I'll have an ice cold Miller Lite ;D

Can I change my oder to Gin & Juice.

"Laid back with my mind on my money and my money on my mind…" ;D

Florida International (3-6) vs. Florida Atlantic (8-3)


The Sports Network

DATE & TIME: Saturday, December 4th, 4:00 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Pro Player Stadium (75,540) – Miami, Florida. Television: None. Home Record: FIU 1-4, FAU 2-2. Away Record: FIU 2-2, FAU 6-1. Neutral Record: FIU 0-0, FAU 0-0. Conference Record: FIU 0-0, FAU 0-0. Series Record: Florida Atlantic leads, 2-0.

GAME NOTES: The Florida International Golden Panthers will clash with the Florida Atlantic Owls in the Third Annual Shula Bowl from Pro Player Stadium in Miami this Saturday. After starting the 2004 season with a 2-1 mark, FIU stumbled in dropping five straight games, including two against Sun Belt Conference competition. Without a victory in more than a month, the Golden Panthers were finally able to snap their losing streak with a strong 40-23 victory over Florida A&M last week. As for the Owls, their season has been much more productive, as the team opened the campaign with five straight wins, all coming on the road. FAU was able to defeated Hawaii (35-28 in OT), North Texas (20-13) and Middle Tennessee State (27-20) in its first three contests. The Owls did hit a patch in their schedule in which they lost three of four games, but since that point they have won two straight, including a 49-15 decision over Edward Waters. These two teams have met just twice previously, with Florida Atlantic winning both – 31-21 in 2002, and 32-23 last year.

Throughout the season the Golden Panther offense has been effective, averaging 382.8 total yards per game. In the recent victory over Florida A&M, FIU tallied just 279 yards (98 rushing, 181 passing). Running back Rashod Smith rushed for 109 yards and one touchdown on 25 carries against the Rattlers, and with the strong performance, Smith eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark (1,085) for the season while racking up 12 touchdowns in the process. Josh Padrick had a strong outing against FAMU, as he completed 13-of-26 pass attempts for 181 yards and two scores. The FIU passing attack has been productive this season, averaging 240.9 ypg, but the play of Padrick has been inconsistent at best as he has thrown more interceptions (13) than touchdowns (11). The main beneficiary in the last week's victory was Cory McKinney, who caught four passes for 108 yards and two touchdowns. On the season, McKinney leads the Golden Panthers with 50 receptions, 536 yards and four scores.

The FIU defensive unit was virtually non-existent last week in the win over Florida A&M, as the Rattlers racked up 546 total yards and 31 first downs. The Golden Panthers have struggled tremendously all season against the pass, allowing 271.9 ypg. Last week, FIU allowed 436 yards through the air. Although the Golden Panthers allowed over five hundred yards to the Rattlers, the defense was able to record six turnovers (four fumbles, two interceptions), along with six sacks in the victory. The FIU defensive unit has also struggled to stop the run this season, allowing 213.9 ypg, but against FAMU the squad allowed just 110 yards. Alexander Bostic was the defensive spark plug for the Golden Panthers in the victory, as he tallied 11 tackles, two of which went for negative yardage.

The FAU offense has been lights out this season, averaging 392.5 ypg and in the victory last week over Edward Waters, the unit produced 400 yards on the day. The majority of the Owls' offense has come through the air, as the squad is averaging 263.7 passing ypg. Once again for FAU, the quarterback duties were shared in a contest as Jared Allen finished last week's game 8-of-13 for 183 yards and one interceptions, and Danny Embick completed 8-of-12 passes for 110 yards and one touchdown. The ground game has been a different issue for Florida Atlantic, as the team is averaging just 128.7 ypg rushing. Although Doug Parker has led the way (819 yards and eight TDs), it was Aaron Sanchez and Daveon Barron who got the job done against Edward Waters. Sanchez only posted 39 yards, but he scored twice, while Barron posted just 31 yards, but reached the end zone once.

Defensively, the Owls have been extremely tough against the opposition's rushing attack, allowing just 112.3 ypg. Last week, they limited Edward Waters to just 33 yards on 28 rushing attempts, which would explain why the Tigers only converted 3-of-17 third-down attempts while racking up just 14 first downs on the day. Overall, FAU permitted just 334 total yards, including 301 yards through the air. One of the reasons for the strong victory was the performance of the defense, which forced five turnovers and recorded three sacks. Shomari Earls who leads the team with 80 tackles on the year, had just three stops in the victory, but did record one TFL to give him 11 on the season. Second on the team in tackles is Chris Laskowski, who has collected 77 stops on the year, 12 of which have been for negative yardage.

Although both teams are coming off strong victories, it is apparent that the Owls are far more consistent on both sides of the ball and should defeat a suspect FIU team rather easily.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: FAU 31, FIU 17

Howdy fellas,

Sorry I took so long in getting back with your drink orders. I like the idea of the new guy buying a round for the crew. I have no philosophical problem with it, just a geographical problem! I'm in Jacksonville, so it's about a 5 hour drive to the Boca Campus.

I could tell my wife I'm stopping off for a drink "after work" and just not come home until the next day. Guess that wouldn't be too different than usual.

Hey, I need someone to explain the 15,000 attendance thing to me. I know the NCAA wants that, but what if we don't get it? Then what? Then we stay where we are and spend the rest of our lives playing Edward Waters??

I've been reading the "Magic Number" thread and I just don't get it.

[move]GO OWLS!![/move]

In a nutshell. If we don't get 38,000 people this Saturday we will have to repeat the transition year again. That mean we will still be in LIMBO.
Not D1-AA and not quiet D1-A.

No more Ed Waters.
We will still have the D1-A SunBelt teams on our schedule.

Well, at least that. You don't want to have E.W. at their place. Those of us in Jacksonville don't even go anywhere near the campus. You could get your car jacked in the parking lot and your wallet stolen in the stands.

Is there any source down there that's giving any count of SOLD tickets? I'm sure they're expecting a big student walk-up, but is there any legit estimate out there?

Wish I could be there, but it's that whole 5 hour thing…

Come on Big V..!!! Take the chance. I've been up there on the 95 bypass before. The traffic is your best alibi! Tell the wife you got stuck in front of Memorial Hospital. ;D

She'd probably believe it. Nasty traffic all up and down the interstates here and we frantically prepare for the Super Bowl. Can't go 10 miles w/o hitting 5 construction zones.

We're getting some of those 3-level interstate overpasses now. Reminds me of Miami every time I drive through it.