| Game Name: | Quick Lane Bowl |
| Subheader: | 9th Quick Lane Bowl |
| Date Game Played: | December 26 |
| Year Game Played: | 2023 |
| Football Season: | 2023 |
| Stadium: | Ford Field |
| City: | Detroit, Michigan |
| Visitor School: | Bowling Green State University |
| Visitor Name Short: | Bowling Green |
| Visitor Nickname: | Falcons |
| Visitor Record: | 7–5 |
| Visitor Conference: | MAC |
| Visitor Coach: | Scot Loeffler |
| Visitor 1Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 3 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 14 |
| Home School: | University of Minnesota |
| Home Name Short: | Minnesota |
| Home Nickname: | Golden Gophers |
| Home Record: | 5–7 |
| Home Conference: | Big Ten |
| Home Coach: | P. J. Fleck |
| Home 1Q: | 6 |
| Home 2Q: | 3 |
| Home 3Q: | 14 |
| Home 4Q: | 7 |
| Mvp: | Darius Taylor (RB, Minnesota)[1] |
| Odds: | Minnesota by 3.5[2] |
| Referee: | Tim Rich (AAC)[3] |
| Attendance: | 28,521 |
| Us Network: | ESPN |
| Us Announcers: | Connor Onion (play-by-play), Dustin Fox (analyst), and Tori Petry (sideline) |
| Different Next: | 2024 |
The 2023 Quick Lane Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 26, 2023, at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. The ninth annual Quick Lane Bowl game featured the Minnesota Golden Gophers from the Big Ten Conference and the Bowling Green Falcons from the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The game began at approximately 2:00 p.m. EST and was aired on ESPN.[4] [5] The Quick Lane Bowl was one of the 2023–24 bowl games concluding the 2023 FBS football season. This was the final game under the title sponsor automotive chain Quick Lane Tire and Auto Center.
Consistent with conference tie-ins, the bowl featured the Bowling Green Falcons of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and the Minnesota Golden Gophers of the Big Ten Conference.
This was the fifth meeting between Bowling Green and Minnesota; entering the game, the all-time series was tied at 2–2.[6]
See main article: 2023 Bowling Green Falcons football team. The Falcons entered the game with a 7–5 record (5–3 in the MAC), having finished in third place in their conference's East Division.
This was Bowling Green's second Quick Lane Bowl, making the Falcons the second team (after Minnesota) to appear in multiple Quick Lane Bowls. The Falcons previously lost the 2022 edition to New Mexico State.
See main article: 2023 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team. The Golden Gophers entered the game with a 5–7 record (3–6 in the Big Ten), having finished tied for fourth place in their conference's West Division. Under normal circumstances, a losing record would make Minnesota bowl-ineligible; however, because of insufficient bowl-eligible teams to fill all bowl berths, the Golden Gophers received a berth due to having the highest Academic Progress Rate (APR) among 5–7 teams.[7]
This was Minnesota's third Quick Lane Bowl, giving them the most appearances in the game. The Golden Gophers previously became the first team both to appear in and to win multiple Quick Lane Bowls, having won the 2015 edition (which they also entered with a 5–7 record) and the 2018 edition.