2025 GameAbove Sports Bowl
The 2025 GameAbove Sports Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 26, 2025, at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. It was the eleventh annual GameAbove Sports Bowl. The game began at approximately 1:00 p.m. EST and aired on ESPN. It was one of the 2025–26 bowl games concluding the 2025 FBS football season. The title sponsor for the bowl game was GameAbove Sports, a company that invests in sports teams, academies, and initiatives.
The 2025 GameAbove Sports Bowl featured the [2025 2025 Northwestern Wildcats football team|Northwestern Wildcats football team|Northwestern Wildcats] from the Big Ten Conference and the [2025 2025 Central Michigan Chippewas football team|Central Michigan Chippewas football team|Central Michigan Chippewas] from the Mid-American Conference. Northwestern beat Central Michigan by a score of 34–7.
Teams
Consistent with conference tie-ins, the game featured a team from the Big Ten Conference, the Northwestern Wildcats, and a team from the Mid-American Conference, the Central Michigan Chippewas. The teams had met only once previously, on September 25, 2010, at Northwestern's Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois, where Northwestern won, 30–25.
Central Michigan Chippewas
Central Michigan lost two of their first three games, the won four of their next five; their record stood at 5–3 at the end of October. The Chippewas won two of their final four regular-season games and entered the GameAbove Sports Bowl with a 7–5 record.
Northwestern Wildcats
Northwestern opened their season with two loses in their first three games, then had a four-game winning streak to improve their record to 5–2. They finished their regular season with four losses in five games, and entered the GameAbove Sports Bowl with a 6–6 record.