Two of the most explosive offenses in college football will help decide this Boca Raton Bowl as the Marshall Thundering Herd clash with the Northern Illinois Huskies. Northern Illinois (11-2) comes into this game on a seven-game winning streak, while Marshall (11-1) has won four of its last five. The game will begin Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. ET and can be seen on ESPN.
In the MAC Championship game, Northern Illinois dominated Bowling Green 51-17. Stingily had a huge game on the ground in the victory, running the ball 15 times for 116 yards and two TDs. Brescacin had a big game as well, totaling 83 yards and a TD on seven catches. In the C-USA Championship game, Marshall won a tight one against Louisiana Tech 26-23. McManus had a solid outing for the Thundering Herd, catching four passes for 41 yards and two TDs. Cato had a great game as well, adding 308 yards and two TDs through the air.
Notes
Northern Illinois is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Northern Illinois’s last 6 games.
Marshall is 9-0 SU when leading at the half this season. Northern Illinois is 7-0 SU when taking a lead into halftime.
Northern Illinois is undefeated (5-0 SU) in games where it wins the turnover battle, and 2-1 SU in games where it loses the turnover battle.
The Northern Illinois rushing attack is ranked 14th in the nation, while the Marshall run defense is only ranked 53rd. The Thundering Herd rushing game is ranked seventh, compared to the 58th-ranked run defense of the Huskies.