Ohio Accepts Invite to 2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (December 8, 2013) – Ohio, fresh off its 51 point scoring explosion in its season finale, has accepted an invitation to the 2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg marking the fifth consecutive bowl game appearance for the school and sixth in the last eight years. The Bobcats will face East Carolina from Conference USA in the sixth edition of the bowl gamefrom Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. on Monday, Dec. 23 at 2:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.
The Bobcats, from the Mid-American Athletic Conference (MAC), fill the slot contracted to the American Athletic Conference, which didn’t have enough teams to fulfill its bowl commitments. Ohio will be the second MAC team to play in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl. Ball State represented the MAC last season in St. Petersburg filling the spot that could not be filled by a BIG EAST school.
“Ohio University football has a 100-plus year tradition,” said Brett Dulaney, Executive Director of the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg. “We look forward to hosting the Bobcats and their alumni and fans, many of which also reside in Florida.”
“We are very honored and excited to be invited to the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl in St. Petersburg,” said Jim Schaus, Ohio Director of Athletics. “The bowl has a national reputation of doing things first class and taking great care of the participating teams. I am ecstatic for our team, coaches, fans and university. These opportunities benefit our program and in so many ways. We can’t wait to get to St. Pete!”
Ohio (7-5, 4-4), will be looking for its third win over a C-USA team this season. The Bobcats had back-to-back games with C-USA schools in early September defeating North Texas 27-21 and then Marshall 34-31.
“The Ohio University football program could not be more excited for an opportunity to compete in the 2013 Beef O’ Brady’s Bowl,” said Ohio University head coach Frank Solich. “The location of this bowl in St. Petersburg, Fla. is a tremendous destination for our players, coaches and fans to close out the year. I believe our program has shown a great deal of consistency with this being our fifth-consecutive bowl appearance.”
Solich is in his ninth season as the head coach at Ohio and has led the program to five consecutive bowl appearances. The Bobcats explosive offense, which has scored 34 or more points six times this season, is led by senior QB Tyler Tettleton who owns 27 school records. Tettleton’s top target is senior WR Donte Foster who has pulled in a career-best 63 receptions and six touchdowns. The kicking game has been a consistent asset all season with place kicker Josiah Yazdani who finished the year by not missing a field goal, going a perfect 12-for-12. He is one of only four kickers in the country that have not missed a field goal all year. His perfect field goal percentage is the highest in school history.
Ohio and East Carolina have met only two times in the past, with the Pirates winning both contests. The last time the two met was in 1998 with ECU winning 21-14.
Tickets for the 2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg are on sale now and start as low as just $35. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com or by phone at 1-800-745-3000.
Fans can enjoy the pregame festivities in The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Party Deck, the only on-field hospitality village in all of professional or college football. Fans can sit right behind the team bench and hear all of the hard- hitting action. It will be the only Beef ‘O’ Brady’s location where fans can literally be in the huddle and still enjoy all the food and beverage served at this premiere event. For tickets in The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Party Deck, fans may contact Carlos Padilla at 727-290-9865 for more information.
The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl is owned by ESPN Events, a subsidiary of ESPN.