BOCA RATON – Although the Boca Raton Bowl will have a new sponsor this season, the game should be just as interesting.
Gone are the days of the Cheribundi Boca Bowl. This season, the Boca Bowl reached an agreement with the Roofclaim.com Boca Raton Bowl.
On the field, UCF, who was among the first programs to accept its bowl game, will meet up with No. 17 BYU.
The two programs, which are among the premier programs outside of the Power 5, have only met on the field twice.
UCF first met BYU in 2011, when BYU won 24-17. In 2014, UCF pulled out a 31-24 win on its home field.
This season, UCF has struggled to keep the same consistency from years past.
The Knights opened the season with a 2-2 record, falling to Tulsa and Memphis in back-to-back weeks. They have since finished the season 4-1, with the only loss coming to Cincinnati.
The Knights are headlined by quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who is one of the nation’s best. This season, Gabriel has thrown for 3,353 yards and 30 touchdowns.
Gabriel, however, will be without his top receiving target, Marlon Williams.
Williams, who opted out of the bowl game to focus on the NFL Draft, finished 2020 with 71 receptions for 1,039 yards and 10 scores.
BYU also features one of the nation’s best signal-callers.
Quarterback Zach Wilson has long been one of the best in the nation, as he is currently a dark horse candidate for the Heisman Trophy. He finished the regular season with 3,267 passing yards and 30 touchdowns.
Wilson’s main target this season is Dax Milne.
Milne, a junior from South Jordan, Utah, leads the team with 1,118 yards on 63 receptions. He is second on the team with eight receiving touchdowns, two behind Isaac Rex.
As a team, BYU became one of the nation’s best.
The Cougars finished the regular season with a 10-1 record, picking up wins over Boise State and San Diego State. Their one loss this season was a 22-17 loss to Coastal Carolina, who sits at No. 12 in the most recent College Football Playoff Rankings.
Last season, FAU captured the Boca Bowl with a 52-28 victory over SMU. It was the second time in program history that FAU was able to win the Boca Bowl.
PHOTO CREDITS: Boca Bowl
