BOWLING GREEN – THE DOYT

Doyt L. Perry Stadium, fondly named “The Doyt,” is the home of Bowling Green football. The construction is rather typical for a Middle American Conference arena. It’s small, yet cozy and certainly comes with devoted fans, making this place uninviting for visitors. In 2007, they tore out the north grandstand and made room for the modern and impressive Sebo Athletic Center, which houses offices, locker rooms, band seating and luxury suites. This newer addition clashes somewhat with the original structure that completes the rest of the stadium. But, the charm of “The Doyt” still remains.

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Game 218: Indiana @ Bowling Green

One of the hot topics of the 2014 football season has been the collapse of the Big Ten conference. No team was able to win the marquee games of the nonconference season, and worse yet, they have been losing games that should have been walks in the park. Last week for instance, two Mid-American Conference foes upset Big Ten teams when Northern Illinois toppled Northwestern and Central Michigan clobbered Purdue.

Surely, this week would be better, right?

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Game 217: Northern Illinois @ Northwestern

The College Football Tour tailgate was surrounded by hues of Husky red and Wildcat purple…and swarms of bees.  If NU was playing Georgia Tech, we could chalk it up to irony.  Instead, it was plain annoying.  However, it didn’t sting our enthusiasm on this gorgeous day in Evanston for the battle of “Who’s the best in Illinois?”  With the Fighting Illini struggling for relevancy and the Wildcats scrambling to crawl out of the losing-streak quicksand they put themselves into last year, Northern Illinois has surfaced at the top with an opportunity today to make it official.

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Game 185 – #7 Wisconsin vs. Northern Illinois

Riding the red line in Chicago on this day took an entirely different meaning. Badger fans who crossed the state line, and alums living in Chicago who had yanked their favorite Wisconsin tee off the hanger, all packed the el train with red as it zipped its way downtown and unloaded a steady red stream at the Roosevelt stop. Fans from both sides began to merge near Grant Park and banter back and forth while walking under Lake Shire Drive to get to Soldier Field. This home to the Chicago Bears became “Huskie Country” for the day.

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Game 157: Northern Illinois @ Wisconsin

Early evening summer kickoff in Madison = perfect day.  The day begins with a stop around the Capitol to experience one of the Midwest’s finest and largest farmer’s markets.  Fans draped in red herd over to the terrace to enjoy a beverage by the lake and take in a peaceful afternoon.  From here, your choice of tailgates are endless finishing with the pregame band concert near Camp Randall Stadium.

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KENT STATE – DIX STADIUM

The space between Cleveland and Pittsburgh is awfully quiet, but there is some life in the otherwise sleepy town of Kent when gameday arrives. Kent State University is located ten miles outside of Akron, making the Zips their most heated rival. The Golden Flashes have their home in Dix Stadium. It very recently was renovated with an impressive press box, jumbotron, and training facilities.

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Game 147: Ohio @ Northwestern

1962. Gas was 31 cents a gallon. Kennedy was president. The Beatles released their first single. And Northwestern went 4-0. Unfortunately for the Wildcat program, that was the last time they had experienced that record…until today. A nice crowd (for Northwestern standards) showed up on a perfectly beautiful day to witness their Wildcats sweep their non-conference slate and reach 4-0 for the first time in 46 years.

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