Marshall
(11-1 record; Bob Pruett, 3rd year) |
Louisville
(7-4 record; John L. Smith, 1st year) |
School's Bowl Record: 0-1
Coach's Bowl Record: 0-1
Last Bowl Appearance: December 1997 Motor City Bowl (lost to Mississippi 34-31)
Record in Motor City Bowl: 0-1 (Last appearance December 1997 lost to Mississippi 34-31) |
School's Bowl Record: 3-1-1
Coach's Bowl Record: 1-0
Last Bowl Appearance: December 1993 Liberty Bowl (beat Michigan State 18-7)
Record in Motor City Bowl: First appearance |
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Offensive Stud |
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Chad Pennington, QB, Jr. (279-432, 3,429 yards, 24 TDs, 7 INTs): Became Marshall's all-time leading passer this season even with Randy Moss lighting it up this year in the NFL
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Chris Redman, QB, Jr. (309-473, 4,042 yards, 29 TDs, 15 INTs): Had a breakout year and became an early favorite for the 1999 Heisman
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Defensive Stud |
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John Grace, LB, Jr. (135 tackles, 16 tackles for loss): Second-team All-MAC; team leader in tackles
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Antonio Roundtree, DB, So. (2 INTs, 15 pass break-ups): The only Cardinal on the first-team All-Conference USA defense
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Player to Watch |
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Doug Chapman, RB, Jr. (252 carries, 1,184 yards, 15 TDs): While the passing game gets all the press, all he's done is rush for 1,000 yards in each of his three seasons
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Ibn Green, TE, Jr. (55 catches, 884 yards, 12 TDs): A major beneficiary of the wide-open offense. Set a school record for TD catches and he's a tight end.
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Key Stats |
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Averaging 435.2 yards of offense per game, 21st in the nation and tops in the MAC. |
Averaging 559.7 yards per game in total offense, best in the country.
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Surprise Stat |
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First in the MAC and 16th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 17.3 points per game.
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Allowing 480.6 yards per game in total defense, 110th in the country.
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1998 Turning Point |
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Pennington played through a serious groin injury suffered during the MAC title game to send the Herd to Detroit.
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While many people had a good idea the Cardinal offense was explosive, it was validated when Louisville piled up 742 yards of total offense in a 62-19 thrashing of Cincinnati.
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Key to Victory |
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Playing a little bit of defense. Marshall can put up the points and the yards. But so can Louisville.
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Getting any sort of defense going. Redman will put the yards and the points, but Louisville has done little to stop other teams from doing the same.
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Outlook |
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Marshall should expect another shootout in this bowl. It could come down to who has the ball last to determine the winner.
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The Cardinals should put up tons of offense but without a defense, they'll come up short. Just ask UCLA in its game against Miami.
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