NIU to play in first Boca Raton Bowl

Posted December 07, 2014 12:01 am

Associated Press

BOCA RATON, Fla. - Marshall and Northern Illinois will meet in the Boca Raton Bowl on Dec. 23 in a matchup of conference champions.

Marshall (12-1) won Conference USA. Northern Illinois (11-2) won the Mid-American Conference. The game will be played at Florida Atlantic University.

It'll be the last game of Marshall quarterback Rakeem Cato's record-setting career. Cato, a native of Miami, has thrown a touchdown pass in each of his last 45 games, the record for Football Bowl Subdivision quarterbacks.

Northern Illinois and Oregon are the nation's only teams with at least 11 wins in each of the last five seasons. The Huskies are 4-3 all-time against Marshall, winning the last meeting in 2001.

Marshall is looking for bowl wins in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2001 and 2002. Northern Illinois is bowl-bound for the seventh straight year.

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