| Game Name: | Bahamas Bowl |
| Subheader: | 3rd Bahamas Bowl |
| Title Sponsor: | Popeyes |
| Date Game Played: | December 23 |
| Year Game Played: | 2016 |
| Football Season: | 2016 |
| Stadium: | Thomas Robinson Stadium |
| City: | Nassau, Bahamas |
| Visitor School: | Eastern Michigan University |
| Visitor Name Short: | Eastern Michigan |
| Visitor Nickname: | Eagles |
| Visitor Record: | 7–5 |
| Visitor Conference: | MAC |
| Visitor Coach: | Chris Creighton |
| Visitor 1Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 17 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 3 |
| Home School: | Old Dominion University |
| Home Name Short: | Old Dominion |
| Home Nickname: | Monarchs |
| Home Record: | 9–3 |
| Home Conference: | C-USA |
| Home Coach: | Bobby Wilder |
| Home 1Q: | 3 |
| Home 2Q: | 7 |
| Home 3Q: | 7 |
| Home 4Q: | 7 |
| Odds: | Eastern Michigan by 3.5[1] |
| Referee: | Charles Lewis (Sun Belt) |
| Attendance: | 13,422 |
| Payout: | 450,000[2] |
| Us Network: | ESPN RedVoice, LLC |
| Us Announcers: | Steve Levy, Mack Brown, Kaylee Hartung (ESPN) Brian Hanni, Rob Best (RedVoice) |
The 2016 Bahamas Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game played on December 23, 2016 at Thomas Robinson Stadium in Nassau in the Bahamas. The third edition of the Bahamas Bowl featured the Eastern Michigan Eagles of the Mid-American Conference against the Old Dominion Monarchs of Conference USA. It began at 1:00 p.m. EST and aired on ESPN. It was one of the 2016–17 bowl games concluding the 2016 FBS football season. Sponsored by the Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen restaurant chain, the game was officially known as the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl.[3] [4]
The game featured the Eastern Michigan Eagles against the Old Dominion Monarchs.
This was the third meeting between the schools, with Old Dominion winning both previous ones. The most recent meeting was on September 5, 2015, where the Monarchs defeated the Eagles by a score of 38–34.[5]
See also: 2016 Eastern Michigan Eagles football team and 2016 Mid-American Conference football season.
After finishing their regular season 7–5, bowl director Richard Giannini extended an invitation for the Eagles to play in the game, which they accepted.[6] [7]
This was the first bowl game for Eastern Michigan since the 1987 California Bowl where they defeated the San Jose State Spartans by a score of 30–27.
See also: 2016 Old Dominion Monarchs football team and 2016 Conference USA football season.
After finishing their regular season 9–3 and winning a share of the Conference USA East Division championship, Giannini extended an invitation for the Monarchs to play in the game, which they accepted.[8]
This was the first FBS bowl game in school history for Old Dominion, in their third season as a member of the Football Bowl Subdivision and Conference USA, their second season of bowl eligibility, and their eighth season of the football program since resuming in 2009 following a 67-year hiatus.
| Statistics | EMU | ODU |
|---|---|---|
| First Downs | 28 | 20 |
| Total offense, plays – yards | 85–470 | 59–394 |
| Rushes-yards (net) | 38–170 (4.5) | 39–206 (5.3) |
| Passing yards (net) | 300 | 188 |
| Passes, Comp-Att-Int | 26–47–1 | 11–20–1 |
| Time of Possession | 32:30 | 27:30 |