Eastern Michigan +17 (-110) over South Alabama
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- South Alabama upset Oklahoma State this year, but they were not convincing in conference play and this game should not be a blowout.
- The MAC has had a strong bowl season so far and they should be able to compete in this game with Eastern Michigan.
The 68 Ventures Bowl is a new bowl game in name, with a new sponsor taking over from previous title sponsors of the game. But the overall setup for this contest is the same as when it was the LendingTree Bowl among other iterations. Here, we look at the upcoming 68 Ventures Bowl and look back at the history of this contest as a part of the college football bowl schedule.
2023 68 Ventures Bowl Analysis
Going into this year’s 68 Ventures Bowl, the two teams in this game both needed multiple wins in order to become bowl eligible late in the season. South Alabama got two wins in their final three games to get to 6-6 on the year, while Eastern Michigan needed two straight victories to get there in the final two weeks of the season. In this game, the momentum for South Alabama is expected to continue, as they enter this game as one of the heaviest favorites of the bowl season.
However, it is worth noting that the MAC has represented itself quite well so far this bowl season. Ohio had a great showing while Miami (OH) kept things close against App State in their bowl game as well. We could see the underdog Eagles of Eastern Michigan keep that going by keeping things game closer than expected.
68 Ventures Bowl History
The 68 Ventures Bowl has gone by several other names in the past, such as the Mobile Alabama Bowl, GMAC Bowl, LendingTree Bowl, GoDaddy.com Bowl, and Dollar General Bowl. The current conference tie-ins for this game include the Sun Belt and the MAC, with the ACC, WAC, and Conference USA being among the previous conferences included in this game. Below is a list of the previous participants in this bowl game and the results of those contests.
| Year | Winner | Runners-Up |
| 1999 | TCU | East Carolina |
| 2000 | Southern Miss | TCU |
| 2001 | Marshall | East Carolina |
| 2002 | Marshall | Louisville |
| 2003 | Miami (OH) | Louisville |
| 2004 | Bowling Green | Memphis |
| 2005 | Toledo | UTEP |
| 2006 | Southern Miss | Ohio |
| 2007 | Tulsa | Bowling Green |
| 2008 | Tulsa | Ball State |
| 2009 | Central Michigan | Troy |
| 2010 | Miami (OH) | Middle Tennessee |
| 2011 | Northern Illinois | Arkansas State |
| 2012 | Arkansas State | Kent State |
| 2013 | Arkansas State | Ball State |
| 2014 | Toledo | Arkansas State |
| 2015 | Georgia Southern | Bowling Green |
| 2016 | Troy | Ohio |
| 2017 | App State | Toledo |
| 2018 | Troy | Buffalo |
| 2019 | Louisiana | Miami (OH) |
| 2020 | Georgia State | Western Kentucky |
| 2021 | Liberty | Eastern Michigan |
| 2022 | Southern Miss | Rice |
Bowl Game MVPs
There are plenty of recognizable names on the list of 68 Ventures Bowl game MVPs. All-time greats like LaDainian Tomlinson and Ben Roethlisberger are among those who have claimed the MVP for this game, while several other recognizable pros have accomplished the same. Below is the full list of MVPs from this game’s history, which dates back to 1999.
| Year | MVP | School |
| 1999 | Casey Printers | TCU |
| 2000 | LaDainian Tomlinson | TCU |
| 2001 | Byron Leftwich | Marshall |
| 2002 | Byron Leftwich | Marshall |
| 2003 | Ben Roethlisberger | Miami (OH) |
| 2004 | Omar Jacobs | Bowling Green |
| 2005 | Bruce Gradkowski | Toledo |
| 2006 | Damion Fletcher | Southern Miss |
| 2007 | Paul Smith | Tulsa |
| 2008 | Tarrion Adams | Tulsa |
| 2009 | Dan LeFevour | Central Michigan |
| 2010 | Auston Boucher | Miami (OH) |
| 2011 | Chandler Harnish | Northern Illinois |
| 2012 | Ryan Aplin | Arkansas State |
| 2013 | Fredi Knighten | Arkansas State |
| 2014 | Kareem Hunt | Toledo |
| 2015 | Favian Upshaw | Georgia Southern |
| 2016 | Justin Lucas | Troy |
| 2017 | Jalin Moore | App State |
| 2018 | Sawyer Smith | Troy |
| 2019 | Levi Lewis | Louisiana |
| 2020 | Cornelious Brown IV | Georgia State |
| 2021 | Malik Willis | Liberty |
| 2022 | Frank Gore Jr. | Southern Miss |
