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The Ohio Bobcats (8-5) will play the Troy Trojans (9-3) in the Dollar General Bowl located in Mobile, Alabama. The bowl has tie-ins to the Mid-American Conference and the Sun Belt Confernece and traditionally hosts the MAC runner-up and SBC champion.
Troy replaces Arkansas State, who took a non-primary bid to the Cure Bowl in Orlando against UCF.
The ‘Cats had a breakout year coming out of the MAC East, taking advantage of Akron’s collapse and holding off a rowdy Miami squad to capture the division. Ohio held WMU close all night on Friday before ultimately giving away the game on an interception. That certainly doesn’t diminish from their season, however. Ohio had a sneaky out-of-conference slate, playing Tennessee to within a possession on the road and walloping Kansas on the road as well.
The Trojans have had a storybook season, becoming one of the most-improved teams in the country behind stout defense. Troy nearly upset the Clemson Tigers on the road, losing only by 7 and won every game until a game against Arkansas State late in the conference season. Troy surprisingly fell to Georgia Southern to finish the season.
Troy’s campus is located 166 miles from Mobile, so expect the crowd to be majority pro-Trojan.
The game will be played on Dec. 23 at 7 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN.