BOCA RATON, Fla. — Two seasons after shutting down its football program, UAB closed out the year on an electrifying note.
Tyler Johnston III threw for 373 yards and four touchdowns, three of them to Xavier Ubosi, and UAB beat Northern Illinois 37-13 in the Boca Raton Bowl on Tuesday night.
Ubosi had seven catches for 227 yards for the Conference USA champion Blazers (11-3), who got their first-ever bowl victory in three appearances. UAB played in its second consecutive bowl since the program was reinstated after the self-imposed hiatus.
“I guess in our wildest dreams we dreamed of winning a conference championship and then cap it off with a bowl win, so it’s really that sweet,” UAB coach Bill Clark said. “I don’t think it could have gone any better for us, so I’m very proud.”
Northern Illinois (8-6), the Mid-American Conference champion, has lost six consecutive bowl games since beating Arkansas in the 2012 GoDaddy.com Bowl.
“It really comes down to three things. We gave up three touchdowns on three deep balls,” NIU coach Rod Carey said. “Old-fashioned go routes. Give those guys credit. They ran by us. They threw it, caught it. That’s the difference. If not, it’s 16-13. In the fourth quarter, I like our chances.
“We have to own it as coaches. We have to own it as players. We didn’t coach good enough. We didn’t play good enough. Thirteen points isn’t winning football. Bummer.”
Johnston, who took over the starting job for the injured A.J. Erdely at midseason, set career highs in passing yards and touchdown passes, and Ubosi’s 227 yards were the third-most receiving in a game in school history. Ubosi came into the game ranked second in the country at 21.8 yards per catch, and his TD receptions covered 70, 46 and 66 yards.
“I’m surprised but at the same time you work for it,” Ubosi said. “Just practice hard and whatever you do in practice you’ll do in the game.”