Photo by Aaron Terry, Stadium Journey
The 2022 Bowl Season Kicks off with Two Thrillers
Orlando, FL – December 16, 2022
In what may turn out to be one of the better matchups of the 2022 college football bowl season, the #24 ranked Sun Belt Champion Troy Trojans took on the #25 ranked Conference USA Champion UTSA Roadrunners in the Cure Bowl on the first day of bowl action; both teams had records of 11-2 coming into the contest. After falling behind by double digits in the first half (including a safety scored against them on a bad snap), Troy rallied in the 4th quarter to win 18-12, despite 4 sacks on their QB and starting inside their 10-yard line on 4 separate drives.
UTSA was ultimately doomed by penalties and a total 5 turnovers, and was unable to score in the second half – most notably they turned the ball over on downs after a first-and-goal from the Troy 2 with about 7 minutes left in the 4th, in what could have been the go-ahead score.
The Cure Bowl is held at Exploria Stadium, a soccer-specific stadium that is normally home to Orlando City SC, Orlando City B, and the Orlando Pride, but which began hosting the Cure Bowl in 2022 after the game was moved from nearby Camping World Stadium; the 2022 Cure Bowl is sponsored by Duluth Trading Company.
Coincidentally, the other bowl game on this first day of the 2022 bowl season was also a matchup of two teams with the same record coming in, as the 6-6 Miami (OH) Redhawks took on the 6-6 UAB Blazers in the HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl.
That contest also came down to the wire, with 4 lead changes occurring in the 2nd half as UAB overcame 3 turnovers to win 24-20; one of those turnovers even gave Miami (OH) a first-and-goal from the UAB 4 after a muffed punt during the 3rd quarter, which the Redhawks turned into a touchdown 1 play later.
The Bahamas Bowl is also held at a soccer stadium, that being Thomas A. Robinson Stadium in Nassau. The Bahamas Bowl was previously sponsored by Popeye’s and Makers Wanted, and in 2017 and 2020-2021 had no title sponsor, before being picked up by HomeTown Lenders for 2022.
The 2022 Bowl action continues on December 17th with a whopping 7 different contests throughout the day all across the country, by far the busiest day of Bowl Season, and culminates on January 9th with the National Championship at SoFi Stadium.
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