2013 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl: Pittsburgh vs. Bowling Green game preview, odds and prediction

Dec 6, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Bowling Green Falcons players celebrate after the game against the Northern Illinois Huskies at Ford Field. Bowling Green won 47-27 to win the Mac Championship. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /

The 2013-2014 college football bowl season gets back underway on Thursday after the Christmas Day hiatus with the 2013 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl. This year’s contest features a showdown between the 6-6 Pittsburgh Panthers of the ACC and the 10-3 MAC Champion Bowling Green Falcons.

All things considered, Pitt had an okay year in their first season as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. If anything, they were the model of inconsistency. They have a victory on their resume over the Coastal Division champion Duke Blue Devils, but they also have head-scratching losses to Navy and North Carolina on there. Also, they struggled mightily with Old Dominion, but were able to escape that one with the win.

Still, in their first year in a tougher conference, you can considered everything together as a success.

Bowling Green ended their season with one of the bigger statements of the college football season. They went into the MAC Championship Game against Northern Illinois as pretty big underdogs, and they came out with the title after a 20-point victory on the very same field they’ll be playing on in this game, torching the Huskies’ secondary behind the play of their stellar quarterback, Matt Johnson.

Date: Dec. 26

Start Time: 6 PM ET

Location: Detroit, MI

Stadium: Ford Field

TV Info: ESPN

Live Stream: WatchESPN app

Odds: Bowling Green -5

Prediction: If you’re just a casual fan, put aside the fact that Pitt is the team from the tougher conference. We found out against Northern Illinois that this Bowling Green team is for real. If you aren’t convinced by that, ask Mississippi State of the SEC. Yes, this Falcons team came within three points of having only two losses on their season and an SEC win on their resume.

With the way that Pitt secondary seems to not show up the majority of the time, coupled with the way QB Matt Johnson and his receivers have been playing, chalk up a victory to the MAC in this one.

Bowling Green 31, Pitt 20

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