The Tribune

THE preparation for the stakeholders, participating teams, fans, locals and visitors are complete and game day is finally here.

The fourth edition of the Bahamas Bowl, a matchup between the Ohio University Bobcats and the University of Alabama-Birmingham Blazers, kicks off 12:30pm today at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium.

The game represents a history-making experience for both teams as the Blazers will make their first bowl appearance since 2004 in their first year since the programme returned from a shutdown while the Bobcats will play in their fourth consecutive bowl game.

Blazers head coach Bill Clark called the bowl week events an experience that will resonate with his team well beyond the football field.

“It is really good to be here. I can’t tell you how honoured we are to be here. What a great event. I got to come down to the Bahamas a few years ago at Conference USA’s invitation. Just to see the hard work everyone has put in between the Bahamas Bowl staff, the Atlantis Bahamas, the Bahamas government is incredible. On behalf of UAB, we are very proud to be here. Our administration, students, team and fans are just so grateful to be here,” he said.

“I have been here before and really knew how special it was. For these guys to experience something like this is special. We have discussed the percentage of these guys that will have the opportunity to come back. I have had guys that have been at bowl games at other places but I don’t think they have been to one that compares to what we have seen so far. This trip has been above and beyond anything we could have asked for. Now we just have to go out and try and win a football game.”

Clark added that a win in a bowl game would be a perfect ending to a storybook season and show gratitude to the Birmingham community that willed the programme back through fundraising efforts.

“Our fans have been tremendous. This whole process was funded by our community. The proof was in the pudding. They not only talked about it, but they showed up and put their own money forward for this programme. Just seeing our fans walking around with pride is great. This is what it is all about,” he said. “We feel that is not only important to represent our city and fans but also our conference. Conference USA is a great conference and we play really well outside our conference. We are really proud at what we did inside the conference this year because it is so competitive. I think it shows in these bowl games. Our conference is doing well.”

Bobcats head coach Frank Solich said the Bahamas Bowl experience presented new opportunities for his players and their families, but the focus remains on leaving with the title.

“It’s been great. This gives an opportunity to a lot of players, a lot of coaches on our staff who had never been down here, and their families. It’s opened up a whole new ballgame for all of us so we certainly appreciate the opportunity. In my history of coaching I’ve been to an awful lot of bowls and I think you do a great job here. It’s second-to-none in terms of hospitality. I think you’ve got the right amount of activities for the players, and yet still allow the opportunity for free time. If you have free time, where would you rather have it than at the Atlantis properties? We’re very thankful for being here, and we hope to put on a great show,” he said. “We took the stance that you can have fun and win a bowl game. That’s what we came down here to do. We certainly wanted to give our players some free time, let them get around and see the resort. There’s obviously an awful lot to do and an awful lot to see. As you get closer to the game there’s got to be some balance there, and I think our guys have done a great job of that. Now we’re starting to get off our legs and resting for the game – staying out of the sun, staying out of the water. I think we’ve got the right plan to have a great deal of energy when the game kicks off.”

The 16 combined victories (eight each for UAB and Ohio) between this year’s teams is tied for the most in Bahamas Bowl history with last year’s matchup between Eastern Michigan and Old Dominion. This will be the first meeting between UAB and Ohio. Conference USA leads the Bahamas Bowl series, 2-1 over the MAC.

UAB (8-4 overall, 6-2 in Conference USA play) is one of the most inspirational stories of the 2017 college football season. The Blazers football programme was cut, along with two other sports, after the 2014 season, but a unprecedented fundraising effort by businesses and fans in the Birmingham area resulted in an announcement six months later by the university that the programme would return in 2017.

After the two-year hiatus, UAB returned to the field and won a school-FBS record eight games. Clark, who is in his second season (14-10 record at UAB; 25-14 in three seasons overall as a collegiate head coach) at UAB, stayed through the programme’s hiatus and led the Blazers to the school’s second bowl bid in its’ history (2004 Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl).

They come into the Bahamas Bowl with six victories in their last eight games to finish second in Conference USA’s West Division. UAB won all six home games, and the six C-USA victories were also the most in the Blazers’ history.

Redshirt senior linebacker Tevin Crews led the team with 95 tackles.

“A lot of people have fought for this university, for this football team to come back. It has been a tremendous driving force for this team. The days you do not feel like working that hard, you think of how somebody has made a sacrifice for us and it is time for us to do the same for them. It has never gone unnoticed. We will never forget the people that did tremendous things to bring this programme back. We are very appreciative of the Birmingham community, we have a great fan base and we love them to death,” Crews said. “Earlier this week, we sat down and discussed prioritising. You enjoy the moment when you are out having fun at the water park and other things like that but when we get up in the morning and go to the meeting rooms, it is all business. You have to understand that we are here to have fun but the main goal is to win a football game. We have some really good practices since we have landed in the Bahamas and that is because of how we prioritised our time.”

Fellow senior linebacker Shaq Jones gained national notoriety for his article published in The Player’s Tribune detailing the emotional roller coaster of the fall and resurgence of the Blazers football programme.

“It will be a proud moment if we get this win because it’s something I can tell my kids and my future grandkids,” Jones said.

Ohio (8-4 overall, 5-3 in Mid-American Conference play) will be led to its 11th all-time bowl appearance by Solich, who is in his 13th season (96-71 record) at Ohio and his 19th as a college head coach (154-90 record) overall. Solich, who also served as the head coach at Nebraska from 1998-2003, has taken the Bobcats to nine bowls, including in each of the last three seasons. He is the third-longest tenured coach in the FBS ranks.

The Bobcats come into the Bahamas Bowl with four victories in the last six games as Ohio finished second in the MAC East Division

Sophomore quarterback Nathan Rourke holds the school record for rushing touchdowns in a season with 21 (second in FBS), and his 37 total touchdowns responsible for is one away from tying the Ohio season record. He also has thrown for 2,018 passing yards and 15 TDs.

Rourke said the success of the offence has been based on balance, but that success will be tested against a stingy UAB defence.

“It’s been a combination of things. You can’t really put it on one thing. First of all, our offensive line has been really experienced and gotten a lot of reps. It’s really allowed both our running backs and myself to get to some open lanes and expose some holes in the defence, and that’s just a complement to them. It’s a combination of balancing the run and the pass. When you can do both pretty efficiently, it’s hard for the defence to stop,” he said.

“They definitely have some really good players in the secondary. They have a really good defence – I don’t know if you can just say the secondary. Their defence is very well-rounded and very well-coached. You can tell that throughout the games because we’ve watched them and they do a lot of great things and a lot of different looks. We’ve really got to figure out what they’re going to do against us and what their game plan is and move forward in that regard.”

Redshirt senior linebacker Quentin Poling leads the team with 102 tackles, including 47 solo stops, 12.5 tackles for loss and three forced fumbles. He also leads the team with 5.5 sacks.

“When I’m looking back on my career, I think the last game is going to be the one that sticks out the most obvious.” Poling said.

“Talking to Dak Notestine, our strength coach, he played at Ohio and ended his career in a bowl game that didn’t go very well for them. He constantly reminds us that we don’t want to look back on our career and think about it and have that be the last memory like he did. Having someone who really went through it all first hand in our shoes just a couple years ago has been a good reminder for us.”

Tickets can be purchased in-person at Thomas A Robinson National Stadium Box Office or via National Stadium Authority-Bahamas website at NSA-Bahamas.com. Prices start at $10 for general admission and range from $10-$30. Prior to the big bowl game, football fans will be treated to the full NCAA football experience.

The Tailgate Extravaganza will be held in the eastern parking lot of the stadium from 9am to noon.

Entertainment during the event will include performances from the Royal Bahamas Police Force Pop Band, the Valley Boys, Saxons, and marching bands from both participating schools.

The 2017 gameday entertainment includes a pregame performance by the Bahamas All-Star Band, a halftime performance by the Royal Bahamas Police Force Band and Junkanoo groups will perform during the break between the first and second quarters as well as the break between the third and fourth quarters.

For the second straight year, the game date falls at the start of a long holiday weekend in the Bahamas, allowing for an early Friday afternoon game.

Crowds of over 13,000 each year in Nassau have watched the only current bowl game played outside of the US. The inaugural game in 2014 saw WKU beat Central Michigan 49-48 in a memorable offensive shootout.

In 2015, Western Michigan beat Middle Tennessee 45-31 and last year, Old Dominion held off Eastern Michigan 24-20. “You don’t have to be a football fan, we ought to be a fan of every effort to put forth to promote this country and you get to see why we are going out into the market to host these events,” said NSA General Manager Jeff Beckles. “To those who experience the Bahamas for the first time, we want to create partnerships for a lifetime. The only place we want them to think about is coming to the Bahamas.”