2025 GameAbove Sports Bowl
Postseason college football bowl game
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2025 GameAbove Sports Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 26, 2025, at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. It was the eleventh and final annual GameAbove Sports Bowl (though only the second under that name). The game began at approximately 1:00 p.m. EST and aired on ESPN.[3][4] It was one of the 2025–26 bowl games concluding the 2025 FBS football season. The title sponsor for the bowl game was GameAbove Sports, a company that invests in sports teams, academies, and initiatives.
| 2025 GameAbove Sports Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11th GameAbove Sports Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| Date | December 26, 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Ford Field | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Detroit, Michigan | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Griffin Wilde (WR, Northwestern)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Northwestern by 10.5[2] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Ted Pitts (Sun Belt) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 27,857 | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Matt Schumacker (play-by-play), Dustin Fox (analyst), and Ashley Stroehlein (sideline) | ||||||||||||||||||
The 2025 GameAbove Sports Bowl featured the Northwestern Wildcats (6–6) from the Big Ten Conference and the Central Michigan Chippewas (7–5) from the Mid-American Conference. Northwestern beat Central Michigan by a score of 34–7.[5]
Teams
Consistent with conference tie-ins, the game featured a team from the Big Ten Conference, the Northwestern Wildcats, and a team from the Mid-American Conference (MAC), the Central Michigan Chippewas. The teams had met only once previously, on September 25, 2010, at Northwestern's Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois, where Northwestern won, 30–25.[6]
Central Michigan Chippewas
Central Michigan lost two of their first three games, the won four of their next five; their record stood at 5–3 at the end of October. The Chippewas won two of their final four regular-season games and entered the GameAbove Sports Bowl with a 7–5 record.[7]
Northwestern Wildcats
Northwestern opened their season with two loses in their first three games, then had a four-game winning streak to improve their record to 5–2. They finished their regular season with four losses in five games, and entered the GameAbove Sports Bowl with a 6–6 record.[8]
Game summary
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Michigan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Northwestern | 0 | 21 | 13 | 0 | 34 |
at Ford Field • Detroit, Michigan
- Date: Friday, December 26, 2025
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: n/a (indoor)
- Game attendance: 27,857
- Referee: Ted Pitts
- TV announcers (ESPN): Matt Schumacker (play-by-play), Dustin Fox (analyst), and Ashley Stroehlein (sideline)
- Box score
Statistics
| Statistics | CMU | NW |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 15 | 18 |
| Plays–yards | 60–269 | 61–313 |
| Rushes–yards | 34–91 | 26–77 |
| Passing yards | 178 | 236 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 21–26–1 | 20–35–1 |
| Turnovers | ||
| Time of possession | 32:42 | 27:18 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Michigan | Passing | Joe Labas | 21/25, 178 yards, 1 TD |
| Rushing | Trey Cornsit | 11 carries, 66 yards | |
| Receiving | Langston Lewis | 8 receptions, 83 yards | |
| Northwestern | Passing | Preston Stone | 19/31, 226 yards, 3 TD |
| Rushing | Caleb Komolafe | 15 carries, 55 yards, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | Griffin Wilde | 10 receptions, 97 yards, 2 TD |