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This year marked the first-ever Miami Beach Bowl, a profoundly mis-named college football game that actually takes place inside Marlins Park, about 10 miles away from its barrier island namesake.
Badly named or not, the bowl did live up to another famed Miami college football tradition, though. Last night’s contest between BYU and Memphis ended with an all-out, helmet-swinging, face-bloodying brawl between the two teams.
Its a shame the first-ever bowl game at Marlins Park will be remembered for the melee, because it was actually a helluva game. Memphis came from behind with a bonkers 55-yard touchdown pass and then clinched the win with a clutch interception to finish off a 55-48 slugfest that included more than 900 yards of combined offense.
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But the game had been chippy from the get-go, and the emotions boiled over after the thrilling finish. No one got quite as bananas as BYU’s defensive back Kai Nacua, who landed a sucker punch for the ages:
Both teams promised to crack down on players after the fight. Here’s Memphis AD Tom Bowen to the Commercial-Appeal:
But really, the teams were just living up to the spirit of college football in the Magic City. See you all at the Miami Beach Bowl, 2014.
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