Memphis (7-5) vs. Florida Atlantic (7-5)
Dec. 21, 8 p.m. ESPN2
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Never underestimate just how huge it is for most teams to go to a
bowl game. While the Floridas, Oklahomas and Michigans of the world
just assume there will be an extra game at the end of the year, for
programs like Florida Atlantic and Memphis, it's a chance to get the
national spotlight all to themselves for a few minutes. The lone
bowl game on a late December Friday night, it's the big stage for
the Sun Belt conference to showcase its champion, while Conference
USA could always use as much exposure as it can get.
More than anything else, this should be a really, really good game
thanks to the two most important element to an early bowl game
without two big-name teams: 1) the teams will try hard for a fully
sixty minutes, and 2) there will be lots and lots of offense.
 |
|
National
Rankings |
|
Fla
Atlantic |
Memphis |
|
Total Offense |
|
45th 413.08 ypg |
58th 345.17 ypg |
|
Total Defense |
|
85th 417.08 ypg |
23rd 447.42 ypg |
|
Scoring Offense |
|
48th 30.08 ppg |
49th 29.42 ppg |
|
Scoring Defense |
|
99th 33.75 ppg |
91st 31.25 ppg |
|
Run Offense |
|
91st 126.92 ypg |
76th 139.58 ypg |
|
Run Defense |
|
83rd 179.50 ypg |
110th 209.75 ypg |
|
Pass Offense |
|
19th 286.17 ypg |
12th 307.83 ypg |
|
Pass Defense |
|
74th 237.58 ypg |
64th 229.75 ypg |
|
Turnover Margin |
|
1st 1.58 |
17th
0.75 |
|
Florida Atlantic
Mid Tenn
W 27-14
at
Okla St L 42-6
Minnesota W 42-39
at
N Texas W 30-20
at
Kentucky L 45-17
S Florida L 35-23
at
UL Laf W 39-32 OT
UL Mon
L 33-30 3OT
Ark State
W 34-31
at
Florida L 59-20
at FIU
W 55-23
at
Troy W 38-32 |
Memphis
Ole
Miss L 23-21
Jville State
W 35-14
at
UCF W 56-20
at Ark. St
L 35-31
Marshall W 24-21
Middle Tenn
L 21-7
at Rice
W 38-35
at Tulane
W 28-27
East Carolina L 56-40
at
So Miss W 29-26
UAB
W 25-9
SMU
W 59-52 3OT |
|
Position
Ratings
relative to each
other |
|
FAU |
5
highest
1 lowest |
MU |
|
4 |
Quarterbacks |
4.5 |
|
3 |
RBs |
2.5 |
|
3 |
Receivers |
4 |
|
3.5 |
O
Line |
3.5 |
|
3 |
D
Line |
2.5 |
|
3 |
Linebackers |
3 |
|
3 |
Secondary |
2.5 |
|
2 |
Spec
Teams |
3 |
|
3.5 |
Coaching |
3 |
|
Florida Atlantic
football didn't even exist until 2001, when Howard Schnellenberger
started building up the program with loads of glossed over Florida
talent. Built on defense and overall quickness, the Owls moved up to
D-I in 2004 and came out hot going 9-3 with a shocking 5-0 start,
all on the road, including wins over Hawaii, North Texas and Middle
Tennessee. It took a few years to reload and build things up to
where Schnellenberger wanted them, and this year it all came
together
with a win over
Middle Tennessee to start the year and a 38-32 victory at Troy to
end the regular season and earn the Sun Belt title.
Along the way, the Owls beat Minnesota, gave South Florida a battle,
and was far better than the 59-20 final score would indicate against
Florida. They have one of the Sun Belt's best offenses, averaging
413 yards per game, and have the nation's best turnover margin with
33 takeaways and just 14 turnovers. Even so, the defense will give
up plenty of yards and lots of points. It just so happens that
Memphis cranks out plenty of yards and lots of points.
One of the hottest teams coming into the bowl season, Memphis has
won five of its last six games including a triple-overtime thriller
over SMU to secure the post-season spot. Living by the skin of its
teeth, MU has won five games this year by three points or fewer
thanks to a veteran offense that's come through time and again.
Averaging 308 passing yards and 29.4 points per game, the Tigers
have a high-octane attack that should be able to move the ball from
anywhere on the field.
With the two offenses in place, and the two suspect defenses, this
should be the wildest, most exciting game in the brief seven year
history of the New Orleans Bowl. The Sun Belt is 2-4 so far
including a 27-17 North Texas loss to Memphis in 2003, but Troy got
the league on track with a 41-17 win over Rice last year. A Florida
Atlantic win would be another huge step for the afterthought of a
conference that's still trying to find national respect, while a win
for Memphis would make it three bowl victories in the last five
years.
Yes, this is one of the non-New Year's Day bowl games worth going
out of your way for, if only to get a chance to see a highly
competitive, high-octane battle. It should be fun.
Players to watch: The game will come down to the two
bombs-away quarterbacks, Memphis senior Martin Hankins and
rising FAU sophomore Rusty Smith.
Smith is a 6-5, 215-pound pro-style passer who took over the reins
at the end of last year and showed a few glimpses of greatness and
good leadership for his age. He was the man from day one going into
this season, and he showed why with 27 touchdown passes and eight
interceptions, with four coming in a two-game midseason span, as he
kept his mistakes to a minimum, did a nice job of getting the ball
out of his hands in a hurry and into the hands of his playmakers,
and he came through big when the team needed him the most. His high
point was a 463-yard, five touchdown performance in the win over
Minnesota, but he was strong throughout the Sun Belt season and did
a great job under the pressure of the Florida and Troy defenses
completing 61% of his passes for 581 yards and three touchdowns with
no interceptions against the two.
Hankins struggled a bit with interceptions, throwing 12 on the year
with seven over the final six games, but he was able to overcome the
problems with scores, throwing four touchdown passes in three of his
last four games. While not as tall and not the prototype bomber like
Smith, he has no problems pushing the ball down the field and
tightening up his decision making around the goal line.
Hankins has a devastating 1-2 receiving punch in sophomores Duke
Calhoun and Carlos Singleton, who have been as hot as any
tandem in America over the last month of the season. The 6-4,
185-pound Calhoun is one of Conference USA's most talented receivers
coming on at the end of the year with three 100-yard games in the
final four including a four-catch, 159-yard game against UAB. While
Calhoun was cranking out the yards, Singleton was getting into the
end zone with seven scores in the final four games including a a
three-touchdown day in the win over SMU. He's 6-8 and rail-thin, but
he's a matchup nightmare.
Trying to shut down at least one of the Tiger stars will be FAU
freshman Tavious Polo, who came up with seven interceptions
in the first five games and didn't come up with another the rest of
the way. Extremely quick, he's also used as a punt returner, but
he's mainly a needed as the team's shutdown corner.
Florida
Atlantic will win if... the ground game gets going.
FAU likes to throw to win, but it can pound the ball relatively well
when it has to with a decent enough attack to make Memphis worry a
bit. The Tigers can't stop anyone from running the ball, and while
the FAU offensive line isn't strong at blowing defensive lines off
the ball, it's quick enough to get on the move and get Charles
Pierre, William Rose and DiIvory Edgecomb into the open for just
enough yards to take the heat off of Smith. Defensively, FAU has to
force a few turnovers. Memphis is terrific at hanging on to the
ball, like the Owls are, so the team that wins the turnover battle
will likely win the shootout.
Memphis will win if... it plays an even game. Memphis
and FAU are near mirror-images of each other. Both like the throw
the ball. Both are great in pass protection. Neither can punt or
generate any pass rush, but they're aggressive enough to force big
mistakes. The difference is that Memphis, from top to bottom, is
more talented and has more explosion. If everything else is even,
and Memphis isn't giving the ball away in key spots, and as long as
the pass protection holds up against the quick FAU defensive front,
it should be able to simply outrun and out-home run its way to a
win. The better quarterback will win the game, and Hankins is more
experienced than Smith.
What will happen: It'll be a high-powered shootout with
several big plays and plenty of momentum swings. Memphis will give
up 400 passing yards, but will come up with a bit more offensive
balance and a little more pressure into the backfield. Hankins will
be stellar and mistake-free helped by the bigger, more physical
Tiger receivers who'll outmuscle the smaller FAU defensive backs all
game long.
Line: Florida Atlantic -2.5 ... CFN Prediction:
Memphis 38
... Florida Atlantic 34
New Orleans Bowl
History, Each Team's Best Bowl Moments, & More