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Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl<br />
GAME HISTORY<br />
Date Result Attendance TV Rating<br />
Boca Raton Bowl<br />
12/23/14 Marshall 52, Northern Ilinois 23 29,419 1.4 ESPN<br />
Marmot Boca Raton Bowl<br />
12/21/15 Toledo 32, Temple 17 25,908 1.3 ESPN<br />
Boca Raton Bowl<br />
12/20/16 Western Kentucky 51, Memphis 31 24,726 1.5 ESPN<br />
Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl<br />
12/19/17 Florida Atlantic 50, Akron 3 25,912 .95 ESPN<br />
Individual Awards:<br />
Offensive Most Valuable Player<br />
Defensive Most Valuable Player<br />
2014 Rakeem Cato, QB, Marshall 2014 Jermaine Holmes, LB, Marshall<br />
2015 Phillip Ely, QB, Toledo 2015 Ja’Wuan Woodley, LB, Toledo<br />
2016 Anthony Wales, Western Kentucky 2016 Keith Brown, Western Kentucky<br />
2017 Jason Driskel, Florida Atlantic 2017 Azeez Al-Shaair, Florida Atlantic<br />
Memorable Games:<br />
2017: In a matchup of head coaches with notable family ties, Lane Kiffin and his Florida Atlantic Owls topped<br />
Terry Bowden’s Akron Zips, 50-3. The victory gave Florida Atlantic a 10-game win streak to close out its first<br />
season under Kiffin.<br />
2016: A battle between two of the nation’s top-ranked offenses resulted in the expected fireworks with combined<br />
totals of 82 points, 56 first downs and nearly 1,100 total yards. Offensive MVP Anthony Wales had 245 yards<br />
rushing for WKU and both teams’quarterbacks finished with well over 300 passing yards.<br />
2015: Toledo’s senior quarterback and offensive MVP Phillip Ely rallied the Rockets in the fourth quarter to clinch a<br />
32-17 win over No. 24 Temple. Ely completed 20-of-28 pass attempts for 285 yards and two touchdowns.<br />
2014: Marshall quarterback Rakeem Cato threw a touchdown pass in his 46th consecutive game, tying an NCAA<br />
record, and had two other scoring passes in leading the Thundering Herd to a 52-23 win over Northern<br />
Illinois in the inaugural game.<br />
Top Individual Performances:<br />
Devin Singletary, RB, Florida Atlantic, 2017- Recorded three touchdowns for a total of 32 rushing scores on the<br />
season, a Conference USA single-season record.<br />
Anthony Wales, RB, Western Kentucky, 2016 – Set Boca Raton Bowl records with 245 rushing yards and three<br />
TDs.<br />
Riley Ferguson, QB, Memphis, 2016 -- Threw for a new Boca Raton Bowl record four TDs and 372 yards. Phillip<br />
Ely, QB, Toledo, 2015 -- Threw for 285 yards and two touchdowns in a game-long driving rainstorm.<br />
Tommy Shuler, WR, Marshall, 2014 -- Caught 18 passes, tying for the third-most in NCAA bowl history, for 185<br />
yards and a touchdown. Shuler broke Conference USA’s record for career catches with 322.<br />
Rakeem Cato, QB, Marshall, 2014 – Capped a record-setting career with three touchdown passes for 281 yards<br />
and two rushing TDs. Cato extended his streak of consecutive games with at least one touchdown pass to 46,<br />
tying the NCAA all-division record.<br />
Last Year’s Game:<br />
Jason Driskel threw for 270 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for two more scores, to earn Offensive<br />
MVP honors and lead Florida Atlantic over Akron 50-3 in the Cheribundi Tart Cherry Bowl Raton Bowl. Devin<br />
Singletary added 124 yards rushing and three touchdowns, setting a Conference USA single-season record with<br />
33 total touchdowns, including 32 rushing. The Owls (11-3) racked up 582 yards of offense, converting five fourth<br />
downs, including three four touchdowns.<br />
FAU took a 7-0 lead after converting a fourth-and-goal from the 4-yard line as Driskel found Willie Wright wide<br />
open in the end zone. The Owls then converted their second fourth down for a touchdown when Driskel scored on<br />
a 3-yard run on fourth-and-goal with 5:35 before halftime, giving the Owls a 14-3 lead. On their first possession<br />
in the third quarter, the Owls did it once more as Singletary scored on a 2-yard run on fourth-and-goal, giving<br />
FAU a 28-3 lead. While the Owls offense was unstoppable, the defense did its part, holding Akron to just 146<br />
yards of total offense and just 77 yards passing. Azeez Al-Shaair was named Defensive MVP after leading FAU with<br />
13 tackles, including 2.5 for a loss. Akron was forced to punt with 1:43 before halftime and the Owls capitalized<br />
once again. The Owls needed only four plays to go 87 yards, which was sparked by a 63-yard reception by Kamrin<br />
Solomon from Driskel. Singletary then capped the drive with his 30th rushing touchdown of the season. FAU<br />
finishe the season at 11-3, tying the program’s best record in school history when the Owls also went 11-3 in 2003.<br />
Akron finishes 7-7.<br />
Score by Quarters 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final<br />
Akron 0 3 0 0 3<br />
Florida Atlantic 7 14 15 14 50<br />
– 50 –
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