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Who: FIU Golden Panthers vs Marshall Thundering Herd Where: Tropicana Field (St Petersburg, Fl) When: Tuesday, Dec 20th at 8:00 PM EST TV: ESPN |
FIU Golden Panthers (8-4, 5-3 in Sun Belt)
Most impressive victory: 24-17 at Louisville (Sept 9th)
Worst loss: 31-27 vs Duke (Oct 1st)
Notable alumni: Andy Garcia, Dennis Lehane, Carlos Arroyo, Manny Diaz
In 2010 it was the 4th season for Mario Cristobal at FIU and it was the one that finally got FIU over the hump as they went 7-6 and won a bowl game. This year many expected the Golden Panthers to be the team to beat in the Sun Belt. The season stared out better than expected as FIU beat a Big East team (Louisville) and a Conference USA team (UCF). Things were going very well and WR T.Y. Hilton was getting some good publicity. Over the next six games the Golden Panthers only won two games as they lost out of conference to Duke and ran into three of the most surprising teams this year in college football (Louisiana, Arkansas State and Western Kentucky). FIU closed strong by winning their last four games and finishing in 4th in the Sun Belt.
FIU was a pretty balanced squad this year as they placed 3rd in the Sun Belt in points scored (26.3) and 2nd in points allowed (19.4). FIU ran the ball about 55% of the time so they were also balanced in terms of their offensive philosophy. Senior QB Wesley Carroll (2224 yds, 14 TD to 4 INT and 59.7% completion rate), Senior WR T.Y. Hilton (64 rec, 950 yds and 7 TD) and Junior Wayne Times (51 rec, 531 yds and 2 TD) led the passing attack. Sophomore RB Kedrick Rhodes led the rushing attack as he ran for 1121 yards and 8 TD on 5 ypc. Hilton also had a huge impact on Special Teams as he returned a punt return for a TD against FAU and averaged 32 yards per kickoff return which ranked him third overall in the Nation.
Marshall Thundering Herd (6-6, 5-3 in Conference USA)
Most impressive victories: 26-20 vs Southern Miss (Sept 10th), 17-13 vs Louisville (Oct 1st)
Worst losses: 44-7 at Ohio (Sept 17th); 59-17 at Tulsa (Nov 12th)
Notable alumni: Randy Moss, Chad Pennington, Byron Leftwich, Ahmad Bradshaw, Soupy Sales
Marshall was one of the last teams to qualify for a bowl as they were just 4-6 with two games left to play. They edged out a victory over lowly Memphis (23-22) and beat East Carolina in OT in a bowl elimination game to become bowl eligible. Offensively, there was a big difference between the Marshall you saw at home and they one you saw on the road. At home, they averaged over 30 ppg and on the road just under 16. The difference was also seen on defense as they allowed just 22.2 ppg at home and 35.9 on the road. Oh yeah, turnovers were also a big deal on the road. At home they won the turnover margin by 2.2 per game and on the road they lost the battle by 1.29 per game.
Marshall’s best player resides on the defensive side of the football. When FIU has the ball keep an eye on Vinny Curry. This year he had 11 sacks, 21 tackles for loss, forced 6 fumbles and blocked 3 kicks. On offense, When Marshall has the ball keep an eye on Freshman QB Rakeem Cato. He had an up and down first year but he is coming off his best game of the year in his last outing (23 of 29 for 341 yds, 2 TD and 0 INT).
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Twitter Follows For Beef O’Brady Bowl: FIU Golden Panthers Pete Pelegrin: @PetePelegrin Panther Rage: @FIURecruiting Marshall Thundering Herd Marshall Thundering Blog: @MarshallTBlog HerdNation.com: @HerdNation |
Common Opponents:
Louisville- both teams went to Louisville early in the season and came away with single digit wins. Two Teddy Bridgewater INT throws helped seal the game for Marshall. For FIU it was the T.Y. Hilton show as he caught 7 passes for 201 yards and 2 TDs including 2 TD passes over 70 yards.
UCF- Marshall lost on the road to UCF 16-6 as Rakeem Cato struggled and FIU won at home 17-10 despite an injury to T.Y. Hilton.
| Optimum Scouting’s Pro Prospects To Watch: FIU vs. Marshall What this match-up lacks in depth of NFL talent, they make up for in quality. Featuring two of the best non-BCS prospects in the country, this game could come down to which prospect dominates more when Marshall’s on defense and Florida International on offense. Marshall’s Vinny Curry is one of the premier senior defensive ends in this upcoming draft class, having the aggressiveness and motor to fight through the double teams he’s faced all year, as well as having the athleticism to be a stand-up rusher and play in a 3-4 defense in the NFL. As for his top non-BCS counterpart, receiver, returner, do-it-all athlete TY Hilton has been the most explosive player in college football, and reportedly even considered coming out for the draft last year based on the attention he received. His return ability and overall speed is well-noted, but it’s his down the field separation and ball grabbing skills that may make him more like Steve Smith (Panthers) and less like every other smaller, fast receiver prospect. Finally, FIU quarterback Wesley Carroll doesn’t have ideal size or arm strength, but is confident across the field, is a decent athlete, and can put the ball at a spot within 20 yards. |
The Picks
Jay (1-0): Marshall is not a good football team. In fact, if not for Southern Miss’ implosion to the tune of 6 turnovers in the 2nd game of the season, the Thundering Herd wouldn’t even be in a bowl game right now. Besides another turnover-fueled upset against Louisville, Marshall’s only wins came against C-USA teams with losing records. Basically, what I’m telling you is that Marshall can’t beat a good team unless that team literally gives the game away. And unfortunately for them, their bowl opponent FIU ranks 9th in the country in giveaways, having lost the ball only 14 times this season (point of reference: notorious miser Alabama has 12 giveaways on the year). Unless the Golden Panthers show up and play an out-of-character sloppy game (as they did in a near loss to a bad Troy team), it’s difficult to imagine a way Marshall can win this. Still, FIU isn’t known for blowing people’s doors off, so it should be interesting for a bit.
FIU 24, Marshall 10
Kevin (1-2): Looking at Marshall’s performances on the road (they went 2-5 and squeeked out a one point victory against a ridiculously awful Memphis team) I just can’t see picking them in this one. FIU has more play-makers and I think they are just going to be too much for Marshall in this one.
FIU 27 Marshall 17
Ross (3-0): FIU 28, Marshall 17
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