Click here to read the 2014 Popeyes Bahamas Bowl Weekly Release – Week 10 (PDF)
POPEYES BAHAMAS BOWL WEEK 10 NOTEBOOK
BOWL ELIGIBLE: Marshall (8-0), Northern Illinois (6-2). ON THE BRINK: Bowling Green (5-3), Central Michigan (5-4), Louisiana Tech (5-3), Middle Tennessee (5-3), Toledo (5-3), Western Michigan (5-3).
THIS SATURDAY: C-USA East leader Louisiana Tech (5-3, 4-0) needs one victory for bowl eligibility as they host WKU (3-4, 1-3). The Bulldogs have won three in a row, and they face a Hilltopper team that scored 66 points in a victory over Old Dominion last Saturday. Rice (4-3, 2-1 C-USA), winners of four straight, plays at FIU (3-5, 2-2 C-USA). Rice trails LA Tech by one game in the East. Southern Miss (3-5, 1-3 C-USA) goes to UTEP (4-3, 2-1 C-USA), which shut out UTSA last Saturday and allowed only 70 total offense yards. UAB (4-4, 2-2 C-USA) plays at East Division rival Florida Atlantic (3-5, 2-2 C-USA). In non-conference action, Middle Tennessee (5-3) can gain bowl eligibility with a home victory over BYU and Old Dominion (3-5) heads to Nashville to play Vanderbilt.
Because the MAC transitions to four mid-week games next week, the league has just two games on Saturday, both involving teams that need one victory to reach bowl eligibility. Central Michigan (5-4, 3-2 MAC) travels to Ypsilanti and in-state rival Eastern Michigan (2-6, 1-3 MAC). The hottest team in the MAC, Western Michigan (5-3, 3-1), on a three-game win streak for the first time since 2010, heads to Miami (2-7, 2-3 MAC).
FRANKLIN MINT: Western Michigan freshman RB Jarvion Franklin has 1,148 yards rushing this year, the second-most season rush yards by a freshman in MAC history, trailing the 1,361 by former Temple RB Bernard Pierce in 2009. Franklin leads the nation with 19 rush TDs and is tied for second in scoring (114 pts.; 14.3 ppg).
GIVE HIM SIX: Louisiana Tech junior RB Kenneth Dixon has scored at least one TD in seven straight games, with 14 (10 rushing, four receiving) scores in 2014. Dixon has 41 career rush TDs, third among active FBS players.
MIDWEEK MACTION RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER: Midweek football takes center stage for the MAC during November with 14 Tuesday/Wednesday games starting on Nov. 4. The MAC has two games scheduled each night on Nov. 4-5, 11-12, 18-19 and 25. This Tuesday, Bowling Green is at Akron and Toledo travels to Kent State. Wednesday night, Buffalo heads over to Ohio and Northern Illinois goes to Ball State.
#PASSPORTTOKICKOFF: #PassportToKickoff is not only our hashtag, but a reminder that all U.S. citizens must have a valid passport to travel to the Bahamas & the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl. For passport info: passports.state.gov.
WEEK 10 SCHEDULE
CONFERENCE USA
Saturday, November 1
* Rice at FIU (ASN)
* WKU at Louisiana Tech (FSN)
BYU at Middle Tennessee (CBSSN)
* UAB at Florida Atlantic (ASN)
Old Dominion at Vanderbilt (ESPNU)
* Southern Miss at UTEP (FCS)
MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE
Saturday, November 1
* Central Michigan at Eastern Michigan (ESPN3)
* Western Michigan at Miami (ESPN3)
(TV/digital network in parenthesis)
* – conference games
WEEK 9 RESULTS
CONFERENCE USA
Saturday, October 25
* Rice 41, North Texas 21
Arkansas 45, UAB 17
* Marshall 35, Florida Atlantic 16
* Louisiana Tech 31, Southern Miss 20
* WKU 66, Old Dominion 51
* UTEP 34, UTSA 0
MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE
Saturday, October 25
* Northern Illinois 28, Eastern Michigan 17
* Ball State 35, Akron 21
* Western Michigan 42, Ohio 21
* Toledo 42, UMass 35
* Miami 10, Kent State 3
* Central Michigan 20, Buffalo 14
* – conference games
WEEK 9 INDIVIDUAL HONORS
RB Devon Johnson, Marshall: The junior rushed 24 times for a school-record 272 yards and four TDs in a 35-19 win over Florida Atlantic for C-USA Offensive Player of the Week honors.
LB Jermaine Holmes, Marshall: The senior had 18 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and one forced fumble in a 35-19 win over Florida Atlantic for C-USA Defensive Player of the Week honors.
RS J.J. Nelson, UAB: The senior returned a kickoff 100 yards for a TD and also returned two punts for 39 yards, including a 35-yarder, in a loss at Arkansas for C-USA Special Teams Player of the Week recognition.
QB Blake Frohnapfel, UMass: The senior threw for 438 yards and a school-record-tying five TDs in a loss at Toledo for MAC East Division Offensive Player of the Week honors.
S Adam Redden, Buffalo: The senior had 10 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in a loss to Central Michigan for MAC East Division Defensive Player of the Week honors.
P Mitch Bonnstetter, Ohio: The junior had 326 punting yards (46.6 average) on seven attempts in a loss at Western Michigan for MAC East Division Special Teams Player of the Week recognition.
WR Corey Davis, Western Michigan: The sophomore set a career high with 212 receiving yards on nine receptions and two TDs in a 42-21 win over Ohio for MAC West Division Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors.
RB Kareem Hunt, Toledo: The sophomore carried the ball 26 times for a career-best 198 yards and one TD in a 42-35 win over UMass for MAC West Division Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors.
LB Trevor Ishmael, Western Michigan: The senior had eight tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack and an interception return for a TD in a 41-21 win over Ohio for MAC West Division Defensive Player of the Week honors.
P Ron Coluzzi, Central Michigan: The sophomore punted four times for a 47.2 average in a 20-14 win at Buffalo for MAC West Division Special Teams Player of the Week recognition.
DID YOU KNOW?: Northern Illinois is among the nation’s elite football programs. Since 2010, NIU is tied for third with Florida State among all FBS schools with 52 victories (behind Oregon and Alabama), and since the 2003 season, the Huskies rank 19th in FBS with 101 total victories.
POPEYES BAHAMAS BOWL MEDIA PREDICTIONS
ESPN.com (Brett McMurphy) – Oct. 27: Louisiana Tech vs. Western Michigan
ESPN.com (Mark Schlabach) – Oct. 27: Marshall vs. Northern Illinois
USA Today (Erick Smith) – Oct. 29: Middle Tennessee vs. Toledo
SI.com (Zac Ellis) – Oct. 28: Louisiana Tech vs. Akron
Athlon Sports (Steven Lassan) – Oct. 28: Marshall vs. Northern Illinois
NFL.com (Mike Huguenin) – Oct. 28: UAB vs. Northern Illinois
CollegeFootballNews.com (Pete Fiutak) – Oct. 27: Middle Tennessee vs. Toledo
The Sporting News (Bill Bender) – Oct. 27: UAB vs. Western Michigan
Phil Steele Magazine – Oct. 27: Louisiana Tech vs. Northern Illinois
NationalFootballPost.com (Dave Miller) – Oct. 27: Middle Tennessee vs. Western Michigan
Brant Parsons (Orlando Sentinel) – Oct. 26: Marshall vs. Bowling Green
SB Nation (Jason Kirk) – Oct. 26: Marshall vs. Toledo
CBSSports.com (Jerry Palm) – Oct. 26: Middle Tennessee vs. Western Michigan
FOXSports.com (Stuart Mandel) – Aug. 26: Florida Atlantic vs. Northern Illinois
POPEYES BAHAMAS BOWL PARTICIPANT SELECTION The highest-ranked team by the College Football Playoff Selection Committee from either the American Athletic, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West or Sun Belt will play annually in one of the College Football Playoff bowls.
C-USA’s champion will select which bowl it would like to attend, and the remainder of the selections will follow after that, with no particular set order of bowls. C-USA has 2014 tie-ins with the Popeyes Bahamas, Boca Raton, Gildan New Mexico, Hawai’i and Heart of Dallas bowls, with a secondary tie-in with the Duck Commander Independence Bowl (if either ACC or SEC does not have enough eligible teams).
The GoDaddy Bowl has first choice of a MAC bowl-eligible team, and the remainder of the selections will follow after that, with no particular set order of bowls. The MAC has 2014 tie-ins with Popeyes Bahamas, Boca Raton, Famous Idaho Potato, GoDaddy and Raycom Media Camellia bowls, with secondary tie-ins with the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl (if Navy is not bowl-eligible), ESPN owned-and-operated bowls (such as Gildan New Mexico, Bitcoin St. Petersburg or Birmingham bowls) and the Quick Lane Bowl (if either ACC or Big Ten does not have enough eligible teams).
The participants for the 2014 Popeyes Bahamas Bowl will be announced Sunday, December 7.
