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This year’s Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl will feature the Northern Illinois Huskies from the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and the UAB Blazers from Conference USA (CUSA).
The 2018 Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 18, 7 p.m. ET, at FAU Stadium. It is the only matchup this season outside of the New Year’s Six hosting two conference champions. The game will be aired live on ESPN before a national audience and globally on ESPN’s affiliates around the world.
Northern Illinois finished the season 8-5 overall after becoming the 2018 MAC Champion under sixth-year head coach Rod Carey. NIU has won four MAC Championships (1983, 2011, 2012, 2014) and has played in ten post-season bowl games since 2004, most notably the 2014 Inaugural Boca Raton Bowl. Junior defensive end Sutton Smith became the first Huskie to win back-to-back MAC Defensive Player of the Year awards. NIU is ranked No.1 in total defense and leads the country in quarterback sacks.
UAB finished the season 10-3 overall under head coach Bill Clark after claiming the team’s first Conference USA championship. In the two years since UAB’s program has been reinstated, the Blazers have played to an overall record of 17-8 and a league mark of 13-3. The 13 C-USA wins are the most of any school in that two-year span. The team is also ranked in the top-10 in seven different statistical categories. Sophomore running back Spencer Brown is ranked seventh in the nation for rushing offense with 15 rushing touchdowns and has scored at least one rushing touchdown in 10 of 12 games.
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