By RENALDO DORSETT
Tribune Sports Reporter
rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
THE matchup is set for the 2022 HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl and the NCAA Division I Bowl season is set to begin in The Bahamas.
The University of Alabama-Birmingham Blazers of Conference-USA will make their second appearance at the event when they take on the Miami (Ohio) Redhawks of the Mid-American Conference at the Thomas A Robinson Stadium on December 16.
Kickoff is set for 11:30am in the first ever meeting between the two programmes and the game will be broadcast live by ESPN.
UAB finished 6-6 and became bowl eligible with their 37-27 win over Louisiana Tech in the regular season finale.
Yesterday, the Blazers Athletic Department announced 14-year NFL veteran quarterback and Super Bowl XXXV Champion Trent Dilfer as its seventh head coach in programme history.
Dilfer will officially begin his tenure as the UAB Football head coach on Friday, December 2.
The UAB offence has averaged over 243 yards per game led by running back DeWayne McBride. McBride set UAB’s single season school records for rushing yards (1,713), rushing yards per game (155.7), rushing touchdowns (19) and yards per carry (7.4), while also establishing the single game rushing record with 272 yards in the aforementioned finale against Louisiana Tech.
In the 2017 Bahamas Bowl, the Blazers suffered a 41-6 loss to the Ohio Bobcats. This year will mark the seventh consecutive bowl game appearance for the Blazers.
The Redhawks also finished the season 6-6. The HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl is Miami’s 14th bowl appearance in programme history and they have been bowl eligible six of the past seven seasons. The Miami offence is led by dual threat quarterback Aveon Smith who threw for 1,137 yards with nine touchdowns and also ran for 503 yards and six touchdowns.
Defensively, linebackers Ryan McWood and Matthew Salopek anchor the defence and was ranked among the top against the run in the MAC. “We are thrilled to be the opening game of Bowl Season and to showcase the beautiful islands of the Bahamas through this event, which has been a fixture on the sporting calendar since 2014,” said Bahamas Bowl executive director Lea Miller-Tooley in a press release. “The Bahamas Bowl has provided tremendous competition for our participating teams from Conference USA and the Mid-American Conference, while offering a one-of-a-kind experience for student athletes, coaches and families to travel to a foreign country and be rewarded for a successful season. We know that the 2022 bowl will remind everyone why ‘Bowl Games are Better in The Bahamas’.”
The 2022 HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl is one of 17 college bowl games owned and operated by ESPN.
For more information on the 2022 HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl, visit BahamasBowl.com
Commenting has been disabled for this item.