Central Michigan vs. Florida Atlantic | inspin's Blog

Chippewas -7 vs. Owls

They had them right where they wanted them. Central Michigan, champions of the Mid-American Conference two years running was playing the team that wanted their title, in the snow, in Mount Pleasant. Yet the, then, undefeated Ball State Cardinals weathered both the winter storm and the Chippewa storm en route to a 34-21 victory. The loss sealed CMU's fate within their conference. They would not repeat as champions, but circumstances came into play that sent Central to their third straight Motor City Bowl. They will take on legendary coach Howard Schnellenberger and Florida Atlantic at Ford Field in Detroit the day after Christmas.

When Buffalo handed Ball State a devastating loss in the MAC Championship Game, also played in Detroit, it muddied up the MAC bowl picture. Throughout it's 12-year history, the Motor City Bowl has usually been the reward for the champion of the conference. But even though Buffalo won the MAC Championship, it made much more sense for them to head a few miles north to Toronto for the International Bowl on January 3rd. This opened up the door for Ball State to head to the Motor City Bowl, but the MAC and the bowl game decided to allow the Cardinals to have a better matchup with Tulsa in the GMAC Bowl to be held in Mobile, Alabama on January 6, so the door swung open for the Chippewas (8-4).

CMU enjoyed its fourth straight winning season and earned a third straight trip to a bowl game, even though its regular season ended in the disappointment of Ball State and an upset loss to Eastern Michigan on the final game of the regular season. The Central Michigan Chippewas will attempt to avoid a three-game losing streak for the first time since October 2004.

Much was expected of Schnellenberger and the Owls this season after winning the Sun Belt Conference last year, but a devastating 1-5 start seemed to seal their fate. But the team responded by winning five of their last six games. During the stretch Florida Atlantic averaged 35 points and defeated Florida International 57-50 in overtime to win their final game and become bowl eligible.

The bowl game may be one of the more entertaining early bowl games because both teams feature potent offenses. Dan LeFevour and Central are ranked third in the MAC with 253.1 passing yards and 24th in the nation with 427.1 yards per contest. The Owls' Rusty Smith led his conference with 2918 yards and 22 scores.

This will be the first all-time meeting between the schools.

This will be CMU's fifth bowl appearance, having gone 1-3 in previous appearances, including last year's last second 51-48 loss to Purdue in last year's Motor City Bowl. FAU went to their first bowl game last season and beat Memphis in the New Orleans Bowl. Coach Schnellenberger is 5-0 all-time in bowl games with FAU, Miami and Louisville.

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