The FirstMerit Patriot Bowl was an annual regular season college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 game played on Labor Day weekend in Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

 at Browns Stadium

Cleveland Browns Stadium

-See also:* List of current National Football League stadiums* Chronology of home stadiums for current National Football League teams* List of American football stadiums by capacity* List of U.S. stadiums by capacity* List of North American stadiums by capacity...

. It was originally envisioned as an annual match-up between a Mid-American Conference

Mid-American Conference

The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...

 (MAC) and a Federal service academy team, but only the first game featured the latter. The event is sponsored by the FirstMerit Corporation, an Akron, Ohio

Akron, Ohio

Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...

-based financial institution, and organized by the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission. The Patriot Bowl featured a pre-game flag football match between the Cleveland police

Cleveland Division of Police

The Cleveland Division of Police is the law enforcement agency responsible for the city of Cleveland, Ohio. Since 2005, Michael McGrath has been the chief of police.-Pre-World War II:...

 and . The winner of the Patriot Bowl is awarded the Cleary Trophy, named in honor of Michael Cleary, an executive director of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics

National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics

The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics is a professional organization for college and university athletic directors in the United States. NACDA boasts a membership of more than 6,100 individuals and more than 1,600 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico...

 and patron of the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission. A portion of the revenue was contributed to a charity for local-area military families.

The inaugural game was played on September 1, 2007 between the and the . Akron, the MAC representative, won that game, 22–14. The second Patriot Bowl was held on August 30, 2008 and featured the Boston College Eagles

2008 Boston College Eagles football team

The 2008 Boston College Eagles football team represented Boston College during the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football season. It was Boston College's fourth season as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference . The Eagles were led by...

 of the Atlantic Coast Conference

Atlantic Coast Conference

The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...

 and the Kent State Golden Flashes

2008 Kent State Golden Flashes football team

The 2008 Kent State Golden Flashes football team represented the Kent State University in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football during the 2008 season. Kent State competed as a member of the Mid-American Conference , and played their home...

 of the MAC. Boston College won that edition handily and shutout

Shutout

In team sports, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball....

 Kent State, 21–0. The 2009 game featured the Ohio State Buckeyes

2009 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

The 2009 Ohio State Buckeyes football team competed in football on behalf of The Ohio State University for the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Buckeyes were coached by Jim Tressel and played their home games in Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. They finished with a record of 11–2 and...

 of the Big Ten Conference

Big Ten Conference

The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...

 and the Toledo Rockets

2009 Toledo Rockets football team

The 2009 Toledo Rockets football team represented The University of Toledo in the college football season of 2009. They competed in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football during the football season and as a member of the Mid-American...

 of the MAC on September 19.

Game results

Date	|Winning team	|Losing team
September 1, 2007		22		14
August 30, 2008	Boston College 2008 Boston College Eagles football team The 2008 Boston College Eagles football team represented Boston College during the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football season. It was Boston College's fourth season as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference . The Eagles were led by...	21	Kent State 2008 Kent State Golden Flashes football team The 2008 Kent State Golden Flashes football team represented the Kent State University in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football during the 2008 season. Kent State competed as a member of the Mid-American Conference , and played their home...	0
September 19, 2009	Ohio State 2009 Ohio State Buckeyes football team The 2009 Ohio State Buckeyes football team competed in football on behalf of The Ohio State University for the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Buckeyes were coached by Jim Tressel and played their home games in Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. They finished with a record of 11–2 and...	38	Toledo 2009 Toledo Rockets football team The 2009 Toledo Rockets football team represented The University of Toledo in the college football season of 2009. They competed in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football during the football season and as a member of the Mid-American...	0