Oregon football and Michigan State meet on the gridiron for the third time in five years this postseason. Here are three reasons to watch the 2018 Redbox Bowl.
On three previous occasions, Oregon and Michigan State have played home-and-home series. The hosts have won all six games, most recently in the 2014 and 2015 seasons. At Autzen, the Ducks won the first contest 46-27 in a season where they reached the inaugural College Football Playoff and Marcus Mariota sealed up Oregon’s first Heisman victory.
The following year, the Spartans returned the favor in East Lansing 31-28 en route to their own trip to the College Football Playoff. Since then both sides have enjoyed mixed results, as the Ducks have cycled through several head coaches and Michigan State has dealt with some dips in performance over the past few years.
But while the two schools play in conferences that have traditionally faced off on New Year’s Day in Pasadena, Michigan State and Oregon have never previously squared off in a postseason game. This year they will meet up a couple hundred miles north of the Rose Bowl at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.
The Bay Area bowl game, founded in 2002 and held at AT&T Park in San Francisco until 2014, offers some interesting storylines that make this a contest worth watching. Here are three reasons why you want to carve out time to catch the Redbox bowl this year.