ron McCoy | 12/27, 73 yards, 2 INT |
| Rushing | Cam'Ron McCoy | 13 carries, 73 yards, TD | |
| Receiving | Terry Lockett Jr. | 2 receptions, 29 yards |
References
edit- ^ "Gio Lopez leads South Alabama to rout of Eastern Michigan in 68 Ventures Bowl". triblive.com. AP. December 24, 2023. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
- ^ Parks, James (December 11, 2023). "College football bowl schedule, game odds, point spreads for 2023-24". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
- ^ Austro, Ben (December 3, 2023). "2023-24 bowl officiating assignments". footballzebras.com. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
- ^ Straka, Dean. "2023-24 college football bowl schedule, games, dates, locations, kickoff times, TV channels". CBS Sports. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
- ^ Lewis, Barry. "2023-24 College Football Bowl Schedule, Dates, Times Announced". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
- ^ "68 Ventures is New Title Sponsor for Mobile Alabama Bowl". 68venturesbowl.com. May 15, 2023. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
- ^ "Winsipedia – Eastern Michigan Eagles vs. South Alabama Jaguars". Winsipedia.com. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
- ^ Salerno, Cameron (December 24, 2023). "Eastern Michigan-South Alabama brawl: Postgame chaos erupts after sucker punch at 68 Ventures Bowl". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
- ^ Bumbaca, Chris (December 24, 2023). "EMU player sucker punches South Alabama player, ignites wild fight after 68 Ventures Bowl". USA Today. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
- ^ "Eastern Michigan apologizes for player's punch vs. South Alabama". ESPN.com. December 24, 2023. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
Further reading
edit- "Statement from EMU Vice President/Director of Athletics Scott Wetherbee". emueagles.com. Eastern Michigan Athletics. December 24, 2023. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
External links
edit- Game statistics at statbroadcast.com
- Video of brawl after 68 Ventures Bowl in Mobile via YouTube