FIU Panthers(8-4) vs Toledo Rockets(7-5)
The Bahamas Bowl will be played on Friday December 21st at 12:30 PM EST and can be seen on ESPN. Both of these teams are coming into the game having narrowly missed out on division titles in the regular season. The Bahamas Bowl has produced a couple of great games in it’s short history, hopefully this one can live up to it.
How They Got Here: FIU Panthers
Butch Davis was successful his first season at FIU, but was overshadowed by the arrival of the #LaneTrain at rival FAU. This year the Panthers led the division nearly all season before a loss to Marshall kept them out of the CUSA championship game. Davis has brought FIU to their first two bowls since they fired Mario Cristobal back in 2012. Davis’ 16-9 record may not seem impressive, but he’s taken FIU from absolutely abysmal to merely slightly below average.
The offense isn’t great, but is surprisingly adept at creating big plays, especially in the passing game. Quarterback James Morgan has thrown for 2700 yards and a school-record 26 touchdowns, compared to just 6 interceptions. Morgan has been able to spread the ball around, with four receivers having over 300 yards and more than 25 catches. The Panthers run game is similar in that three backs have over 80 carries for at least 400 yards. On defense FIU seriously struggles to defend the run, but is somewhat decent against the pass. They do a good job of breaking up passes, especially DBs Dorian Hall and Richard Dames, who have 6 interceptions.
How They Got Here: Toledo Rockets
Coming off a MAC championship last year, Toledo fell to a disappointing 7-5 this season. Toledo is clearly led by their offense, especially the run game. The Rockets have four players with over 500 rushing yards and are led by Bryant Koback with 875 yards. Eli Peters and Michael Guadagni have both played at QB, but Peters took over full time after Guadagni got hurt. Defensively, Toledo also struggles against the run, but has more success stopping the pass. The leaders in the secondary are safety Josh Teachy and corner Ka’dar Hollman, who have combined to break up 23 passes between them. Diontae Johnson can also be extra spark on special teams, averaging almost 20 yards per punt return and over 25 per kickoff.
Player to Watch: James Morgan(FIU)
Morgan is a grad transfer from Bowling Green and has been very effective for this FIU offense. He has completed 65.3% of his passes and averages 12.8 yards per completion. Morgan was one of the best quarterbacks in the conference and won the CUSA Newcomer of the Year award.
Betting Lines:
Toledo is currently favored by 5.5 points. The over/under was originally at 69, but bad weather has brought it all the way down to 61.
Prediction:
While both teams struggle on defense, Toledo’s offense is the best unit for either team. The Rocket’s offense, specifically the run game, should carry them to a somewhat comfortable win over FIU.