{"id":33839,"date":"2020-12-21T15:00:15","date_gmt":"2020-12-21T20:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/?p=33839"},"modified":"2020-12-21T13:48:59","modified_gmt":"2020-12-21T18:48:59","slug":"2020-boca-raton-bowl-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2020\/12\/21\/2020-boca-raton-bowl-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"2020 Boca Raton Bowl Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Bowl season has arrived and one of the first bowl games played in the Boca Raton Bowl. The 2020 Boca Raton Bowl will be a great matchup between the UCF Knights versus the BYU Cougars.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">2020 Boca Raton Bowl Preview<\/h2>\n<p>Both of these programs have high-powered offenses with two of the top quarterbacks in the country. UCF has former All-Conference quarterback <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/dillon-gabriel-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dillon Gabriel<\/a> while BYU has projected first-round selection, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/zach-wilson-3.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Zach Wilson<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, both of these teams are coming off wins as the UCF Knights knocked off the USF Bulls 58-46. The BYU Cougars got a home win versus the San Diego State Aztec 28-14. Here is the 2020 Boca Raton Bowl Preview.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">UCF Knights<\/h3>\n<p>The UCF Knights are one of the top Group of 5 teams in the country but didn\u2019t play all that well in 2020. They are still a solid team with a 6-3 record in the 2020 season. The UCF Knights are led by their head coach,<strong> Josh Heupel<\/strong>, who\u2019s in the third season as the Knights head coach.<\/p>\n<p>UCF\u2019s offense will be led by their sophomore quarterback Gabriel. The Hawaiian native has been great for the Knights since his freshman season. Gabriel has completed 61.7% of his passes for 3,353 yards, 30 touchdowns, and four interceptions.<\/p>\n<p>Senior running back <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/greg-mccrae-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Greg McCrae<\/a> is the lead rusher for the UCF Knights. McCrae has rushed for 681 yards on 131 carries and nine touchdowns. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/otis-anderson-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Otis Anderson<\/a> has also done a good job carrying the football. Anderson has rushed for 614 yards on 109 carries and four touchdowns.<\/p>\n<p>In the receiving unit, UCF has two receivers that completely stand out compared to the rest. Senior wide receiver <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/marlon-williams-5.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Marlon Williams<\/a> is the Knights leading receiver. Williams has 71 receptions for 1,039 yards and ten touchdowns. Oklahoma transfer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/jaylon-robinson-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jaylon Robinson<\/a> has 51 catches for 935 yards and five touchdowns.<\/p>\n<p>On defense, UCF has really struggled, allowing 31.4 points per game. Redshirt-senior safety <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/richie-grant-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Richie Grant<\/a> is the lead tackler for the Knights with 72 tackles. He also leads UCF in interceptions (three), forced fumbles, (two), and solo tackles (49). Other defensive players to watch for linebacker <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/eriq-gilyard-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Eriq Gilyard<\/a> and Georgia cornerback transfer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/divaad-wilson-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Divaad Wilson<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">BYU Cougars<\/h3>\n<p>The BYU Cougars come into this game as the 16<sup>th<\/sup> ranked team in the country and a 10-1 record. BYU\u2019s only loss of the season happened against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. The Cougars lost to the Chanticleers in a 22-17 close loss. The Cougars are led by their head coach, <strong>Kalani Sitake<\/strong>, who\u2019s in his fifth season.<\/p>\n<p>The BYU offense is led by junior quarterback Wilson. The Utah native is one of the top quarterbacks in the country and expected to be a top pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Wilson has completed 73.2% of his passes for 3,267 yards with 30 touchdowns and three interceptions.<\/p>\n<p>Sophomore running back <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/tyler-allgeier-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tyler Allgeier<\/a> is the lead rusher for the BYU Cougars. Allgeier has 957 rushing yards with 131 carries and 12 touchdowns. Wilson also has 242 rushing yards on 65 carries and eight touchdowns.<\/p>\n<p>Junior wide receiver <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/dax-milne-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dax Milne<\/a> is BYU\u2019s top receiver. Milne had had a big junior season with 63 receptions for 1,118 yards and eight touchdowns. Redshirt-freshman tight end <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/isaac-rex-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Isaac Rex<\/a> is the leader in receiving touchdowns. Rex has 32 catches for 333 yards and ten touchdowns.<\/p>\n<p>The BYU Cougars defense has been really good this season averaging 14.6 points per game. Senior linebacker <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/isaiah-kaufusi-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Isaiah Kaufusi<\/a> is the lead tackler for the Cougars with 75. He also has four-and-a-half tackles for loss, four sacks, three forced and recovered fumbles.<\/p>\n<p>Defensive end <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/tyler-batty-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tyler Batty<\/a> also has four sacks on the season including five-and-a-half tackles for loss and 13 total tackles. Senior safety <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/troy-warner-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Troy Warner<\/a> leads the Cougars in interceptions with two.<\/p>\n<h3>Five Players to Watch: UCF Knights<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>QB Dillon Gabriel<\/li>\n<li>S Richie Grant<\/li>\n<li>WR Marlon Williams<\/li>\n<li>CB Divaad Wilson<\/li>\n<li>RB Greg McCrae<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3>Five Players to Watch: BYU Cougars<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>QB Zach Wilson<\/li>\n<li>LB Isaiah Kaufusi<\/li>\n<li>WR Dax Milne<\/li>\n<li>S Troy Warner<\/li>\n<li>TE Isaac Rex<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3>Five Predictions:<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>Gabriel throws for over 275 yards and two touchdowns.<\/li>\n<li>Wilson throws for over 325 yards and four total touchdowns.<\/li>\n<li>Grant leads both teams in tackles.<\/li>\n<li>BYU holds UCF to under 425 total yards of offense.<\/li>\n<li>BYU Cougars beats UCF Knights 42-34.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><u><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"214\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-33851\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/12\/BRB_LOGO_2020_PNG_NEW-300x214.png\" alt=\"The UCF Knights will take on the 16th ranked BYU Cougars on Tuesday, Dec. 22, in the 2020 Boca Raton Bowl in FAU Stadium.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/12\/BRB_LOGO_2020_PNG_NEW-300x214.png 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/12\/BRB_LOGO_2020_PNG_NEW-768x548.png 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/12\/BRB_LOGO_2020_PNG_NEW.png 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/u><\/p>\n<p><u>Photo courtesy of the Boca Raton Bowl.\u00a0<\/u><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bowl season has arrived and one of the first bowl games played in the Boca Raton Bowl. The 2020 Boca Raton Bowl will be a great matchup between the UCF Knights versus the BYU Cougars. 2020 Boca Raton Bowl Preview Both of these programs have high-powered offenses with two of the top quarterbacks in the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2113,"featured_media":33851,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,9,7361,11],"tags":[1185,1145,317,79,5969,7360,7359,126,3131,4218],"class_list":["post-33839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-americanathletic","category-bowl-games","category-independents","tag-boca-raton-bowl","tag-bowl-games","tag-byu-cougars","tag-college-football","tag-dillon-gabriel","tag-isaac-rex","tag-marlon-williams","tag-ncaa","tag-ucf-knights","tag-zach-wilson"],"modified_by":"Maggie Yarnell, Senior Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33839","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2113"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33839"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33839\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}