Cincinnati will be heading to Birmingham, Alabama to face Boston College. Cincinnati will get to face a P5 team, but it isn’t the level they wanted started the season. Rolling with the punches Cincy will have a shot to beat an ACC member and win their 11th game.
Per GoBearcats:
The University of Cincinnati football team will close out the 2019 season in the TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl against Boston College on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2020 at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama.
The game will kickoff at 3 p.m. ET and be televised by ESPN and air on 700 WLW AM.
The No. 21 Bearcats (10-3) won the American Athletic Conference East Division, won double-digit games for the second-straight season and played in the league’s championship game for the first time. All three of UC’s losses came to teams playing in the College Football Playoff or New Year’s Six with one loss at Ohio State and losses in back-to-back games at Memphis.
UC was ranked No. 21 (College Football Playoff), No. 22 (USA Today Coaches Poll) and No. 23 (Associated Press Poll) in the final regular-season polls, the first time since 2009 the Bearcats finished the regular season in the AP poll and first time since 2011 for a postseason coaches-poll rank. UC led the AAC in scoring defense for the second-straight year, allowing just 21.7 points per game. It was the first time UC has been ranked in the final CFP rankings.
Eleven UC football student-athletes earned All-American Athletic Conference honors, including a school-record seven first-team selections. Included on the list is senior captain Perry Young(Birmingham, Alabama/Spain Park), a First-Team All-AAC selection at linebacker who will close out his collegiate career with a home game at Legion Field.
UC is making its second postseason trip to Birmingham, having defeated Southern Miss in the 2007 PapaJohns.com Bowl by a 31-21 margin. UC has won two-straight games at Legion Field, where they are 2-2 all time, with wins at former Conference USA foe UAB in 2003 and the 2007 bowl win.
The Bearcats and Eagles will meet for eighth time on the gridiron and first since 1997. BC leads the all-time series 4-3. The two schools have a home-and-home series scheduled for 2026 and 2027.
ABOUT BOSTON COLLEGE
Boston College finished the season 6-6 (4-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) and are playing in its sixth bowl game in seven seasons. Offensively, they are led by junior running back AJ Dillon, the all-time leading rusher in Boston College history with 4,382 yards. Dillon, a three-time First-Team All-ACC selection is third nationally in rushing yards (1,685) and rushing yards per game (140.4) in 2019. Wide receivers coach Rich Gunnell is serving as the Eagles interim head coach. Both BC coordinators, OC Mike Bajakian (2010-12) and DC Bill Sheridan (1989-91), previously coached at Cincinnati. WR Ben Glines (St. Xavier) and DE Spencer Bono (Elder) are Cincinnati natives.
Tickets for the 2019 TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl are priced at $50 each and will be on sale Monday, Dec. 9, 2019 at 8 a.m. ET. UC will be the home team and occupy the west sideline on gameday. Bearcats fans will be seated in sections 5-15.
Tickets are available for purchase by all fans, including UCATS members, students and the general public. Seating assignments will be allocated based upon UCATS Black Priority Points. Fans are strongly encouraged to order tickets online to avoid long wait times on the phone or in person at the Athletics Ticket Office.
