MAC Sports Blog by VanDelay Sports

After falling behind 34-13 at the half, it didn’t look good for the MAC Champion Central Michigan Chippewas. But a 28-point 3rd Quarter saw CMU tie the score at 41-41 before a late drive by Central Michigan tied it again at 48-48 with just over a minute remaining. The time proved to be too much for CMU’s defense as Curtis Painter led Purdue’s offense to a game-winning FG and a 51-48 final in the 2007 Motor City Bowl. In the end, Painter finished with 546 yards passing and 3 TDs to top MAC Offensive Player of the Year Dan LeFevour’s 293 yards and 4 TD performance for CMU.

VanDelay Sports is your home for Central Michigan (CMU) Chippewas merchandise and Big Ten Fans has the Purdue apparel & clothing you need to support your favorite teams!

It’s halftime at the Motor City Bowl in Detroit, and the Central Michigan Chippewas trail the Purdue Boilermakers 34-13. The CMU defense has struggled to stop Purdue QB Curtis Painter and the Boilermakers’ offense allowing Painter to throw for 339 yards in the 1st half alone.

Central Michigan took an early 3-0 lead after an INT, but Purdue bounced back to score two TDs and take a 14-3 lead. Another CMU field goal cut the lead to 14-6, but Purdue answered with another Curtis Painter TD pass for a 21-6 lead before adding two FGs to make it 27-6. Central Michigan answered with a TD to cut it to 27-13 with around 4 minutes remaining in the half, but a time-consuming Purdue drive resulted in a rushing TD and a 34-13 lead at the half.  The College Sports Fans Motor City Bowl preview picked Purdue 45-28 over CMU and that offensive prediction looks to be rather conservative.

Purdue is playing in their 10th bowl game in 11 years; another bowl game victory would surely cause fans to flock to buy Purdue apparel & merchandise online & at their local stores.

The 2007 Motor City Bowl, like the Las Vegas Bowl, features a rematch between a BCS conference school and a non-BCS conference school. In both games, the BCS school won the first round with Purdue topping Central Michigan 45-22, but CMU has improved througout the season while Purdue has cooled off after their hot start. Check out the College Sports Fans complete Motor City Bowl preview.

As expected, 3 MAC football teams have accepted bowl bids at the conclusion of the MAC Football Championship today. MAC Champion Central Michigan (8-5) will be headed to the Motor City Bowl on December 26th against a likely Big Ten opponent, Ball State (7-5) will face Rutgers (7-5) in the International Bowl on January 6th and Bowling Green (8-4) will face Tulsa (9-4) also on January 6th.