 Ford Field - Home to the Motor City Bowl
.jpg)
December 26, 2008 - MotorCity Bowl
Florida Atlantic (6-6, 4-3 Sun Belt) vs. Central Michigan (8-4, 6-2 MAC), 7:30 pm ET
Site: Ford Field (Detroit, MI)
Series: First Meeting
Television: ESPN
 Scouting Central Michigan
Offense: Junior quarterback Dan LeFevour may not have had as an impressive season statistically as was anticipated but LeFevour is still the Chips,’ and one of the MAC’s, top offensive threats. LeFevour, despite missing time this season to a pair of ankle injuries, still managed to lead the MAC in total offense, putting up an impressive 306.7 yards in offense per game which also ranked 11th nationally. Overall the Chips averaged 427.1 yards in offense, second-best in the MAC behind BallState. LeFevour has consistently been one of the top dual-threat signal-callers in the nation over the past two seasons and topped the Chips in rushing again this season, tallying 536 yards rushing and six touchdowns to go along with his 2,531 yards passing and 19 aerial TDs. With his senior season still ahead of him, LeFevour
|
|
|
CMU QB Dan LeFevour
|
already occupies the top spot at Central Michigan all-time in passing yards, passing attempts, pass completions, touchdown passes and total offense. Of course in order to put up those kind of numbers requires a solid supporting cast and CMU’s one-two receiving tandem of sophomore Antonio Brown and junior Bryan Anderson has been outstanding. Brown and Anderson combined for 1741 yards receiving and 12 touchdowns (six apiece) in forming the top receiving duo in the MAC this season. Anderson has recorded at least one reception in 39 straight games. While Anderson and Brown get the lion’s share of attention, senior Joe Bockheim (32-449 yards) and sophomore Kito Poblah (37-472) have also been solid options this season in the passing game. While LeFevour is the Chips’ top rushing threat, senior tailback Ontario Sneed topped the Chips’ backfield contingent with 519 yards and led the squad with eight rushing scores this season.
Defense: The Chips present a solid defensive line and a very suspect secondary. The Chips’ frontline defense has accounted for 31 sacks this season, tops in the MAC. CMU’s active defensive line is led by senior Frank Zombo who leads the MAC with 15 tackles for loss and is second in the MAC with 9 sacks this season. Sophomore linebacker Nick Bellore also emerged this season, topping the MAC with 135 tackles so far this season, averaging a league-best 11.2 tackles per game and is the only defender in the conference to average double-digit stops. But when the d-line has not been able to disrupt the quarterback, the Chips have had significant difficulty stopping opposing passing attacks this season, allowing 285.7 yards per game through the air, which ranks last in the MAC and among the worst in the nation. In their last game, a 56-52 loss to Eastern Michigan, the Chips’ secondary was scorched for 516 yards passing and five touchdowns. CMU has allowed 23 touchdown passes thus far on the season. CMU does own the MAC’s top rated rush defense, allowing only 138.6 yards per game, but when teams can average nearly 300 yards passing per game, that statistic is a bit deceptive.
Special Teams: Antonio Brown has been a stellar special teams performer all year and tops the nation in punt returns, averaging 20.7 yards per return which included a 75-yard TD return earlier this season. Brown also tops the MAC with an average of 174.8 all-purpose yards per game and gives the Chips one of the most explosive special teams performers in the MAC. PK Andrew Aguila has been relatively steady this season, connecting on 43-45 PATs and 14-19 FG attempts with a season-long effort of 48 yards. Punter Brett Hartman has averaged 39.5 yards per punt this season.
 Scouting Florida Atlantic
Offense: Coming into the season, the Sporting News ranked Owls’ QB Rusty Smith among the nation’s top fifteen quarterbacks (11th – CMU’s LeFevour was ranked 7th). It took Smith and the Owls’ offense some time to get things in gear this season but once FAU found its offense, Smith was nearly unstoppable. Smith passed for 14 of his 22 touchdowns this season over the course of the Owls’ final four games as FAU made its late-season push to become bowl eligible. Smith averaged 243.2 yards passing this season and twice garnered Sun Belt Conference player of the week honors, including following the Owls’ season-ending 57-50 overtime win over Florida International after a 389-yard, five-touchdown performance. The Owls own the Sun Belt’s top passing offense, averaging 250.5 yards per game. But the Owls are far from a one-dimensional offense with senior tailback Charles Pierre in the
|
.jpg)
|
|
FAU QB Rusty Smith
|
backfield. Pierre rushed for a team-high 937 yards this season, averaging 6.5 yards per carry and a team-high eight rushing TD’s. Pierre topped the century mark four times this season, including a 194-yard rushing performance against Western Kentucky. Pierre also ranks number one all-time at FAU in career rushing yards and touchdowns. Fifth-year senior DiIvory Edgecomb also saw his share of work in the backfield this season, rushing for 422 yards. The receiving corps is led by junior Cortez Gent who topped the squad with 837 yards and eight touchdowns receiving with junior Jamari Grant, who averaged 14.3 yards per catch, adding another 572 yards and four touchdowns.
Defense: Like Central Michigan, the Owls’ defense has surrendered plenty of yardage this season, giving up an average of 402.1 yards per game, including 219.1 yards per game through the air which ranks 6th in the Sun Belt Conference. The Owls have also had trouble getting pressure on the quarterback, which could be a significant issue against CMU’s LeFevour, recording only 12 sacks this season. A player to watch however for the Owls will be senior linebacker Frantz Joseph who paced the Owls, and topped the Sun Belt Conference this season, with 141 tackles. Joseph’s average of 11.8 tackles per game also ranked second in the nation this past season. Joseph also led all Owls defenders this past season with 9 tackles for loss. The top performer in the defensive secondary this season has been Corey Small who earned All-Sun Belt honors after recording 78 tackles and a team-leading four interceptions. Small ranks second all-time at FAU with 12 career picks. DL Jervonte Jackson joined Joseph and Small on the All-Sun Belt team after recording 40 tackles this season.
Special Teams: DiIvory Edgecomb handled the majority of kick returns this season and averaged a respectable 21 yards per return while Tavious Polo averaged 9.5 yards per punt return, including a 48-yard return against ULM earlier this year which ranks as the third-longest punt return in FAU’s brief history. PK Warley Leroy has connected on 10-13 FG attempts this season, but his leg strength is questionable, having not been called on to attempt a kick beyond 37 yards this season. Punter Keegan Peterson averaged 38.2 yards per punt with 18 of his 56 punts landing inside the opposition’s 20-yard line.
Outlook: This will be the first-ever meeting between Central Michigan and Florida Atlantic, two teams that won their respective conference championships in 2007, but it will be the second time in three years that teams from the Sun Belt and the MAC will have clashed in the Motor City Bowl. Central Michigan downed MiddleTennesseeState 31-14 in the 2006 edition of the Motor City Bowl.
|
MOTOR CITY BOWL HISTORY
|
|
Date
|
Outcome
|
Attendance
|
|
12/26/97
|
Mississippi 34, Marshall 31.
|
43,340
|
|
12/23/98
|
Marshall 48, Louisville 29.
|
38,016
|
|
12/27/99
|
Marshall 21, Brigham Young 3.
|
44,449
|
|
12/27/00
|
Marshall 25, Cincinnati 14.
|
44,911
|
|
12/29/01
|
Toledo 23, Cincinnati 16.
|
44,164
|
|
12/26/02
|
Boston College 51, Toledo 25.
|
45,761
|
|
12/26/03
|
Bowling Green 28, Northwestern 24.
|
51,286
|
|
12/27/04
|
Connecticut 39, Toledo 10.
|
52,552
|
|
12/26/05
|
Memphis 38, Akron 31.
|
45,801
|
|
12/26/06
|
Central Michigan 31, Middle Tennessee State 14.
|
54,113
|
|
12/26/07
|
Purdue 51, Central Michigan 48.
|
60,624
|
|
Central Michigan Bowl History (1-3)
|
|
Year
|
Bowl
|
Opponent
|
Outcome
|
|
1990
|
California Raisin Bowl
|
San Jose State
|
L 24-48
|
|
1991
|
Las Vegas Bowl
|
UNLV
|
L 24-52
|
|
2006
|
Motor City Bowl
|
Middle Tennessee St.
|
W 31-14
|
|
2007
|
Motor City Bowl
|
Purdue
|
L 51-48
|
|
Florida Atlantic Bowl History (1-0)
|
|
Year
|
Bowl
|
Opponent
|
Outcome
|
|
2007
|
New Orleans Bowl
|
Memphis
|
W 44-27
|
|
Statistical Comparison
|
|
|
Central Michigan
|
Florida Atlantic
|
|
Points Per Game
|
30.2
|
25.2
|
|
Points Per Game Allowed
|
30.8
|
29.3
|
|
First Downs Per Game
|
23.4
|
19.9
|
|
Rushing Average
|
134.2
|
141.0
|
|
Rushing Average Allowed
|
138.6
|
183.0
|
|
Passing Average
|
292.8
|
250.5
|
|
Passing Average Allowed
|
285.7
|
219.1
|
|
Total Offense Average
|
427.1
|
391.5
|
|
Total Offense Average Allowed
|
424.2
|
402.1
|
|
Punts/Net Average
|
50/34.0
|
60/33.7
|
|
Penalties/Yards Per Game
|
70/57.6
|
94/74.2
|
|
Fumbles/Lost
|
9/4
|
23/13
|
|
Time of Possession
|
29:59
|
27:17
|
|
Both teams come in to the game with prolific offensive attacks – the Chippewas are putting up over 427 yards and 30 points per game while FAU averages 391.5 yards and 25 points per contest - and questionable defenses as each squad is surrendering better than 400 yards in offense per game.
The prevailing wisdom here is to expect to see plenty of offense.
There were a total of 215 combined points scored in CMU’s and FAU’s final games of the season. The Chippewas dropped a 56-52 decision in their season finale at Eastern Michigan while the Owls topped Florida International 57-50 in overtime in FAU’s regular season finale. That’s more points than you may typically see in a collegiate basketball game.
With the Chippewas penchant for giving up massive gobs of passing yardage, together with both team’s possessing solid playmaking options on offense, led by a pair of playmaking quarterbacks, this could be another offensive display not too dissimilar to last year’s 51-48 Motor City Bowl shootout that saw Purdue prevail over Central Michigan.
The Owls, in only their fifth year playing in the FBS, are making their second straight bowl appearance under legendary head coach Howard Schnellenberger who owns a 5-0 lifteime mark in bowl games. Last season the Owls knocked off Memphis 44-27 in the New Orleans Bowl.
The Chippewas have played the more difficult schedule, playing in the tough MAC West division as well as knocking off a Big Ten opponent (defeating Indiana, while losing a heartbreaker to Purdue). CMU also appears to be the more battle-tested unit and with LeFevour guiding his squad to a third consecutive bowl appearance, have more big-game experience.
But the difference here comes down to a pair of players:CMU’s LeFevour and Antonio Brown. Both are highlight reels waiting to happen and should offer enough offensive firepower to overcome any defensive breakdowns – and there will be plenty on both sides.
So, pop plenty of popcorn and settle in for a high-scoring affair that should see the MAC start its bowl season with a win.
Prediction: Central Michigan 45, Florida Atlantic 31.
|
