2007 Motor City Bowl
Encyclopedia
The 2007 Motor City Bowl
, part of the 2007-08 NCAA football bowl games season, occurred on December 26, 2007 at Ford Field
in Detroit, Michigan
, United States.
The Central Michigan Chippewas
, who won their second straight Mid-American Conference
championship on the same field on December 1, returned to take on the Purdue Boilermakers
, whom bowl officials invited from the Big Ten Conference
. The bowl was a rematch of a game played on September 15 in West Lafayette, Indiana
. The Boilermakers won that game, 45–22. CMU had defeated Middle Tennessee
in the 2006 game.
Purdue dominated the first half of the game, scoring 3 touchdowns in the first quarter to Central's 2 field goals, and by halftime they had assured a 21-point lead over the Chippewas. Central came back in the third quarter, scoring 4 touchdowns to tie the game. The final score was 51–48, with Purdue kicker Chris Summers
kicking a game-winning field goal as time expired. Purdue quarterback
Curtis Painter
threw for 543 pass yards, setting a Motor City Bowl record and placing him fourth on the list of all-time bowl game performances. His total broke the Purdue school record.
The attendance of 60,624 broke the Motor City Bowl record, which had been set in 2006 by Central Michigan and Middle Tennessee
(54,113).
Motor City Bowl
The Little Caesars Pizza Bowl is a post-season college football bowl game certified by the NCAA that has been played annually since 1997. The first five games were played at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan. Starting in 2002, the game was moved to 65,000-seat Ford Field in downtown...
, part of the 2007-08 NCAA football bowl games season, occurred on December 26, 2007 at Ford Field
Ford Field
Ford Field is an indoor American football stadium located in Detroit, Michigan, USA, that is the current home field of the NFL's Detroit Lions. It is owned by the Detroit/Wayne County Stadium Authority. It regularly seats 65,000, though it is expandable up to 70,000 for football and 80,000 for...
in Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, United States.
The Central Michigan Chippewas
Central Michigan Chippewas
The Central Michigan Chippewas are the sixteen men's and women's athletics teams of Central Michigan University. CMU was a member of the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference from 1950-1970. The school's athletics programs are affiliated with the NCAA and compete in the Mid-American...
, who won their second straight Mid-American Conference
Mid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...
championship on the same field on December 1, returned to take on the Purdue Boilermakers
Purdue Boilermakers
Boilermakers is the official nickname for the intercollegiate athletic teams of Purdue University. As is common with athletic nicknames, it is also used as colloquial designation of Purdue's students and alumni at large....
, whom bowl officials invited from the Big Ten Conference
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
. The bowl was a rematch of a game played on September 15 in West Lafayette, Indiana
West Lafayette, Indiana
As of the census of 2010, there were 29,596 people, 12,591 households, and 3,588 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,381.1 people per square mile . The racial makeup of the city was 74.3% White, 17.3% Asian, 2.7% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.03% Pacific...
. The Boilermakers won that game, 45–22. CMU had defeated Middle Tennessee
2006 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team
The 2006 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team represented Middle Tennessee State University in the 2006 college football season. Middle Tennessee entered the 2006 season coming off a losing 4-7 record in 2005, which saw the dismissal of former head coach Andy McCollum. The team's new head...
in the 2006 game.
Purdue dominated the first half of the game, scoring 3 touchdowns in the first quarter to Central's 2 field goals, and by halftime they had assured a 21-point lead over the Chippewas. Central came back in the third quarter, scoring 4 touchdowns to tie the game. The final score was 51–48, with Purdue kicker Chris Summers
Chris Summers (American football)
Christopher Clay Summers is a former NCAA college football placekicker and punter for Purdue University....
kicking a game-winning field goal as time expired. Purdue quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
Curtis Painter
Curtis Painter
Curtis Jeffrey Painter is a quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts. He was drafted in the sixth round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football for the Purdue Boilermakers.-High school career:...
threw for 543 pass yards, setting a Motor City Bowl record and placing him fourth on the list of all-time bowl game performances. His total broke the Purdue school record.
The attendance of 60,624 broke the Motor City Bowl record, which had been set in 2006 by Central Michigan and Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee State University
Middle Tennessee State University, commonly abbreviated as MTSU, is a public university located in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, United States....
(54,113).