2014 Bahamas Bowl

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2014 Popeyes Bahamas Bowl
Central Michigan Chippewas WKU Hilltoppers
(7–5) (7–5)
48 49
Head coach: 
Dan Enos		 Head coach: 
Jeff Brohm
1 2 3 4 Total
Central Michigan 7 7 0 34 48
WKU 21 21 7 0 49
Date December 24, 2014
Season 2014
Stadium Thomas Robinson Stadium
Location Nassau, Bahamas
MVP Offensive: WKU QB Brandon Doughty[1]
Defensive: WKU DL Derik Overstreet[1]
Favorite W. Kentucky by 3½[2]
Referee John McDaid[3] (American)
Attendance 13,667[3]
Payout US$TBD
United States TV coverage
Network ESPN/ESPN Radio
Announcers Steve Levy, Lou Holtz, Mark May, & Laura Rutledge (ESPN)
John Brickley & Pete Najarian (ESPN Radio)
Bahamas Bowl
  2015 > 

The 2014 Bahamas Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game that was played December 24, 2014 at Thomas Robinson Stadium in Nassau in the Bahamas. The first edition of the Bahamas Bowl featured the Central Michigan Chippewas of the Mid-American Conference against the WKU Hilltoppers of Conference USA. It began at 12:00 p.m. EST and aired on ESPN.[4] It was one of the 2014–15 bowl games that concluded the 2014 FBS football season. Sponsored by the Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen fried chicken restaurant chain, the game was officially known as the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl.

Western Kentucky beat Central Michigan, 49–48.

By the middle of the third quarter, the Chippewas had fallen behind the Hilltoppers by a score of 49–14, but they scored four unanswered touchdowns and so near the end of the fourth quarter were down by only seven points. With one second remaining on the clock, they had the ball on their own 25 yard line. They then scored a touchdown on a play that started with a Hail Mary pass and also included three lateral passes. By kicking the extra point they could have tied the game and gone into overtime, but instead they attempted a two-point conversion for the win; however, the pass was blocked.[5] Had the try succeeded, it would have marked the largest comeback in bowl history and tied the largest comeback in any FBS game.

Chippewas quarterback Cooper Rush threw seven touchdown passes, setting a new NCAA bowl game record.[6]

This was the first postseason bowl game to be played outside the United States since the 2010 International Bowl at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada.

Teams

The game featured the Central Michigan Chippewas of the Mid-American Conference against the WKU Hilltoppers of Conference USA.

This was a rematch of both teams' most recent bowl appearance. The 2012 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl saw Central Michigan defeat WKU by a score of 24–21.

Central Michigan Chippewas

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See also: 2014 Central Michigan Chippewas football team

After finishing the regular season with a 7–5 record, the Chippewas accepted their bid to the Bahamas Bowl.[7]

WKU Hilltoppers

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See also: 2014 WKU Hilltoppers football team

After finishing the regular season with a 7–5 record, the Hilltoppers accepted their bid to the Bahamas Bowl.[8]

Weather and attendance

The game was played in brilliant sunshine, temperature of 79 degrees and a light, but steady, breeze from the SSE of 8 mph. The announced attendance was 13,667, but USA Today reported that attendance at the 15,000-seat Thomas Robinson Stadium in downtown Nassau was considerably sparser.[9] The lower sections of the stadium, in direct sunlight, were nearly deserted as the few hundreds of spectators clustered in the upper rows, in the shade. The small stands behind both end zones were closed off.[10]

Game summary

This game saw WKU get off to a fast start, leading 42-14 at halftime. After building a 49-14 lead, CMU mounted a historic comeback scoring 34 unanswered points in the 4th quarter. CMU forced a 3 and out on WKU in the 4th quarter, which resulted in a punt that landed in the end zone.

Final play of the game

CMU found themselves down 49–42 with one second left on the clock at their own 25 yard line after a punt by the Hilltoppers. Cooper Rush threw a pass down field 48 yards, which was caught by Jesse Kroll. Kroll then lateraled the ball to Deon Butler for 10 yards, who was chased down from behind but managed to lateral it back to Courtney Williams. Williams ran forward 2 yards and threw the ball laterally to Titus Davis. Davis then ran to the sideline being chased by 4 WKU defenders and managed to dive into the corner of the end zone, hitting the pylon with the football. The play resulted in a touchdown for the Chippewas that pulled them within 1 point. However, their ensuing 2 point conversion failed as Rush's pass to the back of the end zone fell incomplete, resulting in a 49–48 WKU win.[11]

Scoring summary

Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP CMU WKU
1 11:23 11 75 3:37 WKU Jared Dangerfield 14-yard touchdown reception from Brandon Doughty, Garrett Schwettman kick good 0 7
1 10:00 3 75 1:23 CMU Titus Davis 21-yard touchdown reception from Cooper Rush, Brian Eavey kick good 7 7
1 8:07 6 75 1:53 WKU Joel German 12-yard touchdown reception from Brandon Doughty, Garrett Schwettman kick good 7 14
1 1:13 9 84 3:28 WKU Antwane Grant 19-yard touchdown reception from Brandon Doughty, Garrett Schwettman kick good 7 21
2 10:03 10 81 3:23 WKU Mitchell Henry 16-yard touchdown reception from Brandon Doughty, Garrett Schwettman kick good 7 28
2 2:55 12 79 7:08 CMU Courtney Williams 30-yard touchdown reception from Cooper Rush, Brian Eavey kick good 14 28
2 1:41 3 69 1:14 WKU Willie McNeal 55-yard touchdown reception from Brandon Doughty, Garrett Schwettman kick good 14 35
2 0:04 6 62 0:44 WKU Leon Allen 1-yard touchdown run, Garrett Schwettman kick good 14 42
3 8:55 1 21 0:07 WKU Anthony Wales 21-yard touchdown run, Garrett Schwettman kick good 14 49
4 11:37 10 80 4:42 CMU Titus Davis 12-yard touchdown reception from Cooper Rush, Brian Eavey kick good 21 49
4 8:03 5 50 2:04 CMU Titus Davis 23-yard touchdown reception from Cooper Rush, Brian Eavey kick good 28 49
4 3:06 7 64 3:10 CMU Courtney Williams 10-yard touchdown reception from Cooper Rush, Brian Eavey kick good 35 49
4 1:09 4 55 0:51 CMU Anthony Garland 7-yard touchdown reception from Cooper Rush, Brian Eavey kick good 42 49
4 0:00 1 75 0:01 CMU Cooper Rush pass complete to Jesse Kroll for 48 yards, lateral to Deon Butler for 2 yards, lateral to Courtney Williams for 8 yards, lateral to Titus Davis for 17 yards for a touchdown, 2-point pass no good[11] 48 49
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 48 49

Source: [3]

Statistics

Statistics[3] CMU WKU
First downs 28 30
Plays–yards 74–607 74–647
Rushes–yards 29–114 32–161
Passing yards 493 486
Passing: Comp–Att–Int 28–45–1 31–42–0
Time of possession 32:51 27:09

See also

2006 Michigan State vs. Northwestern football game, the only time in FBS history that a team successfully rallied from a 35-point deficit

2006 Insight Bowl and 2016 Alamo Bowl, the standing record for a bowl comeback

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Bowl Schedule, Los Angeles Times, December 19, 2014
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Associated Press (December 24, 2015). "Central Michigan Scores Miracle, Last-Second Touchdown, Only to Miss 2-Point Conversion and Fall to Western Kentucky, 49-48, in Bahamas Bowl", New York Daily News. Retrieved December 25, 2014.
  6. ↑ Associated Press (December 24, 2014). "Western Kentucky Holds Off Central Michigan's 34-Point Rally", ESPN. Retrieved December 25, 2014.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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