Popeyes Bahamas Bowl ranked No. 25 bowl game this season

Wed, Dec 7th 2016, 01:07 PM

Based on a number of factors, including television appeal, the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl has been voted as the number 25 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) postseason football game on the bowl calendar this season.
The game, featuring the Eastern Michigan University (EMU) Eagles and the Old Dominion Monarchs, will be held on Friday, December 23 at Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium. Out of the 40 bowl games on the schedule, the rapidly growing Popeyes Bahamas Bowl is a little past the midway point on the rankings list, according to the website sportsonearth.com.
The game will get underway at 1 p.m. on December 23, as opposed to Christmas Eve, December 24, as it was for the first two editions. It will be televised live on ESPN and broadcast on the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl Radio Network.
Eastern Michigan has not played in a bowl game since 1987, and Old Dominion has been playing football for only eight years, and will be making its first bowl appearance. It all makes a pre-Christmas trip to The Bahamas quite appealing for both.
In a 50-second video clip online, the EMU team jumped and broke out in cheers when they found out that they would be coming to The Bahamas for the experience.
Eastern Michigan finished third in the Mid-American Conference's (MAC) West Division with a 7-5 overall win/loss record. Their seven wins equaled their win total from the past four years combined, and they come into the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl with victories in two of their last three games. Meanwhile, Old Dominion finished with a 9-3 overall record, and was second behind 2014 Popeyes Bahamas Bowl winner Western Kentucky in Conference USA's East Division.
The Old Dominion Monarchs averaged 36 points per game, with their only losses coming to N.C. State and conference champions Appalachian State and Western Kentucky.
According to the website sportsonearth.com, the games were ranked based on a combination of global audience, strength of the teams involved, importance, storylines and other subjective factors. The two national semi-finals are listed numbers one and two, with the Fiesta Bowl between No. 2 Clemson and No. 3 Ohio State as number one, and the Peach Bowl between No. 1 Alabama and No. 4 Washington as the second best bowl game this Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) season.
The Popeyes Bahamas Bowl is the only bowl game this season outside of the United States of America (USA), and just the second one in history behind the Bacardi Bowl that was played several times in Havana, Cuba, early in the 20th century. This year, the games stretch from as far away as Honolulu, Hawaii, to The Bahamas, all before the national championship game on January 9 in Tampa, Florida, USA.
The bowl season starts with five games on Saturday December 17 and extends through Monday January 2.
Tickets for the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl can be purchased at the stadium box office or online at NSA-Bahamas.com. Additionally, information on tickets to the 2016 bowl game is available through the websites of both participating institutions and PopeyesBahamasBowl.com.
Hundreds of fans from Michigan and Virginia are expected to travel to Nassau for the event. Bahamian sports fans and anyone looking for a great family fun activity this Christmas holiday season are encouraged to come out.
The game kicks off at 1 p.m., but the excitement starts at 10 a.m. with tailgating activities, delicious Bahamian food and lots of entertainment.
Through the sports outlet ESPN, the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl will be televised be available to millions of viewers.

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