Memphis (7-5) vs. Florida Atlantic (7-5)
Dec. 21, 8 p.m. ESPN2
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History
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New
Orleans Bowl History
2006 Troy 41, Rice 17
2005 Southern Miss 31, Arkansas St
19
2004 Southern Miss 31, North Texas
10
2003 Memphis 27, North Texas 17
2002 North Texas 24, Cincinnati 19
2001 Colorado St 45, North Tex.
20 |
By
Richard Cirminiello
Best Tiger
Bowl Moment:
Since Memphis’ bowl dossier consists of just four games, one of
which was the 1971 Pasadena Bowl, the nod would have to go to the
2003 New Orleans Bowl triumph over North Texas. The Tigers snapped
a 32-year bowl drought that December by beating the perennial Sun
Belt champs, 27-17.
Best Owl Bowl Moment: In 1999, the Board of Regents at
Florida Atlantic approved of adding football at the university. A
mere eight years later, the Owls are playing in their first bowl
game, a monumental step in the evolution of the program under head
coach Howard Schnellenberger.
Florida Atlantic's best win ...
Florida Atlantic 38 ... Troy 32
Florida Atlantic won the Sun Belt title and a trip to the New
Orleans Bowl by forcing three turnovers and getting two second half touchdown
passes from Rusty Smith. DiIvory Edgecomb started out the scoring with a
one-yard run, and Willie Rose ran for a 41 yard touchdown, but Troy kept the
pressure on with four Greg Whibbs field goals in the first half and two Omar
Haugabook touchdown passes in the fourth quarter. The Trojans pulled within six
on a 14-yard Gerald Tate catch with 4:25 to play, and then held as Troy got to
the Owl 30 in the final minute before sputtering out.
Player of the game:
Florida Atlantic QB Rusty Smith completed 23 of
34 passes or 291 yards and two touchdowns
Stat Leaders: Florida Atlantic - Passing: Rusty
Smith, 23-34, 291 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Charles Pierre, 19-60, 1 TD. Receiving:
Cortez Gent, 8-155, 1 TD
Troy - Passing: Omar Haugabook, 35-47, 265 yds,
2 TD
Rushing: Omar Haugabook, 23-86. Receiving: Gary Banks,
8-75
Florida Atlantic's worst loss ...
UL Monroe 33 ... Florida Atlantic 30 3OT
Calvin Dawson ran for a 31-yard touchdown in the third
overtime to answer Warley Leroy's third field goal of the game. The
Owls forced overtime with a rally from ten down in the final seven
minutes, getting a 36-yard Leroy field goal and with just over a
minute to play, a one-yard Charles Pierre touchdown run. Neither
team could get on the board in the first overtime and the two traded
field goals in the second. The two teams traded scores all game long
with Kinsmon Lancaster throwing for two ULM scores and FAU getting
two short scoring runs and a one-yard touchdown pass from Rusty
Smith.
Player of the
game:
UL Monroe RB
Calvin Dawson ran 26 times for 114 yards and two touchdowns, and
caught five passes for 26 yards
Stat Leaders: UL Monroe - Passing: Kinsmon
Lancaster, 22-35, 182 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Calvin Dawson, 26-114, 2 TD. Receiving:
Kenneth Zacharie, 6-69, 1 TD
Florida Atlantic - Passing: Rusty Smith, 35-54,
317 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Charles Pierre, 17-73, 1 TD. Receiving: Cortez
Gent, 11-142
Memphis' best win ...
Memphis 29 ... Southern Miss 26
Martin Hankins connected with Carlos Singleton on a 52-yard
touchdown pass with 1:04 to play, after getting the Tigers close
with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Earnest Williams with 4:21 to play,
to pull off the shocker. Southern Miss got two Justin Estes field
goals and an 82-yard Brandon Sumrall interception return for a
touchdown in the second half, but couldn't hold on late with the
Tigers holding on to the ball for 12:32 in the fourth. Hankins
finished with four touchdown passes, but Memphis only ran for 26
yards.
Player of the game:
Memphis QB Martin Hankins completed 35 of 48
passes for 396 yards and four touchdowns and two interceptions
Stat Leaders: Memphis - Passing: Martin
Hankins, 35-48, 396 yds, 4 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Joseph Doss, 13-13. Receiving: Duke Calhoun,
8-124, 1 TD
Southern Miss - Passing: Jeremy Young, 11-17,
123 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Damion Fletcher, 21-97, 1 TD. Receiving: Torris
Magee, 4-76, 1 TD
Memphis' worst loss ...
Middle Tennessee 21 ... Memphis 7
DeMarco McNair ran for touchdowns from 55 yards and one yard,
and Dwight Dasher tore off a 61-yard scoring run as Middle Tennessee
ran for 260 yards in the win. Memphis managed a 19-yard Duke Calhoun
touchdown catch late in the first quarter, but couldn't get the
offense going from there, finishing with only 248 yards.
Player of the
game:
Middle Tennessee
QB Dwight Dasher completed 16 of 26 passes for 230 yards and a
touchdown with an interception, and ran 19 times for 180 yards and a
score
Stat Leaders: Middle Tennessee - Passing:
Dwight Dasher, 16-26, 230 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Dwight Dasher, 19-180, 1 TD. Receiving:
Desmond Gee, 4-41
Memphis - Passing: Will Hudgens, 13-35, 134 yds,
1 TD
Rushing: T.J. Pitts, 14-49. Receiving: Duke Calhoun,
4-51, 1 TD
2006 New Orleans Bowl
Troy 41 ... Rice 17
Troy dominated from the start with a 21 point first quarter
thanks to to of Omar Haugabook's four touchdown passes and a two-yard scoring
run. Haugabook connected with Gary Banks on a three-yard strike off an
interception, and answered a Rice touchdown drive with a 56-yard scoring pass to
Mykeal Terry. A seven-yard pass to Andrew Davis in the third and a five-yard
pass to Toris Rutledge in the fourth put the game away. The Owls managed two
Joel Armstrong touchdown passes including a late one-yard throw to Jarett
Dillard keeping alive a streak of 15 straight games with a scoring grab.
Armstrong threw five interceptions, with two picked off by Elbert Mack, who was
playing with a heavy heart after losing his father earlier in the week.
Player of the game ... Troy QB Omar Haugabook completed 14 of
28 passes for 217 yards with four touchdowns and an interception and ran 14
times for 92 yards and a score.
Stat Leaders: Troy - Passing: Omar Haugabook,
14-28, 217 yds, 4 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Omar Haugabook, 14-92, 1 TD Receiving:
Mykeal Terry, 2-96 1 TD
Rice - Passing: Joel Armstrong, 35-54, 305 yds,
2 TD, 5 INT
Rushing: Joel Armstrong, 16-35 Receiving:
Jarett Dillard, 9-71, 1 TD
Memphis Bowl History (4-1)
|
2005 |
Motor City |
Memphis 38, Akron 31 |
|
2004 |
GMAC |
Bowling Green 52,
Memphis 35 |
|
2003 |
New Orleans |
Memphis 27, North Texas
17 |
|
1971 |
Pasadena |
Memphis State 28, San Jose
State 9 |
|
1956 |
Burley |
Memphis State College 32,
East Tennessee State 12 |
|
Florida Atlantic
Bowl History
This is FAU's first bowl |
