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OFFICIAL: FAU vs Memphis Thread

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OFFICIAL: FAU vs Memphis Thread

I have been rather busy as of late and have gotten side tracked a bit & haven't done much with my blog as of late  >:(  hoping to change that soon and to update the web-site with more stuff to get us ready for the BIG Bowl game against the Tigers.

We can use this thread to talk about the upcoming game with the Tigers, I would suggest we wait for the predictions for the game till game week.
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Re: OFFICIAL: FAU vs Memphis Thread

i was impressed by your win over troy at their house.  i am looking forward to meeting some of you owls down in nawlins.  see you at the acme oyster bar.  good luck and join us at our pep rally before the game.
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Re: OFFICIAL: FAU vs Memphis Thread

Thanks, This will be my first time in NO and looking forward being part of the festivities & experiencing everything what it relates to being in our first Bowl game.

Should be a good game.

Go owls!!
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Re: OFFICIAL: FAU vs Memphis Thread

Here is a news clip from Yahoo sports:



Schnellenberger says FAU ready for step on to bowl stage

By SARAH LARIMER, Associated Press Writer
December 6, 2007

MIAMI (AP) – Nine years ago, Howard Schnellenberger began building a football program from scratch, pledging that his team would compete with Florida, Miami and Notre Dame.

The Florida Atlantic Owls aren't quite there yet. But they are bowl-bound for the first time.

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As the Sun Belt Conference champions, the Owls earned a berth in the New Orleans Bowl and will play Memphis on Dec. 21.

"It's a wonderful and exciting feeling," the 73-year-old Schnellenberger said.

Schnellenberger started the Miami Hurricanes' 1980s dynasty and then built Louisville into a Top 25 team, but the Owls' success may be his niftiest achievement yet. They won the conference last week with a 38-32 upset of Troy.

"It's a reward for all the things that they've done to this point, but more importantly than that, it's still part of the mission that all the kids came here for," Schnellenberger said.

The Owls played their first game in 2001 and their first full Division I-A schedule in 2005. Schnellenberger has been the coach from the start, and South Florida's abundant high school talent gave him a solid recruiting base.

To make it to the bowl game, the Owls went 7-5 overall and 6-1 in the Sun Belt.

"Our goals were to win our conference and beat one of the big teams out of the conference. And we did both of that," quarterback Rusty Smith said. "We made it to a bowl game. This is simply just additional stuff."

Before the season, Schnellenberger called this Florida Atlantic team his most talented and experienced. The Owls won their opener against defending co-conference champion Middle Tennessee and later earned a milestone victory over Minnesota.

"They feel that they have done what they set out to do and they're a complete success at this moment," Schnellenberger said.

He and his players recently marched in a holiday parade, giving fans a chance to applaud a team countering the recent trend of failure in South Florida sports. The Miami Hurricanes failed to make a bowl game and the hapless Miami Dolphins are 0-12.

But the Owls are bowl-bound.

"Is it miraculous? Possibly," said former player Chris Laskowski, who was with the team during its early years. "But for people who have played there and bought into the reality, it's not a surprise, because it's the way we always thought we could be."

Football is still new at the Boca Raton campus, and the Owls played their home games this season in Fort Lauderdale or Miami Gardens, averaging about 15,700 fans per game.

By 2010, the Owls hope to have a 30,000-seat stadium, and their bandwagon is growing. Signs proclaiming support for the Owls are posted on campus, and Smith said classmates sometimes greet him with congratulatory words.

Schnellenberger said his inbox is flooded with e-mails and his voice mail is full.

"There is a real appeal for the underdog in this United States of ours, particularly in sports," he said.

The Owls are no longer that much of an underdog – they're favored to beat Memphis.



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Re: OFFICIAL: FAU vs Memphis Thread

Here is an article from the Kansascity.com:

LINK: Florida Atlantic secures its first bowl berth


Here is one from the Miami Herald:

LINK: FAU basking in bowl spotlight


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Re: OFFICIAL: FAU vs Memphis Thread

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Re: OFFICIAL: FAU vs Memphis Thread

Wow, thanks for posting the articles on FAU! It gets aggravating reading some of the blogs, like Ted Hutton's blog on Sun-Sentinel.com, and have some ignorant jackasses littering all our blogs with "F-A-WHOO???". We're making our way to the national spotlight with great momentum. Our football program is the "little team that could" and we've proven alot of naysayers wrong about our how we compete.

We're Bowl Bound!!!! Go OWLS!!!!
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Re: OFFICIAL: FAU vs Memphis Thread

Bytor, tnx for posting the articles. It's great to see the added attention, and I hope a lot of the board members have time to read them. The only bad thing about going to New Orleans to see the game in person is that I'll miss watching it in my fave sports bar in Breckenridge (currently under 30 inches of snow). It's great to have on Owls gear and have everyone ask about it  – and continue to spread the word.
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Re: OFFICIAL: FAU vs Memphis Thread

30"  :o

From the Commercial Appeal in Memphis:

LINK: In just third season, Owls set for Tigers

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Re: OFFICIAL: FAU vs Memphis Thread

Here is MSNBC bowl breakdown of the NO Bowl game:

Link: FAU vs Memphis


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