BAD BOY MOWERS GASPARILLA BOWL
TEMPLE OWLS vs. FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL PANTHERS
Thursday, Dec. 21
8 p.m. ET
Tropicana Field
(28,453/FieldTurf)
St. Petersburg, Fla.
Television
ESPN
Anish Shroff, Mike Golic Jr. and Roddy Jones
Satellite Radio
SiriusXM 84
Temple Radio
WPEN-FM 97.5 (flagship)
THE GAME
The Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl has existed since the 2008 season, primarily under the St. Petersburg Bowl moniker, before assuming its current brand identity … The game has been played since its inception at Tropicana Field, which serves as the home of the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball … The list of past MVPs of the Gasparilla Bowl includes current NFL starting quarterbacks Blake Bortles (UCF, 2012) and Jacoby Brissett (NC State, 2014) along with T.Y. Hilton (Florida International, 2011) and Mohamed Sanu (Rutgers, 2009) … Teams from the American Athletic Conference are 0-2 in the Gasparilla Bowl since the conference’s formation … UCF fell to North Carolina State in 2014, while UConn fell to Marshall in 2015 … This year’s game will be the first meeting on the gridiron between Temple and Florida International … Temple head coach Geoff Collins served as defensive coordinator at FIU in the 2010 season, helping the Panthers to lead the Sun Belt Conference.
TEMPLE
6-6, 4-4 American
Head Coach
Geoff Collins (Western Carolina ’94)
5-6, first season
Notes
Temple gained bowl eligibility in the final week of the regular season as the Owls closed with a 43-22 win at Tulsa to improve to 6-6 … The Owls are playing in a bowl game for the third straight season, marking a program first, and will make their seventh bowl appearance in program history … Temple is 2-4 in its previous six bowl appearances as the Owls look for their first bowl title since the 2011 New Mexico Bowl … Temple’s senior class has won 32 games in the last four seasons, the best four-year stretch in program history … Temple won three of its last four games to close the regular season … The strong finish coincided with the elevation of QB Frank Nutile to the starting lineup … Temple averages 24.8 points and 387.6 yards per game … Nutile, who started the last five games, has thrown for 1,346 yards and 11 touchdowns with seven interceptions, completing 104 of 171 passes (60.8 percent) … RB David Hood has rushed for 562 yards, while RB Ryquell Armstead has 553 … Both players have four rushing touchdowns each … WR Isaiah Wright leads a talented group of receivers with 41 catches for 595 yards and three touchdowns … WR Adonis Jennings has a team-high 691 yards on 39 catches, while WR Keith Kirkwood has 575 yards on 39 catches … Jennings and Kirkwood are tied for the team lead with seven touchdown receptions each … The Owls rank second in the American Athletic Conference in total defense (391.8 ypg) and lead the conference in passing defense (210.0 ypg) … S Delvon Randall was chosen to the American Athletic Conference first team after he had 73 tackles with four interceptions in the regular season … The Owls have a pair of all-conference performers on the defensive line … DE Sharif Finch has 50 tackles with 7.5 sacks and 14.0 tackles for loss, while DE Jacob Martin has 39 stops, including 8.0 sacks, 11.0 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries … S Sean Chandler is a three-time selection to The American’s all-conference team after he earned honorable mention status in 2017 … LB Shaun Bradley has a team-high 81 tackles with 10.0 tackles for loss … Isaiah Wright is a has scored touchdowns on a punt return and a kickoff return in addition to his three touchdown receptions.
FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL
8-4, 5-3 Conference USA
Head Coach
Butch Davis (Arkansas ’74)
8-4, first season at Florida International
87-47, 11th season as collegiate head coach
Notes
Florida International will play in a bowl game for the third time in program history with its appearance in the Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl … The Panthers are 1-1 in their two previous bowl appearances — a 34-32 win against Toledo in the 2010 Little Caesars Bowl and a 20-10 setback to Marshall in the 2011 St. Petersburg Bowl … FIU went 8-4 in the regular season in its first year under the leadership of veteran head coach Butch Davis … Davis was previously a collegiate head coach at Miami (Fla.) (1995-2000) and North Carolina (2007-10) … Davis also coached the NFL’s Cleveland Browns for four seasons, leading the team to their only playoff berth since their its return to the league (2002) … This year marks FIU’s first winning season since 2011, when the Panthers were 8-5 … FIU is in its 16th year of varsity intercollegiate football … Despite finishing the regular season at 8-4, the Panthers have allowed 342 points and scored 330 … Florida International’s average margin of victory is 10.9 points, while the Panthers’ average loss has been by 24.8 points … The Panthers placed WR Thomas Owens on the All-Conference USA first team after Owens registered 59 catches for 887 yards and six touchdowns in nine games before his season was cut short due to injury … QB Alex McGough has started every game and leads the offense with 2,791 yards and 17 touchdowns on 231-of-354 passing with eight interceptions … RB Alex Gardner has rushed for 765 yards and six touchdowns, while RB Shawndarri Phillipps has 453 yards and four TDs … Owens tops the receiving chart despite his missing the last three games … The defense is led by LB Treyvon Williams, who has a team-high 82 tackles to go with 3.0 sacks and 8.0 tackles for loss … DE Fermin Silva has team highs with 7.0 sacks and 14.0 tackles for loss … CB Brad Muhammad has four interceptions, while LB Andrew Brown has three forced fumbles … K Jose Borregales has made 14 of 16 field goal attempts and is 12-for-12 from inside 40 yards … P Stone Wilson averages 41.8 yards per punt … Notable alumni from FIU include T.Y. Hilton of the Indianapolis Colts, former Major League Baseball player Mike Lowell, and LPGA legend Pat Bradley.