2018 College Football Playoff, bowl game predictions with confidence picks
Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl
UAB (10-3) vs Northern Illinois (8-5)
Boca Raton, Florida
December 18 – 7 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
Buyer beware: as good of a story as UAB has been this season, I’m still not sold on how good they actually are as they took advantage of a woeful C-USA to capture the program’s first conference championship. That’s not to take away from that accomplishment, but I worry about how they stack up against programs outside of the C-USA, particularly a battle tested side like Northern Illinois.
The Huskies came back from the dead in the MAC Championship, coming from way behind to shock Buffalo and capture the conference crown. They were able to overcome the offensive ineptitude that cost them in late season defeats to Miami (OH) and Western Michigan.
This should be a slugfest with two strong defenses in action in Boca. UAB has struggled to find offense outside of RB Spencer Brown, and he’ll find the going tough against a Northern Illinois defense that ranks 14th in the nation in opposing rushing yards. Edge rusher Sutton Smith will make life especially tough for Brown and Blazers QB A.J. Erdely. Smith is one of the best players in the country that you’ve never heard of, racking up 24.5 tackles-for-loss and 15 sacks this season.
Look for Smith to make the big defensive play that ultimately swings this game in the Huskies’ favor, as Northern Illinois comes out on top in a low scoring affair, as tough as it is to bet against Bill Clark and the Blazers.