Troy, Middle Tennessee Selected to Bowl Games - SunBeltSports.org—Official Web Site of the Sun Belt Conference

Troy, Middle Tennessee Selected to Bowl Games

Updated: 12/06/2009 19:48:51 (ET)
By Sun Belt Conference

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NEW ORLEANS - The Sun Belt Conference will send multiple teams to postseason bowl games for the fourth time in the conference's brief nine year history as Troy and Middle Tennessee have accepted bowl invitations. It marks the third time in the last four years that the Sun Belt Conference has had two teams in postseason bowl games.

The Troy Trojans will play in the GMAC Bowl on January 6 against Mid-American Conference Champion Central Michigan. Troy's invitation to the in-state bowl game makes the Trojans the first team from the state of Alabama to ever play in an Alabama bowl game.

The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders will play Southern Mississippi in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl on December 20.

Troy will be making its second consecutive bowl trip and fourth total bowl since joining the Sun Belt Conference in 2004. The Trojans completed a perfect conference season with an 8-0 record and tallied a 9-3 record on the year. The Trojans have now won four consecutive conference titles and back-to-back outright championships.

Middle Tennessee will be making its second bowl appearance as a member of the Sun Belt Conference. The Blue Raiders played in the 2006 Motor City Bowl in Detroit. MT also recorded a 9-3 record on the year and was 7-1 in Sun Belt play.

The nine wins for both Middle Tennessee and Troy tied the conference mark for wins in a season as the 2003 North Texas squad was previously the only other team to record nine wins in a year. The nine wins also makes Troy and Middle Tennessee two of just 25 teams nationally to own at least nine wins this season and two of just 10 non-AQ teams.

Over the last three seasons the Sun Belt Conference has represented itself well in the postseason. In fact the Sun Belt Conference boasts a winning record of 3-2 in its five bowl appearances in the last three seasons. Of the 11 FBS conferences the Sun Belt Conference is one of only six to have a winning bowl record over the last three seasons. In fact, the Sun Belt Conference ranks fifth of out the 11 FBS Conferences for bowl win percentage in the last three seasons.

2006 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl - Troy 41, Rice 17
2006 Motor City Bowl - Central Michigan 31, Middle Tennessee 14
2007 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl - Florida Atlantic 44, Memphis 17
2008 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl - Southern Miss 30, Troy 27 (OT)
2008 Motor City Bowl - Florida Atlantic 24, Central Michigan 21

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