2007 New Orleans Bowl: Memphis V Florida Atlantic

How about that, those guys are still milking the Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans thing...

On Friday, as the New Orleans Saints try to keep their playoff hopes alive, a championship will be decided as the Memphis Tigers take on the Florida Atlantic Owls at the Superdome for the 2007 New Orleans Bowl.

Led by Florida Atlantic Owls head coach Howard Schnellenberger, the Owls will try to help their coach improve to 5-0 since becoming a head coach in bowl games, though he has not appeared in one since leading Louisville to a Liberty Bowl win over Michigan State in 1993. Howard Schnellenberger's most notable postseason appearance was a 1983 Orange Bowl win over Nebraska that gave Miami a national championship.

The Florida Atlantic Owls won their final two games of the season on the road to finish with a 6-1-conference record. They now look to win three straight for the first time since the 2004 season when they go up against the Memphis Tigers.

Florida Atlantic Owls quarterback Rusty Smith was voted the Sun Belt player of the year. Smith led the conference with 3,352 passing yards and a school-record 27 touchdowns while throwing only eight interceptions.

Florida Atlantic Owls wide receiver Cortez Gent has been the beneficiary of course. Cortez Gent had a career-high 155 yards and a touchdown on eight catches in the conference-clinching win over Troy. Gent has 1,030 receiving yards and nine TDs in 11 games after totaling just 66 yards in nine games as a redshirt freshman last season.

Memphis Tigers (7-5) have been going the same way Florida Atlantic has, heading into its fourth bowl game in five seasons and second such appearance in New Orleans. The Memphis Tigers beat Sun Belt foe North Texas 27-17 in that 2003 game, and moved to 4-1 in bowls by beating Akron 38-31 to win the 2005 Motor City Bowl in their most recent postseason appearance.

Memphis Tigers appeared to miss out on a bowl berth for a second straight year after opening 2-4 this season following its 2-10 record in 2006. But, the Memphis Tigers bounced back to win five of their final six games, finishing tied for the second-best record in Conference USA at 6-2.

''What a great reward for this football team, for this team to come together the way it did this year and battle back from so many adversities; this bowl invitation is a tribute to what they have accomplished and overcome,'' Memphis Tigers coach Tommy West said.

The Memphis Tigers capped the regular season by winning the longest game in school history, 55-52 in triple overtime against Southern Methodist on Nov. 24. Let's see they use that momentum against Florida Atlantic at the New Orleans Bowl on Friday.

Who will win the 2007 New Orleans Bowl Game between the Florida Atlantic Owls and the Memphis Tigers? AcesAce Sportsbook has the odds.

Florida Atlantic Owls -2.5

Memphis Tigers +2.5

Want more odds? Visit OddsHQ for more college football betting odds and the best betting lines on some of today's biggest sporting events.

Florida Atlantic Owls Memphis Tigers