| 2018 Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 5th Boca Raton Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 18, 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | FAU Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Boca Raton, Florida | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Xavier Ubosi (WR, UAB) & Anthony Rush (NT, UAB)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | UAB by 2.5[2] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Cal McNeill (Mountain West) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 22,614 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Payout | US$1,000,000 [3] | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN & ESPN Radio | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Dave LaMont, Desmond Howard, Jonathan Vilma and Alyssa Lang (ESPN) Bill Rosinski, David Norrie and Ian Fitzsimmons (ESPN Radio) | ||||||||||||||||||
The 2018 Boca Raton Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 18, 2018,[4] with kickoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EST.[5] It was the fifth edition of the Boca Raton Bowl, and one of the 2018–19 bowl games concluding the 2018 FBS football season. Sponsored by the Cheribundi beverage company, the game is officially known as the Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl.
The game featured the UAB Blazers, champions of Conference USA, and the Northern Illinois Huskies, champions of the Mid-American Conference. The Boca Raton Bowl was the first of three 2018–19 bowl games featuring two conference champions, along with the Orange Bowl and Rose Bowl.[6] In just the second season since restarting its football program, the UAB Blazers defeated the Northern Illinois Huskies, 37–13, earning UAB their first-ever bowl victory.[7]
Teams
Based on conference tie-ins, the bowl could invite teams from the American Athletic Conference (AAC) or Conference USA (C–USA) and the Mid-American Conference (MAC). On December 2, bowl organizers announced that the participating teams would be the UAB Blazers from C–USA and the Northern Illinois Huskies from the MAC.[8] This was the first meeting between the two programs.[9][10]
UAB Blazers
UAB won the 2018 Conference USA Football Championship Game on December 1, then accepted a bid to the Boca Raton Bowl on December 2.[8] The Blazers entered the bowl with a 10–3 record (7–1 in conference).
Northern Illinois Huskies
Northern Illinois won the 2018 MAC Championship Game on November 30, then accepted a bid to the Boca Raton Bowl on December 2.[8] The Huskies entered the bowl with an 8–5 record (6–2 in conference). Northern Illinois became the first team to make a second appearance in the Boca Raton Bowl, having played in the inaugural edition of the bowl in 2014.
Game summary
Scoring summary
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Statistics
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blazers | 10 | 17 | 10 | 0 | 37 |
| Huskies | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
| Statistics | UAB | NIU |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 20 | 21 |
| Plays–yards | 65–476 | 73–281 |
| Rushes–yards | 36–103 | 44–102 |
| Passing yards | 373 | 179 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 17–29–1 | 22–29–0 |
| Time of possession | 28:08 | 31:52 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| UAB | Passing | Tyler Johnston III | 17/29, 373 yds, 4 TD |
| Rushing | Spencer Brown | 25 car, 78 yds | |
| Receiving | Xavier Ubosi | 7 rec, 227 yds, 3 TD | |
| Northern Illinois | Passing | Marcus Childers | 22/29, 179 yds |
| Rushing | Tre Harbison | 18 car, 49 yds, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | Spencer Tears | 6 rec, 50 yds |
References
- ↑ @MrOliver1970 (December 19, 2018). "Congratulations to UAB BLAZERS FOOTBALL!" (Tweet). Retrieved December 18, 2018 – via Twitter.
- ↑ Fawkes, Ben (December 10, 2018). "Odds for every 2018-19 CFB bowl game". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
- ↑ "2018 Bowl Schedule". CFP.com. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
- ↑ "2018-19 College Football Playoff and bowl schedule". ESPN. May 2, 2018. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
- ↑ "Boca Raton Bowl by ESPN Events". cheribundibocaratonbowl.com. Boca Raton Bowl. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
- ↑ "Northern Illinois to Play UAB in Boca Raton Bowl in Matchup of Conference Champions". Chicago Tribune. December 2, 2018. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
- ↑ Moriarty, Morgan (December 18, 2018). "UAB earns its first-ever bowl win in program history, capping off an incredible 2018 season". SB Nation. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
- 1 2 3 "UAB BLAZERS TO TAKE ON NIU HUSKIES IN THE 2018 CHERIBUNDI BOCA RATON BOWL – Boca Raton Bowl".
- ↑ "UAB Blazers vs. Northern Illinois Huskies football series history". winsipedia.com. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
- ↑ Boyd, Joel (December 18, 2018). "5 Things to Watch For in Northern Illinois' Boca Raton Bowl Matchup Tonight vs. UAB". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 18, 2018.