As 2014 draws to a close, NIU Today offers a look back at 14 of the top stories from the year.
No. 8
Quarterback Drew Hare and the NIU Huskies, champions of the Mid-American Conference for the third time in the last four years, will meet Conference USA champion Marshall Thundering Herd in TONIGHT’s inaugural Boca Raton Bowl in Boca Raton, Fla.
The 5 p.m. game features a match-up of conference champions, with the 11-2 Huskies taking on the 12-1 Thundering Herd at FAU Stadium.
NIU comes into the game on a seven-game winning streak after defeating MAC East Champion Bowling Green, 51-17, in the Marathon MAC Championship. The Huskies won their third MAC title in the last four seasons and are the only team in the country to win 11 or more games over each of the last five seasons.
NIU head coach Rod Carey, who has led NIU to a 23-5 record since being named head coach prior to the Huskies’ last trip to Florida for a bowl game in the 2013 Orange Bowl, said the Huskies and NIU fans can look forward to the trip back to south Florida and to the match-up versus Marshall.
“You’re going to have two conference champions going at it,” Carey said, “and you don’t get that in many, if any, bowl games outside of the College Football Playoff.”
