UAB crushes NIU 37-13 in Boca Raton Bowl
BOCA RATON, Fla. - NIU didn't have Jalen Embry, or an answer for Xavier Ubosi.
Missing its No. 1 cornerback, the NIU secondary gave up 373 passing yards against a UAB passing game that struggled all year in a 37-13 loss in the Boca Raton Bowl, the sixth straight bowl loss for the Huskies.
UAB quarterback Pat Johnston found Ubosi seven times for 227 yards, including for 70 yards on the first play of the game. The Blazers (11-3) sandwiched two 70-yard scoring drives around a three-and-out by the Huskies (8-6) to start the game.
The Huskies opened the second half with a 16-play, 7:22 drive that covered 71 yards but ended with an Andrew Gantz field goal, cutting the UAB lead to 27-13.
But Ubosi picked up where he left off in the first half, hauling in a 66-yard pass from Johnston to put the game out of reach.
Ubosi, a 6-foot-3 senior from Reseda, California, finished with the team and bowl record yardage. As a team, NIU had 287 total yards.
The Huskies went three-and-out on their first possession, then the Blazers went 70 yards again, this time on 13 plays. Johnston found Ubosi again on a 13-yard play on third and 10 to keep the drive alive. Nick Vogel kicked a 25-yard field goal for the 10-0 lead.
The Huskies answered with Marcus Childers completing 5 of 6 passes to start a nine-play, 59-yard touchdown drive capped a 2-yard by Tre Harbison, cutting the score to 10-7.
The momentum was short lived as Spencer Brown caught a shovel pass from Johnston on third-and-goal from the 3 to push the lead to 17-7 with 12:08 left in the second quarter.
NIU answered back with a 12-play, 65-yard drive ending with an Andrew Gantz field to get the score back to 17-10. NIU converted two third-and-1 situations on the drive.
Mykelti Williams had an interception late in the game, one of the few bright spots for the NIU secondary. The Huskies drove down to the Blazers 2-yard line, but Jordan Nettles fumbled on fourth down.
The Huskies' defensive line didn't record a sack for the first time all year. They entered the game leading the NCAA with 50 sacks.