Military Bowl

— BOWLING GREEN (8-4) VS. NO. 24 SAN JOSE STATE (10-2)WHERE Washington, D.C.

TIME/TV 2 p.m. Central, ESPN LINE San Jose State by 7 SERIES RECORD First meeting WHAT’S AT STAKE A successful bowl comeback. Bowling Green hasn’t played in a postseason game since 2009, San Jose State since 2006. To see how far these schools have come in a short time, look at 2010 - when Bowling Green went 2-10 and San Jose State was 1-12. San Jose State’s quick turnaround cost the school its coach: Mike MacIntyre left for Colorado, leaving defensive coordinator Kent Baer to lead the Spartans against the Falcons. Ron Caragher, hired from San Diego to replace MacIntyre, will attend the game as an observer.

KEY MATCHUP San Jose State’s high-scoring offense vs. Bowling Green’s stingy defense. The Spartans averaged 35.3 points (26th among FBS schools), while the Falcons allowed only 15.8 (9th).

PLAYERS TO WATCH Bowling Green DT Chris Jones, Mid-American Conference defensive player of the year, has 12 1/2 sacks and 19 tackles for loss. San Jose State QB David Fales leads the nation in completion percentage (72.1) and ranks fourth with a 170.9 passer rating. He has 31 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

FACTS & FIGURES San Jose State will be trying to win 11 games in a season for the first time since 1940. ... San Jose State also has a conference defensive player of the year: DE Travis Johnson took the honors in the Western Athletic Conference. ... Bowling Green has won seven of eight, losing only to Kent State since a 37-0 loss to Virginia Tech in September. ... The Military Bowl was supposed to pit Army against an ACC team, but Army isn’t bowl-eligible and the ACC didn’t have enough bowl-eligible schools to fulfill its bowl tie-ins.

Sports, Pages 18 on 12/27/2012

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