Alabama-Michigan is the Orlando headliner
Three of the most storied programs in college football will come to Orlando for bowl season as Camping World Stadium hosts Alabama, Michigan and Notre Dame in the Citrus Bowl and Camping World Bowl.
The No. 15 Fighting Irish (10-2) will face off against Iowa State (7-5) in the Camping World Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 28. The Citrus Bowl will follow on Wednesday, Jan. 1, pitting No. 13 Alabama against No. 14 Michigan.
“These are three of the more historic brands in the sport playing here in our city within a number of days,” Florida Citrus Sports CEO Steve Hogan said. “We’re so blessed that we’re not only able to provide this opportunity for the kids that play in it, but really for the people that call Central Florida home.”
Georgia Southern and Liberty will face off on fifth edition of the Cure Bowl, completing Orlando’s bowl lineup and bringing a different version of football to Orlando City’s Exploria Stadium on Dec. 21.
Alabama finished the season with a stumble in the rankings after losing to Auburn in the Iron Bowl on a missed field goal. It was one of two losses Tide coach Nick Saban’s team suffered this season. The other loss was to LSU, which finished the season with the top ranking in the country on Sunday.
Michigan finished one slot behind Alabama in the overall rankings, but all three of its losses were against opponents who finished in the Top 10 rankings — No. 8 Wisconsin, No. 10 Penn State and No. 2 Ohio State.
The Citrus Bowl will kick off on New Year’s Day at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast on ABC. Tickets are available at CitrusBowlOrlando.com.
Notre Dame finished this season on a hot streak powered by its high-scoring offense. The team’s only losses of the year came against No. 5 Georgia and No. 14 Michigan, and the Irish averaged more than 43 points per game during their final four games of the season.
Although Iowa State finished the year unranked, three of its five losses came against topcaliber teams, including two one-point losses — one to No. 4 Oklahoma and one to No. 16 in-state rival Iowa. Led by coach Matt Campbell, whom Hogan described as “one of the hottest coaches” in the game, the Cyclones represent an up-andcoming threat from the Big 12.
The Camping World Bowl will kick off on Saturday, Dec. 28, at noon and will air on ABC. Tickets are available at CampingWorldBowl.com.
The Cure Bowl is the first of the Orlando bowls on the schedule.
Bowl executives wore pink soccer scarves at Sunday’s news conference, underscoring the fact that the bowl game will be played in an American soccer stadium for the first time. Orlando Sports Foundation president Scott Rose noted the soccer-specific stadium is expected to bring a unique atmosphere to the game as two college bands take the place of the drums in Orlando City’s supporters section.
“This thing is gonna rock,” Cure Bowl executive director Alan Gooch said. “There’s gonna be a lot of energy. The canopies over the top keep the sound in. If you’ve ever been to an Orlando City Lions or Pride game, you know that the drumbeat is the throb of that game, and when you get two college football bands in there, you’re going to hear some things you’ve never heard.”
The game will serve as a first bowl appearance for Liberty, while it will be Georgia Southern’s third. The two teams have faced off three times before, with the Eagles winning all three. Each team finished the season with a 7-5 record.
The Cure Bowl is expected to draw a strong audience due to Georgia Southern’s proximity to Orlando. The game is only a four-hour drive from the school’s campus in Statesboro and suites sold out in advance of the announcement.
The Cure Bowl supports the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, which has received $3.7 million from the bowl during the past four years.
A large percentage of those funds have remained in the Central Florida community, with $1.2 million awarded to Orlando researcher Dr. Annette Khaled. Khaled researches treatments and technology for metastatic cancers at the UCF College of Medicine.
“Our mission statement is bringing teams together to find a cure for cancer,” Gooch said. “If cancer is solved, it doesn’t matter where the money goes but it’s always nice if it’s staying in Central Florida.”
Events throughout the Cure Bowl game day will emphasize the game’s cause. Orlando mayor Buddy Dyer will lead a march down Church Street at 1 p.m. ahead of the game along with both schools’ bands and his mother, a breast cancer survivor.
Tribute bells will also be stationed for fans to ring as they enter the stadium.
The game will kick off at 2:30 p.m. and will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network. Tickets start at $20 and are available at CureBowl.com.