Boca Raton, FL (SportsNetwork. Hydro Flask Kinder .com) - Two conference champions will clash head to head in the inaugural Boca Raton Bowl as the Marshall Thundering Herd and the Northern Illinois Huskies converge on FAU Stadium on Dec. 23. Marshall nearly made it through an unbeaten season in 2014, but dropped a regular-season finale to Western Kentucky, 67-66, in overtime that served as the teams lone loss. The Thundering Herd then won the Conference USA title over Louisiana Tech, 26-23, which set them up with this bowl game against Northern Illinois. Speaking of the Huskies, NIU was able to easily capture the Mid-American Conference title with a 51-17 victory over Bowling Green on Detroits Ford Field. With the invite to the inaugural Boca Raton Bowl, Northern Illinois extended its consecutive bowl game streak to seven seasons. Its the ninth time in the past 11 years NIU has been present in a postseason bowl contest. This clash between Northern Illinois and Marshall represents the eighth time these teams will meet. NIU holds a 4-3 all-time advantage over the Thundering Herd in the series, but Marshall has won the two most recent contests in 1999 and 2001. Marshalls offense has consistently been one of the most dominant in the FBS this season, entering this bowl game averaging 45.1 ppg with a whopping 563.4 total offensive ypg mark. At the center of it all is veteran quarterback Rakeem Cato - a Heisman hopeful for the last few seasons and the Herds field general. Cato passed for 3,622 yards and 37 touchdowns in 2014, with 13 interceptions and six more rushing scores. His 278.6 passing ypg was a large reason for the teams success. What could be a big blow to the Herds lineup is the potential unavailability of running back Devon Johnson, who has been dealing with knee issues for the better part of November and December. Johnson has rushed for 1,636 yards with 16 touchdowns on 191 carries this season, but has been severely limited in the teams past few games because of the nagging injuries. Steward Butler (781 yards, seven touchdowns) would get the start in the backfield if Johnson cant go. Catos receivers have been exceptionally reliable this season, led by Tommy Shulers 74 receptions, 953 yards and eight touchdowns. Tight end Eric Frohnapfel (404 yards, five touchdowns) and Deon-Tay McManus (375 yards, five touchdowns) are strong red-zone threats. And freshman Angelo Jean-Louis (464 yards, five touchdowns) has been as good as advertised. For most that have faced Marshall this season, those teams have found it relatively difficult to score against the tough Herd defensive unit. Marshall is allowing opponents to score just 20.8 ppg, which includes the outlandish 66 points scored by Western Kentucky. Opponents are also averaging only 351.8 offensive ypg against the Herd, who have played three teams from the MAC already this season (all wins). Linebacker Neville Hewitt leads the team with 114 tackles on the season, adding in 12 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks to his resume. But Marshall has largely prided itself on an exceptionally talented and deep secondary, which is led by Taj Letman (83 tackles, four interceptions), Darryl Roberts (16 pass breakups) and Corey Tindal (11 pass breakups). Lineman Arnold Blackmon (13.5 tackles for loss, eight sacks) will be the main cog trying to slow a strong NIU run game. We indicated to Conference USA, who makes the ultimate decision, that we would like to play the best possible opponent, and that is what we received in Northern Illinois, said Marshall athletic director Mike Hamrick. NIU has been one of the elite group of five schools this season, and I know that our student-athletes, fans and staff are very excited for this matchup. Northern Illinois won its third MAC title in the past four years with the defeat of Bowling Green. NIU loves to run the football, which has been the case for a number of years. But even without star rushing quarterback Jordan Lynch, the Huskies have made it work with Cameron Stingily (895 yards, 13 touchdowns) and current quarterback Drew Hare (850 yards, eight touchdowns). The Huskies average an eye-popping 252.9 rushing ypg. While Hare has done plenty of damage using his legs this season, hes managed to put together a solid portfolio of passing work. Hare enters the game with Marshall completing just shy of 60 percent of his passes (59.9 percent) for 2,097 yards and 17 touchdowns against only two interceptions. He averages 161.3 passing ypg, and has been the leader of an NIU squad posting 32.2 ppg this season. Receiver DaRon Brown has been stellar catching the ball from Hare this season, registering 1,002 yards and six touchdowns on 64 receptions. Juwan Brescacins 405 receiving yards and five touchdowns is the next closest to Browns totals, though Aregeros Turner (343 yards, two touchdowns) has made himself useful in the passing game. Northern Illinois defensive game has been on point, especially down the stretch when things could have unraveled so easily for NIU. The Huskies are allowing opponents to score 23.6 ppg and gain 382.9 offensive ypg this season, though NIU hasnt faced an offense quite as dangerous as Marshalls yet. But against strong offensive teams like Toledo (24 points), Western Michigan (21 points) and Bowling Green (17 points), the Huskies showed they can defend some of the best. Safety Marlon Moore has been at the top of the teams tackle list all season long, and enters this contest with Marshall owning 93 stops to pace the Huskies. Dechan Durantes four interceptions is a team high, and he could prove useful against Cato, who threw four picks against WKU. Paris Logan (three interceptions, fo15 pass breakups) will likely be shadowing Shuler, and Jason Meehan (9.5 tackles for loss, seven sacks) will be in charge of trying to contain the run game. As far as bowl games, youre going to have two conference champions going at it, and you dont get that in many, if any, bowl games outside of the College Football Playoff, NIU coach Rod Carey said. Its an unbelievable matchup. We have a ton of respect for Marshall, coach (Doc) Holliday and their staff and what they have done this year. Hydro Flask Günstig Kaufen . Smith has spent the last three seasons with the Rockies, playing both left and right field, and has a .275 batting average with 51 homers and 181 RBIs in 487 major league games. Hydro Flask Bestellen . The Toronto Argonauts signed the veteran linebacker to a three-year deal Tuesday, hours after the start of CFL free agency. http://www.hydroflaskflasche.ch/ . On Saturday, the paths of Drew Tate and Kevin Glenn cross again as opposing quarterbacks. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Rays latest defeat had a little different twist -- four late runs and six hits that left them one run short of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Andrew McCutchen drove in two runs, Jeff Locke pitched into the eighth inning and the Pirates beat the Rays 6-5 on Tuesday night, handing Tampa Bay its 20th loss in 28 games. "The moral victories are not what were looking for right now; were looking for the actual victories," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "I love the idea that the winning run came to the plate. ... Theres a lot of good things to draw from tonight, but we cant continue to lose this type of game." Russell Martins fourth home run gave the Pirates a 6-1 lead, but Evan Longoria hit a two-run home run off Locke in the eighth. Singles by Logan Forsythe, Desmond Jennings and Brandon Guyer produced two more runs off closer Mark Melancon in the ninth, but Longorida flied out to end it. "We were maybe a hit away or something, but it happens," said Guyer, who scored on Longorias 10th home run in the eighth. "We just have to bring the momentum into the game tomorrow and try to get a win." The Pirates have the NLs best record (27-18) since May 6, and moved above .500 (39-38) for the first time since starting the season 7-6. McCutchen had an RBI single during a three-run third inning that put the Pirates ahead 4-0. The 2013 NL MVP had two RBIs in Pittsburghs 8-1 win Monday night over the Rays. Locke (1-1) allowed three runs and eight hits over 7 1-3 innings. His night ended with Longorias homer. Melancon got his 13th save. Chris Archer (4-5) gave up five runs and seven hits in seven innings for the Rays. "We lost. We got an L, but we played hard and I dont know that there was much more we could do, other than me not walking two leadoff hitters," Archer said. "That ultimately was the difference in the game." Pirates left ffielder Starling Marte left in the fifth inning with concussion-like symptoms after a head-first slide during a failed stolen base attempt. Hydro Flask Günstig. He made contact with Rays second baseman Sean Rodriguez on the play. Gregory Polanco started the game with a walk, stole second and advanced to third on catcher Jose Molinas throwing error, and scored to make it 1-0 on a grounder by McCutchen. Polanco has reached base in all of his 14 games since being recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis on June 10. Tampa Bay got within 4-1 in the fifth when Forsythe hit a two-out triple and Jose Molina followed with an RBI double. Molina, who has two RBIs in 43 games this season, is 2 for 34 with runners in scoring position. Marte hit a run-scoring single and Neil Walker had a sacrifice fly in the third, a three-run inning which started with a walk to Pedro Alvarez. Walker returned after being on the 15-day disabled list since June 9 because of an appendectomy. NOTES: Kevin Kiermaier pinch hit for Rays SS Yunel Escobar in the eighth, partly because of a sore right shoulder than will keep Escobar out of the lineup for Wednesdays series finale. ... Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle should announce Wednesday when RHP Gerrit Cole (right shoulder fatigue) will return to the rotation. Cole threw a simulated game Monday, which lines him up to start this weekend. ... Tampa Bay C Ryan Hanigan was scratched due to neck stiffness. ... Maddon said RHP Jeremy Hellickson (right elbow surgery) will need at least one more minor league start before returning. ... NASCAR driver Aric Almirola took batting practice and gave Maddon a Rays racing helmet. ... Tampa Bay LHP David Price (5-7) and Pirates RHP Charlie Morton (4-8) are Wednesdays scheduled starters. Price, the subject of trade speculation, said he has thought about the situation and its the reason why hes been in a "bad mood" recently. ' ' '