Rusty Smith threw for 307 yards and two second-half touchdowns to help the Owls beat Central Michigan 24-21 on Friday night in the Motor City Bowl.
Florida Atlantic began playing in the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2001 and has won both its postseason games. Coach Howard Schnellenberger’s Owls defeated Memphis last year in the New Orleans Bowl.
The teams were tied at 10 midway through the third quarter when Smith hit Chris Bonner with a 52-yard scoring pass. Smith found Cortez Gent with an 18-yard strike early in the fourth to give the Owls (7-6) a cushion.
Making their third straight Motor City Bowl appearance, the Chippewas (8-5) cut the lead to 24-21 with three minutes to play when Dan LeFevour hit Antonio Brown with a touchdown pass and then Kito Poblah for a 2-point conversion. Gent recovered the ensuing onside kick, however.
Most of the 41,399 fans at Ford Field cheered for Central Michigan, but they were quiet as Florida Atlantic ran out the clock. It was the smallest turnout in the game’s 12-year history, yet Motor City Bowl chairman Ken Hoffman said the game will return to Ford Field in 2009 despite Detroit’s dismal economic forecast.
Smith, selected the game’s MVP, finished 20-for-35 passing. Gent caught seven passes for 98 yards.
LeFevour was 28-for-40 for 253 yards with two touchdowns, but he threw a first-quarter interception that led to the Owls’ first touchdown.
Central Michigan trailed 17-13 late in the third quarter when Antonio Brown sprang loose for what would have been a 72-yard touchdown run, but Poblah’s facemask penalty negated it. The Chippewas punted a few plays later.
The teams went to halftime tied at 10 after Florida Atlantic’s Ross Gornall kicked a 36-yard field goal in the final minute of the second quarter.
Dilvory Edgecomb scored on a 1-yard run in the first quarter for the Owls, but LeFevour answered in the second with a short TD pass to Poblah.
Brown caught 11 passes for 91 yards for Central Michigan, which topped Middle Tennessee in the 2006 Motor City Bowl and lost a 51-48 shootout to Purdue last season.
