The 2018 Boca Raton Bowl will pit Conference USA and the Mid-American Conference against each other this season. UAB will face Northern Illinois on Dec. 18 (7 p.m. ET, ESPN). Here is the 2018 Boca Raton Bowl preview:
For a program that was shut down two seasons ago, UAB has made remarkable strides in its return to the field. The Blazers went 8-5 and earned a bowl bid in 2017. This year, they posted 10 wins and won the C-USA championship.
Photo by uabsports.com
UAB does great with defense, ranking among the national leaders in scoring defense (17.3 points per game) total defense (300.1 yards per game) and rushing defense (118.9). Jamell Garcia-Williams leads the team with 9 1/2 sacks.
Offensively, UAB averages 208.6 rushing yards. The ground attack is led by sophomore Spencer Brown, who ranked third in C-USA with 1,152 rushing yards and second with 16 touchdowns.
The Huskies are bowling for the 10th time in 11 seasons, but have dropped five in a row since winning the GoDaddy.Com Bowl during the 2012 campaign.
Photo by si,com
NIU, however, rallied from 19 down late in the third quarter against Buffalo to win the MAC title game. Though the offense came alive in the last 15 minutes or so, star defensive end Sutton Smith was a big factor with two of his 15 sacks – tied for first in the country. The Huskies lead the nation with 50 total sacks.
The key for the Huskies is how well they run the ball against one of the best ground defenses in the game. Tre Harbison has rushed for 985 yards and averages 5.2 yards per carry, but totaled 78 on 2.9 in the last two games.
NIU played a non-conference schedule featuring Iowa, Utah, Florida State and BYU.
This does not expect to be a high-scoring game considering the talent both schools have on defense. The key will be if Northern Illinois can find the offensive rhythm and big-play ability it showed in the second half of the MAC championship game.
UAB 24, Northern Illinois 13
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