2014 Bahamas Bowl

August 2023 March 2026 Bahamas Bowl 1st Bahamas Bowl Popeyes December 24 2014 2014 Thomas Robinson Stadium Nassau, Bahamas Central Michigan University Central Michigan Chippewas 7–5 MAC Dan Enos 7 7 0 34 Western Kentucky University WKU Hilltoppers 7–5 C-USA Jeff Brohm 21 21 7 0 W. Kentucky by 3.5Bowl Schedule, Los Angeles Times, December 19, 2014 Offensive: WKU QB Brandon Doughtyhttp://wkuherald.com/sports/article_0596a836-8bb9-11e4-9542-536bb9d65b73.html WKU escapes Bahamas Bowl with hectic 49-48 victory over Central Michigan Williams Kyle December 24, 2014 wkuherald.com College Heights Herald December 27, 2014 September 7, 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200907001850/https://wkuherald.com/sports/article_0596a836-8bb9-11e4-9542-536bb9d65b73.html dead Defensive: WKU DL Derik Overstreet John McDaid (American) 13,667 TBD ESPN/ESPN Radio Steve Levy, Lou Holtz, Mark May, & Laura Rutledge (ESPN)John Brickley & Pete Najarian (ESPN Radio) 2015 yes 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 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers of Conference USA. It began at 12:00 p.m. EST and aired on ESPN.http://www.bahamasbowl.com/central-michigan-wku-matchup-for-inaugural-popeyes-bahamas-bowl/ Central Michigan-WKU matchup for inaugural Popeyes Bahamas Bowl Bahamas Bowl BahamasBowl.com December 7, 2014 December 7, 2014 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, Central Michigan had the ball on their own 25 yard line. The would-be final play started with a 45-yard Hail Mary pass from QB Cooper Rush to receiver Jesse Kroll. As Kroll was being tackled he lateraled the ball to teammate Deon Butler, who darted 20 yards before lateraling to Courtney Williams. With no room to run, Williams executed a quick third lateral pass to star receiver Titus Davis who ran the final 13 yards and dove towards the pylon, scoring a touchdown that would have tied the game with a kicked extra point and sent the game into overtime, but instead Central Michigan attempted a two-point conversion for the win, which was unsuccessful.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. Had the try succeeded, it would have marked the largest comeback in bowl history and tied the largest comeback in any FBS game. The play was nominated for an ESPY Award. Chippewas quarterback Cooper Rush threw seven touchdown passes, setting a new NCAA bowl game record.Associated Press (December 24, 2014). "Western Kentucky Holds Off Central Michigan's 34-Point Rally", ESPN. Retrieved December 25, 2014. 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 Western Kentucky 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 Western Kentucky by a score of 24–21. Central Michigan Chippewas 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.http://www.cmuchippewas.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/120714aaa.html CMU Football Headed to the Bahamas Central Michigan Chippewas CMUChippewas.com December 7, 2014 December 7, 2014 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers 2014 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team After finishing the regular season with a 7–5 record, the Hilltoppers accepted their bid to the Bahamas Bowl.http://www.wkusports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/120714aab.html Hilltoppers Accept Invitation to Inaugural Popeye's Bahamas Bowl Western Kentucky Hilltoppers WKUSports.com December 7, 2014 December 7, 2014 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.https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2014/12/25/college-football-bowl-games-attendance-bahamas-camellia-espn/20896969/ Bowl game attendance on decline but TV interest grows usatoday.com March 21, 2015 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.http://nesn.com/2014/12/central-michigan-western-kentucky-bahamas-bowl-wasnt-too-popular-photos/ Tiny Bahamas Bowl Crowd Witnesses One of the Craziest Endings Ever NESN.com December 24, 2014 December 24, 2014 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.Meagher Sean Watch: Central Michigan's wild, lateral-filled 80-yard TD at end of Bahamas Bowl http://www.oregonlive.com/collegefootball/index.ssf/2014/12/watch_central_michigan_tops_we.html December 26, 2014 The Oregonian December 24, 2014 Scoring summary CMU WKU 1 11:23 WKU 11 75 3:37 RecTD Jared Dangerfield Brandon Doughty 14 good Garrett Schwettman 0 7 1 10:00 CMU 3 75 1:23 RecTD Titus Davis Cooper Rush 21 good Brian Eavey 7 7 1 8:07 WKU 6 75 1:53 RecTD Joel German Brandon Doughty 12 good Garrett Schwettman 7 14 1 1:13 WKU 9 84 3:28 RecTD Antwane Grant Brandon Doughty 19 good Garrett Schwettman 7 21 2 10:03 WKU 10 81 3:23 RecTD Mitchell Henry Brandon Doughty 16 good Garrett Schwettman 7 28 2 2:55 CMU 12 79 7:08 RecTD Courtney Williams Cooper Rush 30 good Brian Eavey 14 28 2 1:41 WKU 3 69 1:14 RecTD Willie McNeal Brandon Doughty 55 good Garrett Schwettman 14 35 2 0:04 WKU 6 62 0:44 RushTD Leon Allen 1 good Garrett Schwettman 14 42 3 8:55 WKU 1 21 0:07 RushTD Anthony Wales 21 good Garrett Schwettman 14 49 4 11:37 CMU 10 80 4:42 RecTD Titus Davis Cooper Rush 12 good Brian Eavey 21 49 4 8:03 CMU 5 50 2:04 RecTD Titus Davis Cooper Rush 23 good Brian Eavey 28 49 4 3:06 CMU 7 64 3:10 RecTD Courtney Williams Cooper Rush 10 good Brian Eavey 35 49 4 1:09 CMU 4 55 0:51 RecTD Anthony Garland Cooper Rush 7 good Brian Eavey 42 49 4 0:00 CMU 1 75 0:01 Other 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 48 49 48 49 Source: http://statbroadcast.com/events/archived.php?id=68905 2014 Bahamas Bowl Game Stats Stat Broadcast December 24, 2014 December 24, 2014 Statistics Statistics CMU WKU First downs 28 30 Plays–yards 74–607 74–647Rushes–yards 29–114 32–161 Passing yards 493 486Passing: 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 (January), which share the record for the largest bowl comeback References 30em External links Box score at ESPN Bahamas Bowl Category:Bahamas Bowl Category:Central Michigan Chippewas football bowl games Category:Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football bowl games Category:December 2014 sports events in North America Bahamas Bowl