After just a couple of games on Saturday, the bowl season starts to kick into high gear this week with several contests. One of those is a matchup of teams from Conference USA and the Sun Belt. On paper, this looks like a fun contest. Let’s give you some history of the game, introduce you to James Madison and Western Kentucky, and give you a prediction with our 2024 Boca Raton Bowl preview.
Dukes And Hilltoppers Meet In Florida
History Of The Game
The first Boca Raton bowl was held back in 2014 with Marshall defeating Northern Illinois 52-23. It’s played on the campus of Florida Atlantic University and the winning team receives the Howard Schnellenberger Trophy. It’s named for the legendary coach who roamed the sidelines for FAU from 2001-2011.
Now that we’ve given you some history let’s talk about the teams as we continue with our 2024 Boca Raton Bowl Preview.
Scouting The Hilltoppers
Under coach Tyson Helton Western Kentucky comes into Wednesday’s game sporting an 8-5 record. They finished 6-2 in Conference USA but lost the title game 52-12 to Jacksonville State. This coming after beating the Gamecocks the week before.
Quarterback Caden Veltkamp took over at quarterback after starter TJ Finley was injured. He’s now in the portal for the fifth time in six years. However, Veltkamp has also gone portaling after throwing for 2,806 yards and a league-leading 23 touchdowns. In fact, the Hilltoppers have 23 players in the transfer portal. Turner Helton could get the nod at quarterback.
The offense has been good this year averaging 390 yards per game and nearly 27 points. On the other side of the ball, the defense only gave up 22 points a game but has struggled mightily against the run. Over the last three games, WKU allowed over 1,100 yards and 11 touchdowns. That could bode well for their opponent.
About The Dukes
James Madison comes into Wednesday’s matchup with an 8-4 record and 4-4 in the Sun Belt. They got off to an 8-2 start before losing their last two. Bob Chesney took over as head coach after Curt Cignetti left for Indiana and took many of the top players with him. However, Chesney kept the momentum from 2023 going.
The offense is led by quarterback Alonza Barrett III who threw for 2,600 yards and 26 touchdowns. Unfortunately, he hurt his leg in a loss to Marshall and will miss the game. In his absence, Billy Atkins will start. He’s thrown one pass this year.
It’s a big loss but thankfully for the JMU faithful, they’ve got one of the best running backs in the league. George Pettaway finished fifth in the Sun Belt with 880 yards and five touchdowns. In addition, he caught 24 passes for 220 yards.
Now that we’ve introduced you to both teams let’s look at their bowl history as we continue with our 2024 Boca Raton Bowl Preview.
Bowl And Series History
This will be the first-ever meeting between the Hilltoppers and Dukes. Overall Western is 7-3 all-time in bowl games and has won three straight. Furthermore, it’s their third appearance in the Boca Raton Bowl. They beat Memphis 51-31 in 2016 and Appalachian State 59-38 in 2021.
On the other sideline, this is the Dukes’ second bowl game. You may remember the controversy last year where, despite going 11-1 in the regular season, they weren’t eligible for a bowl. The reason, they were in the second year of the transition from FCS to FBS. However when there weren’t enough bowl-eligible teams they were allowed to play. James Madison lost 31-21 to Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl.
It’s prediction time as we finish our 2024 Boca Raton Bowl Preview.
Who Wins On Wednesday?
One thing about Western Kentucky and bowl games is they’re always entertaining. Trailing 21-17 the Hilltoppers outscored Appalachian State 42-17 as quarterback Bailey Zappe set the NCAA record for career passing touchdowns.
Last season WKU trailed Old Dominion 35-14 after three quarters. However, the Toppers made a rally for the ages scoring 21 straight to send the game into overtime. A field goal completed the comeback and a 38-35 win.
Back to this year’s game, Western had lots of trouble stopping the run. That’s with their entire defense out there. With three top defenders not playing it plays even more into JMU’s strength. The Dukes are 7-1 when running for more than 200 yards and 1-4 when they don’t. Remember earlier this year they hung 70 on North Carolina. Look for a huge game from Pettaway as the Dukes get their first bowl win.
James Madison 31-17
Thanks for checking out our 2024 Boca Raton Bowl Preview. We’ll be back after the game with a complete recap.
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