Bahamas Bowl could feature plenty of fireworks again

The Blue Raiders and Broncos will compete in the second-ever Bahamas Bowl on Christmas Eve.

Led by outstanding receiver duos, Middle Tennessee and Western Michigan both boast top 30 offenses nationally and are riding some momentum heading into Thursday’s game.

Both squads bring evenly matched teams with several playmakers on both sides of the ball.

Both Middle Tennessee and Western Michigan enter this game at 7-5 on the season.

“He is a pleasure to coach and is an outstanding young man. If you came to our practices or come to our game, you would not know that he was my son if you didn’t already know it”, the coach said.

The Blue Raiders will be led by quarterback Brent Stockstill, who is having a very fruitful first season, after setting the Conference USA passing record for a college rookie with 3,678 yards.

The two receivers have combined for 23 of Western Michigan’s 28 receiving touchdowns this season, with both also each going over 1,200 receiving yards for the term.

Middle Tennessee has allowed 21 passing touchdowns and have the nation’s No. 93 passing defense and they’re going against an experienced quarterback who is completing 67 percent of his passes and has 27 touchdowns to only eight interceptions. The Bahamas Bowl on Thursday will mark the first time in school history that the Broncos have appeared in bowl games in consecutive years. He also has 301 completions and needs 20 more to tie the freshman record set by Kentucky’s Jared Lorenzen in 2000.

The Blue Raiders (7-5) are the winners of four straight, and they will look to end the season on a five-game winning streak with a victory in the Bahamas Bowl. The Western Michigan Broncos are 7-5 and 7-5 against the spread. Free safety Kevin Byard has 19 career interceptions, which matches the highest total among active FBS players. A victory would give the Bearcats their fourth 11-victory season and first since they went 12-1 in 2009 and lost to Florida in the Sugar Bowl.

BOGAN’S BURSTS: Western Michigan redshirt freshman Jamauri Bogan has rushed for 836 yards and 12 touchdowns while averaging 5.8 yards per carry, numbers that made him the MAC freshman of the year.