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Central Michigan Chippewas at Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

Thomas A. Robinson Stadium in Nassau,

Wednesday, December 24, 2014 12:00 PM

Central Michigan 48
Western Kentucky 49
67.5
-3
Final

Chippewas Hilltoppers Game Recap


Western Kentucky 49, Central Michigan 48: Brandon Doughty threw for 486 yards and five first-half touchdowns as the Hilltoppers held on to defeat Chippewas after nearly blowing a 35-point fourth-quarter lead in the inaugural Popeyes Bahamas Bowl at Nassau.

Doughty finished 31-of-42 and hooked up with 11 different receivers for Western Kentucky (8-5), which avenged a loss to Central Michigan in the 2012 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl for its first bowl victory since moving to FBS in 2009. Willie McNeal (five catches, career-high 155 yards) and Jared Dangerfield (five catches, 87 yards) were among five Hilltoppers who caught a TD pass while Anthony Wales (95 yards rushing) and Leon Allen (51) each ran for a score.

Cooper Rush set career highs with 493 passing yards and seven touchdowns – including five in the fourth quarter – for the Chippewas (7-6), who scored 34 unanswered points over the final 11:37 after the Hilltoppers raced out to a 49-14 advantage. Titus Davis finished with six catches for 139 yards and four touchdowns, scoring his third TD of the fourth quarter as time expired on a wild play.

Doughty orchestrated touchdown drives on all six of Western Kentucky’s first-half possessions, connecting with Joel German and Antwane Grant from 12 and 19 yards out, respectively, after Davis evened the score five minutes into the contest. Doughty sandwiched his fourth and five TD passes around Courtney Williams’ 30-yard touchdown catch on a fourth-and-15 play in the second quarter and Allen scored on a 1-yard run with four seconds left to make it 42-14 at the break.

After Wales ran for a 21-yard TD run for the only score of the third quarter, Rush found Davis (twice), Williams and Anthony Garland as the Chippewas stormed back. Central Michigan nearly completed the unthinkable rally when Jesse Kroll hauled in a Hail Mary and Davis dove over the right pylon after three laterals, but the Chippewas fell short when Rush’s fade throw to the back corner of the end zone on the ensuing two-point conversion fell incomplete.

GAME NOTEBOOK:
Western Kentucky became the first program in FBS history with both a 4,500-yard passer (Doughty, 4,872) and 1,500-yard rusher (Allen, 1,542) in the same season. … McNeal (171) became the school’s all-time catch leader on Doughty’s fifth scoring toss while Dangerfield (69) set the Western Kentucky single-season mark for most receptions. … Western Kentucky LB Terran Williams was ejected for targeting on a high hit on Rush midway through the first quarter.

Preview: Central Michigan Chippewas at Western Kentucky Hilltoppers


POPEYES BAHAMAS BOWL STORYLINES

1. The inaugural Bahamas Bowl in Nassau pitting Central Michigan against Western Kentucky is the first FBS bowl game outside of either the United States or Canada since the 1937 Bacardi Bowl in Havana, Cuba. Ironically, each team’s last trip to a bowl game came when they faced each other in the 2012 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl, where the Chippewas held off the Hilltoppers 24-21. The coincidences do not end there, as both schools were bowl-eligible last year but did not play in the postseason.

2. After serving one season under current Louisville coach Bobby Petrino at Western Kentucky, Jeff Brohm has turned the Hilltoppers into an offensive juggernaut in his first season at the helm. Western Kentucky ranks sixth in the country in scoring and total offense, helping the school notch its first-ever win over a ranked opponent in its last game – a 67-66 overtime triumph over then-undefeated No. 20 Marshall. The Hilltoppers closed the season with four straight victories, averaging 49.8 points and 530.8 yards during the winning streak.

3. The Chippewas counter with the top total defense, rush defense and pass defense in the Mid-American Conference, although that unit has been somewhat inconsistent. In handing eventual conference champion Northern Illinois its first home loss in 29 games and only setback inside the MAC on Oct. 11, Central Michigan held the league’s top rushing offense 142 yards below its season average. Two weeks earlier, Toledo’s 19th-ranked offense gutted the Chippewas for 543 yards and 42 points – both season highs against Central Michigan.

TV: Noon ET, ESPN. LINE: Western Kentucky -3.

ABOUT CENTRAL MICHIGAN (7-5, 5-3 MAC): The Chippewas own the 16th-ranked total defense in FBS and were particularly good during their 5-2 finish to the regular season, giving up no more than 129 rushing yards in any game and surrendering more than 233 passing once over that stretch. "No doubt it's been the best defense, it's been the best defense we have had by far," fourth-year coach Dan Enos told the school’s website. Central Michigan does not lack for offensive playmakers, however, as leading receiver Titus Davis is the only player in FBS history with eight or more touchdown receptions in four seasons.

ABOUT WESTERN KENTUCKY (7-5, 4-4 Conference USA): The Hilltoppers shattered 42 team and individual offensive records, many of which fell thanks to quarterback Brandon Doughty, who leads all FBS quarterbacks with 4,344 passing yards and 44 touchdowns. Doughty picked apart Marshall for 491 yards and a conference-record eight TDs, which allowed him to move into a four-way tie for 16th place in FBS history for the most passing scores in a single season. Western Kentucky also boasts a solid ground game led by Leon Allen, who ran for 650 of his 1,490 yards over the last three games – including a school-record 345-yard effort in a Nov. 15 win versus Army.

PREDICTION: Western Kentucky 52, Central Michigan 31

Away Spread Consensus 32% Chippewas (3.5) Home Spread Consensus 68% Hilltoppers (-3.5)
Total Over Consensus 57% Over (67.5) Total Under Consensus 43% Under (67.5)
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