Football Set to Take on FIU in 2017 Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl

With the postseason on the line and matched up against the conference's top rushing attack, Temple managed to orchestrate a 43-22 dismantling of Tulsa on the road just two days following Thanksgiving. The statement win vaulted the program to an even 6-6 mark, securing the Owls a school record third consecutive bowl appearance.

Just over a week later, Temple was selected to attend the Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl, facing off against Conference USA representative FIU. The game has been set to kickoff Thursday, December 21, at 8:00 p.m. ET and air nationally on ESPN.

The Owls' trip down to St. Petersburg, Fla., to face the Golden Panthers offers a multitude of firsts regarding Temple and postseason competition. On that list: the program will visit Tropicana Field for the first time, the game's venue, and Temple and FIU will square off on the gridiron for the first time. Historically, the Owls' trend of never playing in the same stadium twice for bowl season continues, but their streak of never revisiting the same state ends (last time in Florida - 2015 Boca Raton Bowl). Further, Temple has yet to see a single coach guide the program through two postseason appearances, with Geoff Collins notching his first this year.

Offensively, the Owls enter the contest with FIU rolling, having dismantled Tulsa to close out the regular season. Under the direction of QB Frank Nutile, the unit has stabilized behind a flourishing passing attack and punishing ground game. Set to make just his sixth start under center against the Golden Panthers, the redshirt junior signal-caller provided a spark to a group that has seen significant improvement over the course of the year, boosting six major offensive categories between the first four games and the final eight.

Meanwhile, the Temple defense closed out the year as resilient as ever, finishing the season ranked second conference-wide in total defense (391.8 YPG) and third down conversion percentage (39.3%), not mention first in passing yards allowed (210.0 YPG). Behind the efforts of a veteran pair of defensive ends and NFL-level talent at both safety positions, the young linebacker corps prospered, as all three of its primary starters finished among the top five tacklers on the defense (Shaun Bradley - 81, Chapelle Russell - 70 and Sam Franklin - 52).

As for FIU (8-4, 5-3), the Golden Panthers have put together a memorable season under first-year coach Butch Davis, reaching just their third bowl in program history. For the year, Florida International finished second in Conference USA's East Division, knocking off three bowl-eligible schools (Western Kentucky, UTSA & Marshall) along the way.

Statistically, the Golden Panthers feature an offense that ranks first nationally in red zone scoring, earning points on 97.5 percent of opportunities inside the 20 yard-line. Oppositely, the FIU defense has been particularly stingy inside the red zone, finishing the year ranked 25th nationally with opposing offense's scoring on just 77.6 percent of their chances. The Panther's third down conversion percentage (44.6 percent) also is of note, ranking 26th among the FBS.

Game: This is the 10th annual Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl. It is the first year that Bad Boy Mowers has been a title sponsor and had previously been known as the St. Petersburg Bowl.

Date: Thursday, December 21, 2017

Site: Tropicana Field (28,453) in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Teams: Temple (6-6, 4-4 American) vs. Florida International (8-4, 5-3 C-USA)

Kickoff: 8:00 p.m. EST

Television: The 2017 Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl will be broadcast nationally by ESPN. Anish Shroff (play-by-play), Mike Golic, Jr. (analyst) and Roddy Jones (sidelines) will call the game.

Radio: The Owls' radio broadcast will air on 610 WTEL with Harry Donahue (play-by-play), Paul Palmer (analyst) and Kevin Copp (sidelines). Red Voice will also air the game nationally with Tony Caridi (play-by-play) and Brad Howe (analyst).

Series History: This will be the first game played between Temple and FIU.

Bowl History: This is Temple's seventh bowl appearance. The Owls have been in the 1935 Sugar Bowl (20-14 loss to Tulane), 1979 Garden State Bowl (28-17 win over California), 2009 Eagle Bank Bowl (30-21 loss to UCLA), 2011 Gildan New Mexico Bowl (37-15 win over Wyoming), 2015 Marmot Boca Raton Bowl (32-17 loss to Toledo), and 2016 Military Bowl (34-26 loss to Wake Forest).

Magic #32
Over the course of the past four years, the class of 2017 has accumulated 32 total wins, granting them title as winningest class in school history. The group began the year needing just six wins to meet the 32 victory mark, but a slew of injuries and close losses slowed down their progress midway through the year. After a 3-5 start, scoring wins in three of Temple's final four games became a necessity not only to push the seniors over the edge, but also to earn the school's fourth straight postseason eligibility. Three wins later, and the senior class stands atop the program as winningest in history.

Even Steven
With the 43-22 post-Thanksgiving victory over Tulsa, Temple concluded the regular season at 6-6 for a .500 record. Coincidentally, though, the Owls were balanced in other areas as well. They split their home games (3-3) and road games (3-3), conference games (4-4), non-conference games (2-2) and wins by starting quarterback – Logan Marchi (3-4) and Frank Nutile (3-2).

Slow Start, Fast Finish
Significantly improving offensive production week-to-week, especially with two first-time starters under center, has served as a central challenge for the Owls this season. Temple's performance over the past eight games has seen significant improvement in total yards/game and third down conversion percentage, as detailed in the table below:

                                       Season        Rank          Last Eight   Rank
   Total YPG                   387.6           80                 437.0   35
   Passing YPG              251.6           47                 267.9 35
   Pass Efficiency          125.55       83                 130.65     72
   Rush YPG                  136.0           98                 169.1   59
   Scoring                      24.8          91    28.8       63
   3rd Down %                42.0%      45 46.3      11

Not Their First Rodeo
Despite serving as a first-year head coach, Geoff Collins will be taking his 14th leap into postseason play when the Owls match up against FIU. In his career, Collins has compiled a 6-7 bowl record, including 3-3 as a defensive coordinator. While with the Bulldogs from 2011-14, Collins and his defense made his most significant appearance to date, losing close to Georgia Tech in the 2014 Orange Bowl. In the head coach's six wins, his squad has been unsurprisingly dominant, leaving a margin of victory just over 14 points. Meanwhile, Owls' defensive coordinator Taver Johnson has also put together an impressive postseason resume, going 3-3 with memorable Ohio State victories in the 2011 Sugar Bowl over Arkansas, 31-26, and in the 2010 Rose Bowl against Oregon, 26-17. Further, Johnson also reached the pinnacle of college football postseason play although his Buckeyes fell to LSU in the 2008 BCS National Championship.

Strength in Numbers
Temple has started 42 different players this season, trailing only Western Kentucky for most among bowl eligible schools. Around the American, the Owls ranked second to ECU and finished in a tie for 10th nationally (Baylor, 55; Illinois, 53; Ball State, 52; ECU, 49; BYU and Kansas, 47; Western Kentucky, 45; Oregon State, 44; Coastal Carolina, 44).

Deja Vu
For three members of Temple's football staff, Florida International serves as more than just this postseason's bowl opponent. Head coach Geoff Collins, head strength & conditioning coordinator David Feely and assistant strength & conditioning coach Ryan Horton all met while employed with the Panthers football program in 2010, each overseeing similar roles at the time. During Collins one season heading up FIU's defense, the Panthers saw a dramatic turnaround for the unit, going from ranked 119th nationally on defense to ranked first among Sun Belt teams in total defense, scoring defense, defensive pass efficiency and turnover margin. For his contributions, Collins earn recognition as a Broyles Award finalist, given annually to the nation's top assistant coach. Meanwhile, both Feely and Horton held down assistant positions with FIU's strength & conditioning staff, helping the Panthers' football team to their first league championship and bowl win in program history (2010), not to mention back-to-back Sun Belt conference titles and a school-record 32 wins in volleyball (2009).

Right Jab, Left Hook
Behind the combined efforts of senior Temple defensive ends Jacob Martin and Sharif Finch, the Owls have been able to throw a deadly one-two punch at every opposing offensive air attack matched up with the program this season. Accordingly, Temple ranks as one of the nation's most disruptive defenses, compiling 2.67 sacks/game (22nd nationally, 2nd conference) and 7.7 tackles-for-loss/game (13th nationally, 2nd conference). As for Martin and Finch, the duo have put together career seasons across nearly every category, with the former racking up 8.0 sacks and 11 TFLs and the latter grabbing 7.5 sacks and 14.5 TFLs. Unsurprisingly, the AAC them both with second team all-conference honors.

All the Wright Stuff
Sophomore WR Isaiah Wright has provided a spark for the Owls' offense whenever he takes the field, impacting production in a variety of ways. While his primary position is receiver, he has lined up in the backfield as a running back and also as the QB in a Wildcat formation. "He's a touchdown waiting to happen," said WR coach Stan Hixon. Through 12 games, Hixon has been right on the money, as Wright has managed to execute one of the most unique challenges in college football: score within five different categories. On the year, the sophomore slot receiver has rushed for a touchdown (50 yard sprint at Army), caught a TD (three occasions), returned a kickoff back for a score (98 yards at Cincinnati), taken a punt back for a touchdown (72 yards at Tulsa) and tossed a successful two-point conversion (at Cincinnati immediately following the 98-yard kickoff return). Over the course of the past decade, Wright joins just five other FBS athletes in accomplishing the feat, including notable NFL stars such as Clemson's C.J. Spiller, FIU's T.Y. Hilton and Stanford's Christian McCaffrey.

Close to Home
Since joining the American Athletic Conference in 2013, Temple football has watched its stock rise within the fertile recruiting grounds down south. The state of Florida, nationally considered one of the top three football recruiting grounds, has served as a major pipeline for the Owls, especially with Temple playing at least one game a year at either USF or UCF. As such, it comes as no surprise that 10 players on the Owls' roster hail from the Sunshine State: DL Freddie Booth-Lloyd, WR Ventell Bryant, QB Todd Centeio, LB Sam Franklin, WR Freddie Johnson, K Austin Jones, WR Randle Jones, LB Dana Levine, DB Jyquis Thomas & WR Brodrick Yancy. With the upcoming St. Petersburg-based Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl, many of these athletes will return to Florida for the second time this season, with the hometowns of six (V.Bryant, Franklin, F.Johnson, A.Jones, J.Thomas & Yancy) within 110 miles of Tropicana Field, the game's venue.

Temple University Athletics

Football Set to Take on FIU in 2017 Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl

Players Mentioned

Freddie Booth-Lloyd

Shaun Bradley

Ventell Bryant

Todd Centeio

Sharif Finch

Sam Franklin

Freddie Johnson

Austin Jones

Randle Jones

Dana Levine

Logan Marchi

Jacob Martin

Frank Nutile

Chapelle Russell

Jyquis Thomas

Isaiah Wright

Brodrick Yancy

Related Videos