Western Michigan 24, Cincinnati 27

1234T
WMU (8-5)0170724
CIN (8-5)14100327

Final

12:00 PM ET, January 6, 2007
Rogers Centre
TORONTO, ON

Cincy beats W. Michigan for first International Bowl win

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Team Stat Comparison
 
1st Downs1921
Total Yards368347
Passing260221
Rushing108126
Penalties3-192-20
3rd Down Conversions6-187-16
4th Down Conversions1-10-0
Turnovers23
Possession29:4530:15
Individual Leaders
Western Michigan Passing
 C/ATTYDSTDINT
Cubit23/4318412
Biggers1/17610
Cincinnati Passing
 C/ATTYDSTDINT
Davila19/3521422
Grutza1/2700
Western Michigan Rushing
 CARYDSTDLG
West21109119
Thompson69014
Cubit2-1000
Cincinnati Rushing
 CARYDSTDLG
Benton1062025
Moore1057021
Grutza322017
Western Michigan Receiving
 RECYDSTDLG
Simmons13172176
Ledbetter538014
Martin443130
Maragos1505
Cincinnati Receiving
 RECYDSTDLG
Goodman7109221
Celek42109
Poland31709
Benton226018
Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTERWMUCIN
TD11:32JOHN BOWIE 25 YD INTERCEPTION RETURN (KEVIN LOVELL KICK)07
TD6:27DOMINICK GOODMAN 21 YD PASS FROM NICK DAVILA (KEVIN LOVELL KICK)
Drive info: 5 plays, 64 yards.
014
SECOND QUARTERWMUCIN
TD14:30DOMINICK GOODMAN 21 YD PASS FROM NICK DAVILA (KEVIN LOVELL KICK)
Drive info: 11 plays, 74 yards.
021
FG10:23KEVIN LOVELL 37 YD FG
Drive info: 8 plays, 39 yards.
024
TD9:45JAMARKO SIMMONS 76 YD PASS FROM E.J. BIGGERS (NATE MEYER KICK)
Drive info: 1 plays, 76 yards.
724
TD5:35HERB MARTIN 30 YD PASS FROM RYAN CUBIT (NATE MEYER KICK)
Drive info: 6 plays, 57 yards.
1424
FG0:08NATE MEYER 29 YD FG
Drive info: 4 plays, 3 yards.
1724
FOURTH QUARTERWMUCIN
TD10:53BRANDON WEST 7 YD RUN (NATE MEYER KICK)
Drive info: 6 plays, 47 yards.
2424
FG6:11KEVIN LOVELL 33 YD FG
Drive info: 12 plays, 76 yards.
2427

TORONTO (AP) -- Kevin Lovell's 33-yard, fourth-quarter field goal lifted Cincinnati to a 27-24 victory over Western Michigan on Saturday in the International Bowl -- the first college bowl played in Canada and first outside the United States since 1937.

Lovell's kick with 8:49 left came after a 7-yard touchdown run by Western Michigan's Brandon West tied it. The Bearcats led 24-0 early in the second quarter, and barely held on. The Broncos had a chance to force overtime with 1:21 remaining, but Nate Meyer's 51-yard field-goal attempt was wide.

Brian Kelly enjoyed a winning debut as Bearcats coach. Kelly began the season at Central Michigan before going to Cincinnati on Dec. 4 to replace Mark Dantonio, who went to Michigan State. Kelly led Central Michigan past the Broncos 31-7 on Nov. 10, making him the first NCAA coach to earn beat a school in the same season with two teams.

Dominick Goodman, the game MVP with seven catches for 109 yards, had two touchdowns for Cincinnati with John Bowie scoring the other. Lovell added two field goals. Jamarko Simmons and Herb Martin scored touchdowns for the Broncos. Meyer added a field goal.

Cincinnati (8-5, 4-3 Big East) made its fifth bowl appearance in seven years and first since beating Marshall 32-14 in the 2004 Fort Worth Bowl.

Western Michigan (8-5, 6-2 Mid-American Conference) made its first bowl appearance since 1988 and third in school history. While the Broncos have yet to win one, they've made improvements under coach Bill Cubit, who took over a program that lost 10 games in 2004.

The game was played before a Rogers Centre crowd of 26,717.

"I am absolutely ecstatic," bowl director Don Loding said. "We had a great football game, a great crowd and great energy in the building. We've brought NCAA football across the border. Now we look to come back bigger and better, we keep building and growing."

Bowie opened the scoring, returning an interception 25 yards for the touchdown at 3:28 of the first quarter. Davila's 21-yard touchdown pass to Goodman at 8:33 put Cincinnati up 14-0. The two combined on a second 21-yard touchdown just 30 seconds into the second quarter.

Western Michigan used trickery to get on the board. E.J. Biggers, a sophomore cornerback, hit a streaking Simmons on a 76-yard option pass off a double reverse at 5:15. That lifted the Broncos, who forced Cincinnati to punt, then put together a 75-yard march that Ryan Cubit ended with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Martin at 9:25.

An interception by Western Michigan's Matt Luderman set up Meyer's 30-yard field goal at 14:52 to pull the Broncos within 24-17 at halftime.

"The trick plays kept us running all over the field," Cincinnati linebacker Kevin McCullough said. "I'm sure a lot of people on the sidelines and in the stands thought we had this game but I knew it would come down to the final drive."

College Football Scores

Other Scores:

Tuesday, December 19th
Northern Illinois 7 Final
TCU 37
Thursday, December 21st
Brigham Young 38 Final
Oregon 8
Friday, December 22nd
Rice 17 Final
Troy 41
Saturday, December 23rd
South Florida 24 Final
East Carolina 7
New Mexico 12 Final
San Jose State 20
Tulsa 13 Final
Utah 25
Sunday, December 24th
Arizona State 24 Final
Hawaii 41
Tuesday, December 26th
Middle Tennessee State 14 Final
Central Michigan 31
Wednesday, December 27th
Florida State 44 Final
UCLA 27
Thursday, December 28th
Oklahoma State 34 Final
Alabama 31
Texas A&M 10 Final
California 45
Rutgers 37 Final
Kansas State 10
Friday, December 29th
Clemson 20 Final
Kentucky 28
Oregon State 39 Final
Missouri 38
Houston 36 Final
South Carolina 44
Texas Tech 44 Final
Minnesota 41 OT
Purdue 7 Final
Maryland 24
Saturday, December 30th
Navy 24 Final
Boston College 25
Texas 26 Final
Iowa 24
Georgia 31 Final
Virginia Tech 24
Sunday, December 31st
Miami (FL) 21 Final
Nevada 20
Monday, January 1st
Tennessee 10 Final
Penn State 20
Auburn 17 Final
Nebraska 14
Arkansas 14 Final
Wisconsin 17
Georgia Tech 35 Final
West Virginia 38
USC 32 Final
Michigan 18
Boise State 43 Final
Oklahoma 42 OT
Tuesday, January 2nd
Louisville 24 Final
Wake Forest 13
Wednesday, January 3rd
Notre Dame 14 Final
LSU 41
Saturday, January 6th
Western Michigan 24 Final
Cincinnati 27
Sunday, January 7th
Ohio 7 Final
Southern Miss 28
Monday, January 8th
Florida 41 Final
Ohio State 14