HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Friday is a travel day for Marshall University’s Thundering Herd (12-1) ahead of Tuesday’s matchup against Northern Illinois University’s Huskies (11-2) in the inaugural Boca Raton Bowl in Florida.
“For a first year bowl game, I think Boca Raton kind of hit the jackpot with this one,” said Steve Cotton, Marshall’s play-by-play announcer.
“You have two teams that had a combined record of 23-3.”
Outside of the two playoff semifinal games, the Boca Raton Bowl is the only bowl game matching up two conference champs — Marshall won Conference USA, while NIU won the Mid-American Conference.
The Huskies will be making their seventh straight bowl appearance, but Marshall and NIU have not met in a game since 2001. NIU holds the edge in the series 4-3.
A total of 28 players on Marshall’s roster hail from the Sunshine State.
In addition to family and recruiting benefits, Cotton said Florida is a good place to be in December for weather reasons. “It looks like about 75 degrees to 80 degrees every day for a high temperature and it’s not bad to be spending a few days in Florida,” he said on Wednesday’s MetroNews “Talkline.”
On Monday night, a Marshall pep rally will be held at 6 p.m. Mizner Park Amphitheater.
Kickoff for the Boca Raton Bowl is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday at FAU Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPN. For more on tickets, click here or call 1-800-THE-HERD.