Take 3
File PhotoIt is safe to say very few Central Michigan fans knew that a Florida Atlantic University existed.
The school, located in Boca Raton, Fla., was established in 1969, much later than CMU (1892). Its football program is only in its eighth season.
Yet, under the direction of longtime coach Howard Schnellenberger, FAU is one of the fastest growing programs in the nation.
Just three years after moving to the Football Bowl Subdivision ranks, it is entering its second consecutive postseason, after beating Memphis 44-27 in the 2007 New Orleans Bowl.
This year, it will face the Chippewas in the 12th annual Motor City Bowl. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 26 at Ford Field in Detroit.
"You just look at what they've been able to do and what they've accomplished," said senior quarterback Brian Brunner. "That team knows how to win."
Florida Atlantic football began in 2001, tabbing Schnellenberger, who coached the 1983 Miami Hurricanes to a national championship and also spent head coaching stints in Louisville, Oklahoma and with the NFL's Baltimore Colts, as its head coach and director of football operations.
Since then, the team found itself ranked as high as No. 4 in Div. I-AA, moved into the Sun Belt Conference in 2005 and won a conference championship just two years later.
Although the Owls (6-6 overall, 4-4 Sun Belt) were less than satisfied with their record this season, they have five wins in their last six games. Junior quarterback Rusty Smith was 116-for-199 in that span for 1,553 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Schnellenberger compared Smith to high-profile quarterbacks he coached in his career such as Jim Kelly, Bernie Kosar and Vinny Testaverde, each from the University of Miami.
"He's a field general," Schnellenberger said. "He's been the motor that runs our football team. He's the generator that makes it all come together.
"I think he's going to be a fine player in the NFL."
Running back Charles Pierre averaged 103.3 yards per game and compiled six touchdowns in that same six-game span.
Brunner said it is difficult to stop a team that is playing with confidence and winning week after week.
"They're a team that's pretty hot right now, and with the quick turnover to the Motor City Bowl, they can still ride that wave," he said. "Winning is one of those things - when you get hot, it's tough for anyone to slow you down. This is not going to be one of those games that we take lightly."
The other side
CMU's finish to the regular season went differently. The Chippewas (8-4 overall, 6-2 Mid-American Conference), one win shy of a third consecutive MAC West title on Nov. 19, suffered a 31-24 home loss to Ball State and a 56-52 setback one week later at Eastern Michigan.
It was a bitter ending for a season in which the team beat its first Big Ten opponent - Indiana - in 16 seasons and earned as many as 13 votes in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.
"I can only speak for myself and the wideouts, but I know we are hungry to get back on the field," said senior wide receiver Joe Bockheim. "We feel like we could've done more in the last couple of weeks. We've got a chip on our shoulders as a crew."
Despite not competing in this year's MAC Championship, however, the team finds itself in its third consecutive Motor City Bowl.
The conference champion, Buffalo, accepted a bid to the International Bowl in Toronto and bowl officials elected to send Ball State, the runner-up, to the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Ala., to face 10-3 Tulsa.
CMU will face its second Sun Belt team in three years. It beat Middle Tennessee State 31-14 in the 2006 Motor City Bowl.
"After two gut-wrenching losses, a team can go one of two ways - it can have a team fall apart or come closer," Brunner said. "With the guys we have this year, it's nothing but strengthened our resolve to get another win.
"After talking to other guys on the team, and our senior class, a lot of guys want to make sure they go out with a win."
CMU coach Butch Jones was not available for comment.
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