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Miami (OH) will play North Texas in the makeshift “Frisco Football Classic”

The unnamed bowl game in Texas has a name, a location, and now, a matchup.

By Steve Helwick

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL: NOV 27 Miami OH at Kent State Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

One team was bound to be disappointed when the 2021 bowl games were revealed. This season, 83 teams qualified for bowl eligibility. However, only 82 spots were available.

In a shocking announcement, a makeshift bowl game was introduced to the college football postseason landscape to satisfy all bowl eligible teams. Earlier in the week, an unnamed bowl game was speculated to transpire somewhere in the state of Texas.

The Action Network’s Brett McMurphy clarified the destination, the matchup, and the working name of the newest bowl game Sunday afternoon. Dubbed the “Frisco Football Classic,” the Miami RedHawks and North Texas Mean Green will clash in Frisco, TX in a battle between 6-6 opponents.

Miami (OH) (6-6, 5-3 MAC) is participating in its first bowl game since 2019, when it won the MAC championship. The RedHawks have dropped two consecutive postseason matchups, and in Frisco, they’ll aim for their first bowl win since defeating Middle Tennessee in the 2010 GoDaddy.com Bowl. Miami also will be granted an opportunity to snap its 31-game non-conference losing streak against FBS opponents — the RedHawks’ last FBS win outside of the MAC was over Army in 2011.

North Texas (6-6, 5-3 C-USA) looked poised for a lost season after stumbling to a 1-6 start. However, the Mean Green ended the year as one of the hottest teams in college football. North Texas won each of its final five games, including upending a ranked UTSA team, to secure bowl eligibility. The team aims to snap its four-game losing streak in bowl matchups in Frisco. North Texas last locked up postseason hardware in 2013 by defeating UNLV in the Heart of Dallas Bowl.

Per McMurphy, the Frisco Football Classic is expected to air on an ESPN network, but the time of the game has yet to be determined. The matchup kicks off Dec. 23 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, TX — a suburb roughly 30 miles north of Dallas. The Frisco Football Classic is not to be confused with the annual Frisco Bowl, which is slated for Dec. 21, featuring UTSA and San Diego State.

The Frisco Football Classic showcases the first ever matchup between Miami and North Texas.

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