Based on conference tie-ins, the game was expected to feature teams from the Group of Five conferences. The teams were announced on December 7 as Ohio from the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and Jacksonville State from Conference USA (C-USA), both teams having won their respective conference title games. This was the first time that the Bobcats and Gamecocks ever played each other.[6]
Ohio entered the bowl with a 10–3 overall record (7–1 in conference). The Bobcats had three regular-season losses, to Syracuse, Kentucky, and Miami (OH). The team qualified for the MAC Championship Game, a rematch with Miami (OH), which the Bobcats won, 38–3. Ohio did not face any ranked teams during the season. This was the Bobcat's third consecutive season appearing in a bowl game. Ohio's new head coach for the bowl game was Brian Smith—he was named interim head coach after Tim Albin resigned to take another coaching position,[7] then was subsequently named as the program's next head coach.[8]
Jacksonville State entered the bowl with a 9–4 overall record (7–1 in conference). They began their regular season with three losses—to Coastal Carolina, Louisville, and Eastern Michigan—then won eight games in a row before ending their regular season with a loss to Western Kentucky. The Gamecocks then had a rematch with Western Kentucky in the Conference USA Championship Game, which Jacksonville State won, 52–12. Louisville was the only ranked team that the Gamecocks faced. This was Jacksonville State's second consecutive season appearing in a bowl game. The Gamecocks' interim head coach was Rod Smith, as Rich Rodriguez resigned to take another coaching position.[9]
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