College football game
The 2014 Boca Raton Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game that was played on December 23, 2014 at FAU Stadium on the campus of Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida . The first edition of the Boca Raton Bowl , it featured the Conference USA champion Marshall Thundering Herd against the Mid-American Conference champion Northern Illinois Huskies . The game began at 6:00 p.m. EST and aired on ESPN .[ 5] 2014–15 bowl games that concluded the 2014 FBS football season . Marshall beat Northern Illinois by a score of 52–23.[ 6]
Teams
The game featured the Conference USA champion Marshall Thundering Herd against the Mid-American Conference champion Northern Illinois Huskies .
This was the eighth overall meeting between these two teams, with Northern Illinois previously leading the series 4–3. The previous time these two teams met was in 2001.
Marshall Thundering Herd
After finishing the regular season with a 12–1 record and winning their first Conference USA championship over the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs by a score of 26–23, the Thundering Herd accepted their bid to the Boca Raton Bowl.[ 7]
This was Marshall's second Florida bowl game; they had previously won the 2011 Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl , defeating the FIU Panthers by a score of 20–10.
Northern Illinois Huskies
After finishing the regular season with an 11–2 record and winning the MAC Championship Game over the Bowling Green Falcons by a score of 51–17, the Huskies accepted their bid to the Boca Raton Bowl.[ 8]
This was Northern Illinois' second bowl game in South Florida; in their most high-profile game to date, they had appeared in the 2013 Orange Bowl , losing to the Florida State Seminoles by a score of 31–10.
Game summary
Scoring summary
Scoring summary
Quarter
Time
Drive
Team
Scoring information
Score
Plays
Yards
TOP
MRSH
NIU
1
7:33
7
67
2:17
NIU
Juwan Brescacin 19-yard touchdown reception from Drew Hare, Christian Hagan kick good
0
7
1
7:19
–
–
–
MRSH
Kickoff returned 93 yards for touchdown by Deandre Reaves, Justin Haig kick good
7
7
1
3:42
5
42
2:12
MRSH
Rakeem Cato 5-yard touchdown run, Haig kick good
14
7
2
11:51
9
69
2:41
MRSH
28-yard field goal by Justin Haig
17
7
2
7:31
10
64
4:20
NIU
19-yard field goal by Christian Hagan
17
10
2
5:29
6
65
2:02
MRSH
Devon Johnson 2-yard touchdown run, Haig kick good
24
10
2
0:07
8
49
1:39
NIU
30-yard field goal by Christian Hagan
24
13
3
6:39
9
56
4:10
MRSH
Tommy Shuler 6-yard touchdown reception from Rakeem Cato, Haig kick good
31
13
3
4:50
5
75
1:49
NIU
Cameron Stingily 24-yard touchdown run, Hagan kick good
31
20
3
2:06
11
68
2:44
MRSH
Angelo Jean-Louis 11-yard touchdown reception from Rakeem Cato, Haig kick good
38
20
4
11:48
9
70
3:51
MRSH
Deon-Tay McManus 27-yard touchdown reception from Rakeem Cato, Haig kick good
45
20
4
8:39
10
65
3:09
NIU
31-yard field goal by Christian Hagan
45
23
4
4:10
8
41
4:29
MRSH
Rakeem Cato 4-yard touchdown run, Haig kick good
52
23
"TOP" = time of possession . For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football .
52
23
Source: [ 3]
Statistics
Statistics[ 3]
MRSH
NIU
First downs
28
25
Plays–yards
75–505
78–425
Rushes–yards
38–224
50–200
Passing yards
281
225
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
25–37–0
15–28–0
Time of possession
29:18
30:42
References
^ Burke, Peter (December 23, 2014). "Rakeem Cato caps record-setting career with win in Boca Raton Bowl" . local10.com . Retrieved December 27, 2014 . ^ Odds ^ a b c "Boca Raton Bowl Box Score" . Stat Broadcast . December 23, 2014. Retrieved December 23, 2014 .^ "Marshall Thundering Herd vs. Northern Illinois Huskies" . USA Today . December 23, 2014. Retrieved December 23, 2014 .^ "Announced: Marshall, Northern Illinois to Face Off in Inaugural Boca Raton Bowl" . TheBocaRatonBowl.com . Boca Raton Bowl. December 7, 2014. Archived from the original on December 8, 2014. Retrieved December 7, 2014 .^ "Locals Lead Marshall to Boca Raton Bowl Blowout" , Reuters, December 23, 2014. Retrieved December 24, 2014.^ "Conference USA Sends Marshall to Boca Raton Bowl" . HerdZone.com . Marshall Thundering Herd. December 7, 2014. Archived from the original on December 10, 2014. Retrieved December 7, 2014 .^ "NIU to Take On Marshall in First Boca Raton Bowl" . NIUHuskies.com . Northern Illinois Huskies. December 7, 2014. Retrieved December 7, 2014 .
External links