Two conference champions will
clash head to head in the inaugural Boca Raton Bowl as the Marshall
Thundering Herd and the Northern Illinois Huskies converge on FAU
Stadium tonight.
Marshall nearly made it through an unbeaten season in 2014, but
dropped a regular-season finale to Western Kentucky, 67-66, in
overtime that served as the team's lone loss. The Thundering Herd
then won the Conference USA title over Louisiana Tech, 26-23, which
set them up with this bowl game against Northern Illinois.
Speaking of the Huskies, NIU was able to easily capture the
Mid-American Conference title with a 51-17 victory over Bowling
Green on Detroit's Ford Field. With the invite to the inaugural
Boca Raton Bowl, Northern Illinois extended its consecutive bowl
game streak to seven seasons. It's the ninth time in the past 11
years NIU has been present in a postseason bowl contest.
This clash between Northern Illinois and Marshall represents the
eighth time these teams will meet. NIU holds a 4-3 all-time
advantage over the Thundering Herd in the series, but Marshall has
won the two most recent contests in 1999 and 2001.
Marshall's offense has consistently been one of the most dominant
in the FBS this season, entering this bowl game averaging 45.1 ppg
with a whopping 563.4 total offensive ypg mark. At the center of it
all is veteran quarterback Rakeem Cato - a Heisman hopeful for the
last few seasons and the Herd's field general. Cato passed for
3,622 yards and 37 touchdowns in 2014, with 13 interceptions and
six more rushing scores. His 278.6 passing ypg was a large reason
for the team's success.
What could be a big blow to the Herd's lineup is the potential
unavailability of running back Devon Johnson, who has been dealing
with knee issues for the better part of November and December.
Johnson has rushed for 1,636 yards with 16 touchdowns on 191
carries this season, but has been severely limited in the team's
past few games because of the nagging injuries. Steward Butler (781
yards, seven touchdowns) would get the start in the backfield if
Johnson can't go.
Cato's receivers have been exceptionally reliable this season, led
by Tommy Shuler's 74 receptions, 953 yards and eight touchdowns.
Tight end Eric Frohnapfel (404 yards, five touchdowns) and Deon-Tay
McManus (375 yards, five touchdowns) are strong red-zone threats.
And freshman Angelo Jean-Louis (464 yards, five touchdowns) has
been as good as advertised.
For most that have faced Marshall this season, those teams have
found it relatively difficult to score against the tough Herd
defensive unit. Marshall is allowing opponents to score just 20.8
ppg, which includes the outlandish 66 points scored by Western
Kentucky. Opponents are also averaging only 351.8 offensive ypg
against the Herd, who have played three teams from the MAC already
this season (all wins).
Linebacker Neville Hewitt leads the team with 114 tackles on the
season, adding in 12 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks to his resume.
But Marshall has largely prided itself on an exceptionally talented
and deep secondary, which is led by Taj Letman (83 tackles, four
interceptions), Darryl Roberts (16 pass breakups) and Corey Tindal
(11 pass breakups). Lineman Arnold Blackmon (13.5 tackles for loss,
eight sacks) will be the main cog trying to slow a strong NIU run
game.
"We indicated to Conference USA, who makes the ultimate decision,
that we would like to play the best possible opponent, and that is
what we received in Northern Illinois," said Marshall athletic
director Mike Hamrick. "NIU has been one of the elite group of five
schools this season, and I know that our student-athletes, fans and
staff are very excited for this matchup."
Northern Illinois won its third MAC title in the past four years
with the defeat of Bowling Green. NIU loves to run the football,
which has been the case for a number of years. But even without
star rushing quarterback Jordan Lynch, the Huskies have made it
work with Cameron Stingily (895 yards, 13 touchdowns) and current
quarterback Drew Hare (850 yards, eight touchdowns). The Huskies
average an eye-popping 252.9 rushing ypg.
While Hare has done plenty of damage using his legs this season,
he's managed to put together a solid portfolio of passing work.
Hare enters the game with Marshall completing just shy of 60
percent of his passes (59.9 percent) for 2,097 yards and 17
touchdowns against only two interceptions. He averages 161.3
passing ypg, and has been the leader of an NIU squad posting 32.2
ppg this season.
Receiver Da'Ron Brown has been stellar catching the ball from Hare
this season, registering 1,002 yards and six touchdowns on 64
receptions. Juwan Brescacin's 405 receiving yards and five
touchdowns is the next closest to Brown's totals, though Aregeros
Turner (343 yards, two touchdowns) has made himself useful in the
passing game.
Northern Illinois' defensive game has been on point, especially
down the stretch when things could have unraveled so easily for
NIU. The Huskies are allowing opponents to score 23.6 ppg and gain
382.9 offensive ypg this season, though NIU hasn't faced an offense
quite as dangerous as Marshall's yet. But against strong offensive
teams like Toledo (24 points), Western Michigan (21 points) and
Bowling Green (17 points), the Huskies showed they can defend some
of the best.
Safety Marlon Moore has been at the top of the team's tackle list
all season long, and enters this contest with Marshall owning 93
stops to pace the Huskies. Dechan Durante's four interceptions is a
team high, and he could prove useful against Cato, who threw four
picks against WKU. Paris Logan (three interceptions, fo15 pass
breakups) will likely be shadowing Shuler, and Jason Meehan (9.5
tackles for loss, seven sacks) will be in charge of trying to
contain the run game.
"As far as bowl games, you're going to have two conference
champions going at it, and you don't get that in many, if any, bowl
games outside of the College Football Playoff," NIU coach Rod Carey
said. "It's an unbelievable matchup. We have a ton of respect for
Marshall, coach (Doc) Holliday and their staff and what they have
done this year."
