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Memphis (7-5) vs. Florida Atlantic (7-5)


Friday, December 21st, 8:00 p.m. (et) From The Sports Network
By Kevin Downs, Associate College Football Editor
GAME NOTES: The Florida Atlantic Owls make their bowl debut in the seventh annual New Orleans Bowl, as they take on the Conference USA Memphis Tigers at the Louisiana Superdome Friday, December 21st. Memphis did not have a solid start to the 2007 campaign. After losing four of their first six contests, the Tigers came to a crossroad just as conference play began. With two road conference games at Rice and Tulane in mid-October and standing at 2-4, the Tigers could have easily folded a lost season and looked towards next year. However, they hung on to defeat Rice 38-35 and staged a late scoring drive against Tulane to come away with a 28-27 victory. Their lone blemish in the last six games came in a 56-40 loss on their homefield against East Carolina, a game that probably cost them the conference title. However, the Tigers rallied after the defeat and rattled off three straight conference wins to finish C-USA play at 6-2, a new school record. The 7-5 overall record was a vast improvement over last year's 2-10 campaign. Florida Atlantic's breakout season's validity came down to the very last week of the season. After opening the 2007 stanza with a 3-1 mark, the Owls fell hard to previously nationally- ranked opponents Kentucky and South Florida. The two powers thrashed the Owls by a combined 80-40 margin. In the next contest, an inferior Louisiana- Lafayette squad took them to overtime, but FAU prevailed 39-32 in the extra frame. Louisiana-Monroe came back the very next week and handed the Owls there lone conference loss on the year, a triple overtime 33-30 defeat. After taking two of its next three games, Florida Atlantic would take on Troy in what was essentially the Sun Belt Conference championship. FAU scored 28 points in a span of 12 minutes in the second half to secure a 38-32 victory and its first ever postseason experience. This is the first head-to-head meeting between the Tigers and Owls.
As the season wore on, Memphis showed it could air the ball out against its competition. Martin Hankins came into his own late in the year and wound up averaging 293.9 passing yards per game, ranking him second in all of Conference USA. Down in the red zone he was even better, as his 22 touchdowns can attest. Hankins spread the wealth to a slew of receivers. Duke Calhoun and Carlos Singleton were the primary beneficiaries, as they combined for 105 receptions on the year. Calhoun hauled in more receptions (58) for more yards (850), but Singleton had an affinity for the end zone in catching 10 touchdown passes. The offensive line was tremendous throughout the season in only allowing 13 sacks. The ground game was mediocre, averaging a modest 139.6 yards per game with only 13 touchdown jaunts. Joseph Doss led the squad with 715 yards and five TDs. The offense took care of the ball as well, as they finished tied for third in the country with only four lost fumbles.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Tigers didn't produce so well. Some key injuries in their linebacking core contributed to their lackluster effort. Outside starting linebacker Greg Jackson injured his knee early in the second game of the season and was lost for the year. Another starting linebacker, Winston Bowens, missed four games with a knee injury, and his status for the bowl game is questionable. Nevertheless, the Tigers still fielded 11 players on defense that simply could not stop the run. On the season, the squad was decimated for 209.8 rushing yards per game on an inexplicable 5.2 yards per carry, ranking second worst in the league. The blame could not be pointed at Jake Kasser, who led the defense with a stout 95 tackles. The Tigers were somewhat stingy on pass defense, allowing just 229.8 passing yards per game. What the Tigers gave up in yards however, they made up for in turnovers. Memphis forced 25 turnovers on the season, allowing them to rank 17th nationally with a +9 turnover margin.
There's no question who holds the reins of the Florida Atlantic offense. On the way to throwing for conference records of 3,352 yards and 27 touchdowns, Owl signal-caller Rusty Smith was named Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year. He connected on 57.3 percent of his passes and threw just eight interceptions. Cortez Gent pulled down 61 passes for 1,030 yards and nine touchdowns to lead the team in those categories. Willie Rose only caught 32 passes, but crossed the goal line on six occasions. The rushing attack played second fiddle because of Smith's ability to throw effectively. The team averaged just 126.9 rushing yards per game and only came away with 16 touchdowns. Charles Pierre was the workhorse back, gaining 769 yards and seven TDs on the year.
The Owl defense has been very generous to their opponents, allowing a staggering 33.8 points per game. Whether through the air or on the ground, FAU has had trouble stopping teams. The pass defense is giving up 237.6 yards a contest while surrendering 24 touchdowns. However, much like their bowl-game counterparts, the Owls have a knack for forcing turnovers. The squad set a school single-season record for most interceptions with 19. Tavious Polo set a school mark with seven picks in earning All-Sun Belt honors. These numbers helped the team end the season with a +19 turnover margin, tied for the best differential in the nation. On the ground, the Owls have given up 22 touchdowns and 179.5 rushing yards per game. Joseph Frantz and Cergile Sincere have done their part, finishing first and second in the league with 121 and 111 tackles, respectively.
These two teams come into the game sporting similar resumes. Both like to air the ball out, but give up huge chunks of yardage on the defensive side. Florida Atlantic holds a slight advantage over the Tigers, as their penchant for creating turnovers should put them in great field position to attack in their first ever bowl game.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Florida Atlantic 42, Memphis 38

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gonna be a good game tonight