2008 Motor City Bowl Preview

Florida Atlantic (6-6, 4-3; Sun Belt) vs. Central Michigan (8-4, 6-2; MAC)

December 26th, 2008 @ 8:00 PM (EST) – ESPN – Detroit, Michigan - Buy Motor City Bowl tickets

The Motor City Bowl features a matchup of the preseason favorites to win the Mid-American and Sun Belt conferences. Unfortunately for both teams, they fell short of their goals but can finish the year on a high note with a bowl victory. Both teams feature very good upperclassmen quarterbacks in FAU’s Rusty Smith and CMU’s Dan LeFevour and are capable of putting up points aplenty.

Florida Atlantic embarked upon an ambitious non-conference schedule, opening up with six of their first eight games on the road, the first three of which were against Texas, Michigan State, and Minnesota, all losses. FAU looked out of the bowl picture before rallying late to win five of their last six games when their schedule lightened up. However, the Owls made a habit of winning close games down the stretch: three of their five wins were by a touchdown or less. One major factor to consider is that FAU hasn’t beaten a team this season that has a winning record, which doesn’t bode well for Howard Schnellenberger’s team.

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Central Michigan has become one of the most consistent programs in the always-volatile MAC, having won the last two conference championships coming into this year. A large factor in that consistency has been the play of quarterback Dan LeFevour, who again doubled as the team’s leading rusher for the second consecutive season. CMU has made a habit of playing close games this season; their final ten games (win or lose) were all decided by ten points or less. In fact, five of the Chippewas’ wins have been by a field goal or less! CMU’s defense has been the culprit by and large for the closeness of their games, allowing more than thirty points in each of their last four games.

In terms of schedule difficulty, both teams have played a similar slate. FAU’s early non-conference games compare well to CMU’s non-conference schedule, which featured trips to Georgia and Purdue. Florida Atlantic definitely finished the year stronger than the Chippewas, but CMU has a much more experienced team and definitely won’t get nervous if this game is close. The deciding factor in this game will definitely be the play of both quarterbacks. Both are excellent players but I think that Dan LeFevour will dominate and Central Michigan’s battle-tested group will emerge from the Motor City Bowl with a victory.

Motor City Bowl Pick: Central Michigan 37 - Florida Atlantic 27

by Matt Baxendell
CollegeSports-fans.com Staff Writer

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