Cards Will Face Marshall in GMAC Bowl on Dec. 18
December 01, 2002 | Football
Dec. 1, 2002
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) - Louisville and Marshall accepted bids Sunday to play in the GMAC Bowl at Mobile, Ala., on Dec. 18. The game will kick off at 8 p.m. EST and will be featured on ESPN2.
The game will feature two quarterbacks considered top Heisman trophy candidates in Louisville's Dave Ragone and Marshall's Byron Leftwich.
Louisville (7-5, 5-3 Conference USA) has appeared in five straight bowl games, but its first to the GMAC.
"We were expecting a bigger year," coach John L. Smith said. "But there a lot of teams in the country who'd like to say, 'Hey, I've been to five straight bowl games."'
Marshall (9-2, 7-1 Mid-American Conference) beat East Carolina 64-61 in double overtime in the GMAC last year.
Louisville beat Florida State in overtime this year, when the Seminoles were ranked No. 4 at the time. But Houston dashed the two-time defending C-USA champions' hopes of earning a share of the conference title this year on Saturday.
Leftwich, who was 35-for-42 for 401 yards Saturday in Marshall's 38-14 win over Ball State to become the MAC career offense leader.
Leftwich has 11,408 career yards of total offense, surpassing the 11,081 set by Western Michigan's Tim Lester from 1996-99. Leftwich has thrown for 3,615 yards and 22 TDs this season.
Marshall heads into the league championship game at home Saturday against Toledo (9-3, 7-1).
GMAC Bowl Tickets, Travel Available for Card Fans
Ticket orders for the University of Louisville's appearance in the GMAC Bowl against Marshall to be played Dec. 18 in Mobile, Ala. will be accepted immediately.
U of L football season ticket holders have been mailed an order form for tickets, priced at $45 each. Season ticket holders should use the form to purchase tickets to assure they receive the best possible seats. Forms may be faxed to the ticket office at (502) 852-0968. Ticket orders will also be accepted from the general public by telephone with a VISA or MasterCard by calling the U of L ticket office at (502) 852-5151 or 852-5863. The U of L ticket office is open weekdays from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.
Travel packages are available through Champion Sports Tours. Fans may sign up by calling (502) 995-7444, toll free at 1-866-995-7444, or through the internet at www.championsportstours.com.
