Rogers Centre hosts inaugural International Bowl

TORONTO - Don Loding had the look of a proud papa.

The director of the inaugural International Bowl was beaming Saturday after 26,717 fans watched Kevin Lovell's 33-yard field goal at 8:49 of the fourth quarter earn the Cincinnati Bearcats a thrilling 27-24 victory over the Western Michigan Broncos in the first-ever bowl game played in Canada.

"I am absolutely ecstatic," 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."

The concept of the International Bowl was first reached last year when representatives of both the Mid-American Conference and Big East decided they wanted to stage another bowl game. So Loding, formerly of the Motor City Bowl in Detroit, decided upon Toronto because it had a domed stadium and was within driving distance of most schools in the two conferences.

However, there was great skepticism that this project wouldn't take root because not only was it a new venture but it involved teams that were hardly football powerhouses.

Yet the turnout was just under what the CFL's Toronto Argonauts averaged last season. What's more, Saturday's attendance easily topped the 17,828 spectators who attended the last Vanier Cup game played here, a 14-7 win by Laval over St. Mary's in 2003. Poor attendance was a big reason why the Canadian college football championship was moved out of Rogers Centre.

But the Vanier Cup returns to Toronto next year, as part of a Canadian football doubleheader as it and the Grey Cup will both be played the same weekend.

On Saturday, fans were treated to an entertaining show, on and off the field. The two teams combined for their share of hard licks, big plays and excitement that often brought fans to their feet. During stoppages in play, the respective school bands worked feverishly to out-perform each other, resulting in an entertaining spectacle that gave the game a definite festive atmosphere, something that's routine in U.S. college football but sorely lacking north of the border.

Should the International Bowl attract more recognized teams in future - like Syracuse, West Virginia, Rutgers or Pittsburgh out of the Big East or, say Bowling Green, Buffalo or Toledo out of the MAC - that should only serve to further increase interest here.

The International Bowl came here with a solid four-year commitment, but Loding was emphatic in stating he has plans beyond that.

"The significance isn't what we've got with each of our agreements, the significance is that they're not one-year agreements," he said. "We're going to be here for a long, long time.

"That's our plan, that's our vision and we just need to build and grow that."

Predictably, the game got a big thumbs-up from the opposing coaches.

"The city of Toronto is tremendous, it's a great bowl venue," said Cincinnati's Brian Kelly. "I'd like to say that as a member of the Big East we've got to do a great job of continuing to promote this game because I think it just has so much up-side."

Added Western Michigan's Bill Cubit: "This is a great bowl game. You will have one of the top bowls."

Next year's International Bowl will have a tough act to follow in terms of excitement as Lovell's field goal capped a wild finish to a roller-coaster game.

Lovell's boot came after a seven-yard TD run by Western Michigan's Brandon West at 4:07 tied it 24-24. That was an accomplishment considering the Broncos trailed 24-0 early in the second yet rallied to a point where they had a chance to force overtime when Nate Meyers lined up a 51-yard field goal with just over a minute left, but was wide.

Dominick Goodman, the game MVP with seven catches for 109 yards, had two TDs for Cincinnati with John Bowie scoring the other. Lovell added the converts and two field goals.

Jamarko Simmons - who had 13 catches for 172 yards - and Herb Martin also scored TDs for the Broncos. Meyer booted three converts and a field goal.

Bowie's 25-yard interception return and two Nick Davila 21-yard TD strikes to Goodman helped stake Cincinnati to a 24-0 lead before Western Michigan used a little trickery to get back in it.

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 six-play, 75-yard march that Ryan Cubit ended with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Martin at 9:25 before Meyers hit a 30-yard field goal at 14:52.

"The trick plays kept us running all over the field," said Cincinnati senior linebacker Kevin McCullough. "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."

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

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

The Broncos roster featured the two Canadians in the contest, sophomore tight end Fernand Kashama of Toronto and freshman quarterback Caleb Clark of Cochrane, Alta., although neither played.

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 coach in NCAA history to earn wins over a school in the same season with two different teams.