Michigan State and Alabama Invited to 2011 Capital One Bowl
The Michigan State Spartans and Alabama Crimson Tide have been selected to play in the 2011 Capital One Bowl. The New Year’s Day classic will kick off at 1:00 p.m. from the Citrus Bowl Stadium in Orlando and will be televised nationally by ESPN.
The 7th-ranked Spartans (11-1, 7-1 Big Ten) had an amazing year under Big Ten Coach of the Year Mark Dantonio and will be making their third appearance in the Capital One Bowl (2000, 2009). The Big Ten co-champs and winningest team in school history, Michigan State posted a memorable win over Notre Dame on a fake field goal, was the only school to hand Wisconsin a loss and closed its season with its first-ever win at Penn State. It features the nation’s 21st-ranked rusher in Edwin Baker (98.9 ypg) and 19th-ranked QB in passing efficiency in Kirk Cousins (153.51 rating).
Defending national champion Alabama (9-3, 5-3 SEC) is surprisingly making just its second-ever trip to an Orlando bowl game and its first since defeating Ohio State in the 1995 CompUSA Florida Citrus Bowl. The Tide were one of the nation’s dominant teams after opening the season as the nation’s No. 1 and then rolling to five-straight victories. ‘Bama will bring one of the NCAA’s top defenses (6th in total defense, 5th in scoring) to Orlando while also featuring last year’s Heisman Trophy recipient in RB Mark Ingram (81.6 ypg) and arguably the nation’s top wide receiver in Julio Jones (6.25 rpg, 90.3 ypg).
“We are very excited to stage the first meeting between these two tradition-rich programs here in Orlando,” said Selection Committee Chairman Chuck Beverly. “Their success on the field this year and passionate fan bases will make this a very popular ticket.”
This year’s Capital One Bowl will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools. Michigan State is 1-1 in previous Capital One Bowls while Alabama is 1-0.
Game ticket prices range from $45-225. For more information about the Capital One Bowl and Orlando Bowl Week, check out the Fan Central page!