The Boston College Eagles (6-6) and the No. 21 Cincinnati Bearcats (10-3) are facing off in the Birmingham Bowl on Jan. 2, 2020, at 3 p.m. EST at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala.
The last time these two teams played each other was 1997, and the Bearcats won, 24-6. The Bearcats and Golden Eagles have met just seven times since 1961.
The Bearcats are coming off back-to-back losses to the No. 17 Memphis Tigers. They lost to the Tigers in Week 15 (34-24) and then they lost again in the AAC Championship, 34-29.
The Eagles just fired their head coach, Steve Addazio, after seven seasons with the team. Boston College was bowl-eligible six out of the seven seasons Addazio coached. This season, the Eagles team lost to Kansas (48-24), Wake Forest (27-24), Louisville (41-39), No. 3 Clemson (59-7), Florida State (38-31) and No. 15 Notre Dame (40-7).
ESPN’s Matchup Predictor gives the Bearcats a 67 percent chance of winning the Birmingham Bowl.
Birmingham Bowl: Jan. 2, 2020, at 3 p.m. EST at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala.
Tickets: StubHub (from $48), SeatGeek (from $35) and Ticketmaster (from $45).
Lodging: Hotels.com has options in Birmingham, including Country Inn & Suites by Radisson (from $80), Sheraton Birmingham Hotel (from $144) and Drury Inn & Suites Birmingham Grandview. There are also lodging options available from Airbnb, Choice Hotels, Intercontinental Hotels.
Flights: TripAdvisor, Cheapflights.com, Priceline, Expedia or Orbitz
Rental cars: Avis, Budget or Alamo.
Boston College Eagles gear: Fanatics, Amazon or Lids
Cincinnati Bearcats gear: Fanatics, Amazon or Lids