| Game Name: | Bahamas Bowl |
| Subheader: | 2nd Bahamas Bowl |
| Title Sponsor: | Popeyes |
| Date Game Played: | December 24 |
| Year Game Played: | 2015 |
| Football Season: | 2015 |
| Stadium: | Thomas Robinson Stadium |
| City: | Nassau, Bahamas |
| Visitor School: | Middle Tennessee State University |
| Visitor Name Short: | Middle Tennessee |
| Visitor Nickname: | Blue Raiders |
| Visitor Record: | 7–5 |
| Visitor Conference: | C-USA |
| Visitor Coach: | Rick Stockstill |
| Visitor 1Q: | 17 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 7 |
| Home School: | Western Michigan University |
| Home Name Short: | Western Michigan |
| Home Nickname: | Broncos |
| Home Record: | 7–5 |
| Home Conference: | MAC |
| Home Coach: | P. J. Fleck |
| Home 1Q: | 17 |
| Home 2Q: | 0 |
| Home 3Q: | 7 |
| Home 4Q: | 21 |
| Odds: | Western Michigan by 2½[1] |
| Mvp: | Offensive: Western Michigan RB Jamauri Bogan[2] Defensive: Western Michigan LB Grant DePalma |
| Referee: | Brandon Cruse (Mtn. West) |
| Attendance: | 13,123 |
| Payout: | TBD |
| Us Network: | ESPN/RedVoice, LLC. |
| Us Announcers: | Steve Levy, Mack Brown, Mark May, & Kaylee Hartung (ESPN) Brian Hanni & Rob Best (RedVoice) |
The 2015 Bahamas Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game played on December 24, 2015 at Thomas Robinson Stadium in Nassau in the Bahamas. The second edition of the Bahamas Bowl featured the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders of Conference USA against the Western Michigan Broncos of the Mid-American Conference. It began at noon EST and air on ESPN. It was one of the 2015–16 bowl games that concluded the 2015 FBS football season. Sponsored by the Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen restaurant chain, the game is officially known as the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl.[3] [4]
The game is best remembered as the Broncos' first bowl victory in school history.
The game featured the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders against the Western Michigan Broncos.
See also: 2015 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team.
After finishing their regular season 7–5, bowl director Richard Giannini extended an invitation for the Blue Raiders to play in the game, which they accepted.[5]
This was the Blue Raiders' seventh bowl game (they are now 3–4 all-time in bowl games thus far) and their first since the 2013 Armed Forces Bowl, where they lost to Navy by a score of 24–6. It was also their third bowl game against a MAC opponent; the Blue Raiders likewise lost both previous meetings, losing in the 2006 Motor City Bowl to Central Michigan by a score of 31–14 and in the 2011 GoDaddy.com Bowl to the Miami (Ohio) by a score of 35–21.
See also: 2015 Western Michigan Broncos football team. After finishing their regular season 7–5, bowl director Richard Giannini extended an invitation for the Broncos to play in the game, which they accepted.[6]
This was the Broncos' seventh bowl game, where they once again sought their first bowl victory in school history, having previously had an 0–6 all-time record in bowl games. It was also the Broncos' second consecutive bowl appearance (following the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, where they lost to Air Force by a score of 38–24), marking the first time in school history the Broncos have been to back-to-back bowls. In addition, it was the second time the Broncos have faced an opponent from Conference USA in a bowl game, having previously lost the 2008 Texas Bowl to the Rice Owls by a score of 38–14.
Source: [7]
| Statistics | MT | WMU |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 18 | 18 |
| Plays–yards | 65–442 | 68–613 |
| Rushes–yards | 26–115 | 41–282 |
| Passing yards | 327 | 331 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 26–39–1 | 19–27–1 |
| Time of possession | 25:12 | 34:48 |