For the Central Michigan football team, the Quick Lane Bowl serves as a final opportunity to prove its belonging on a big stage with a Power Five school and provide punctuation to what turned out to be a statement season.

The Chippewas lost three games early in the season to major programs in Oklahoma State, Syracuse and Michigan State.

Led by junior quarterback Cooper Rush, CMU battled back and was in the thick of the Mid-American Conference title race in early November.

But a loss to Toledo at home late in the season killed the Chippewas' hopes of reaching the MAC title game, also played at Ford Field each year.

"Our goal and our focus is not just to be in bowl games, it is to win championships," said first-year head coach John Bonamego. "I told them this needs to be a dry run. We need to make ourselves familiar with the confines of Ford Field. We intend to be back in the very near future."

For now, his team will focus on one goal: Beating Minnesota.

The Golden Gophers are one of three 5-7 teams to qualify for a bowl game in 2015, after struggling to a 2-6 Big Ten record.

Junior quarterback Mitch Leidner commands a Gopher offense that has proven it can move the ball effectively and make plays down the stretch if it can keep a game close.

Leidner is a mobile quarterback, who ran for five scores during the regular season. Through the air, his favorite target was receiver KJ Maye, who caught 48 passes through the Gophers' first eight games.

On defense, Minnesota brings a secondary which features more than one possible future NFL Draft pick. Each of them will be looking to spoil Rush's final game of his best season yet.

"They're a good team, it'll be a challenge," Rush said. "We embrace it."

Rush put together one of the best seasons of any CMU quarterback in history during his junior year. He threw for 3,703 yards this year, the 11th most of any quarterback in the country.

He also spread the ball around, as five CMU pass catchers hauled in more than 500 yards receiving during 2015.

CMU senior safety Kavon Frazier and the Chippewas' secondary will not stray from the rally cry that has earned then league-wide praise all season.

"This whole season, our motto has been to throw the first punch," Frazier said. "We've just got to come out and make some noise early. Get a couple big hits in and set the tone early. We know they're in the Big Ten, they're going to try and pound it on us. They look at us like their little brother."

The Chippewas were 5-1 when scoring first this season and 2-4 when allowing their opponent to score first.

Frazier is one of CMU's seniors who will be playing in his third bowl game in four seasons.

"Just playing in a bowl game itself is a blessing," he said. "A lot of people don't get to play in bowl games three out of their four years here. That's why you've got to be fired up. It's senior day part two because it is sort of a home game for us."

During the Quick Lane Bowl, he will wear the No. 21 Derrick Nash legacy jersey for the second time this season — the only player to do so.

Frazier said he had the option of keeping his No. 5 for his final game as a Chippewa, but couldn't pass up the opportunity to honor Nash for the maroon and gold once more.

The Chippewas are 6-23 all-time against the Big Ten. CMU has beaten a Big Ten team two of the last three seasons.

Bonamego looks to become the first CMU head coach to win a bowl game in his first full season.

"We want to prove that we belong," he said. "That's the thing I've been most pleased with (this season), the overall resiliency. A lot of it mental attitude and culture.

"We're Chippewas, so we're never gonna quit."