A source very familiar with the situation said that it appeared Temple was headed to the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl in Detroit on Dec. 26, to play fellow MAC member Toledo (the two had not met this season). But Middle Tennessee State scored a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter to win by a point at Florida International and get to 6-6. That gave the Sun Belt three eligible teams, and allowed that conference to fulfill its back-up commitment to the Little Caesars. So FIU wound up in Motown against the Rockets (8-4) instead.