Amid opt-outs, Detroit-bound teams say 'we've gotta protect' bowl system

Detroit ― Northwestern isn't Notre Dame. Central Michigan certainly isn't Notre Dame. The stakes, and the circumstances, are very different. That said, first-year Central Michigan head coach Matt Drinkall and third-year Northwestern head coach David Braun couldn't seem to wrap their heads around teams opting out of playing in bowl games when they spoke recently to the media ahead of this week's GameAbove Sports Bowl at Ford Field in Detroit. "In a landscape and a world where there's teams opting out, there's individuals opting out, we understand those things happen," Braun said. "But here at Northwestern, this is an opportunity that we take really serious. ... Playing in a bowl game is a big...