Bowl Info:
- Game will be held at Thomas Robinson Stadium in Nassau, Bahamas
- Game will start at 12:30 PM ET on December 21st
- Florida International is 1-2 in their bowl games
- Toledo is 10-7 in their bowl games
- Florida International leads series 2-1
Offensive Players to Watch:
FIU: With James Morgan at the helm, Florida International has looked like a whole different team this year. With Morgan at quarterback, FIU averages around 8 yards a throw, which allows them to be efficient on 2nd and 3rd downs. Morgan has thrown 2,727 passing yards and 26 touchdowns this season, which has him on pace to hold the record for passing yards in a season at FIU. With this amazing skill set sitting in the backfield it will be no surprise for them to rely on their passing game. Watch for James Morgan to have a game of his life and become the leading yards passer in FIU history.
Toledo: As of recently, Bryant Koback has been the man running the field for the Toledo offense. This comes in high bursts of speed out of this speed-back from Holland, Ohio. Koback has ran up 875 rushing yards this year and has punched it in 13 times to lead his team in rushing. Toledo will need to go to Koback Friday to get on this weak FIU rush defense. Watch for Koback to add, most likely, another 100-yard game into his column.
Defensive Players to Watch:
FIU: Sage Lewis fills the middle linebacker position for the Panthers on defense. And so far this season, Lewis has done nothing but great for a defense that been decent in their last couple of games. Lewis has filled up his stat sheet this season with 118 total tackles, 4.5 tackles-for-loss, and 1.0 sacks. This is impressive for anyone, let alone a junior at a C-USA school. It’ll be no shocker that Toledo will use their quick run game to move down the field. However, it is up to Lewis and the other linebackers to pick up on reads and flips to ensure nothings gets too out of hand for the Panthers.
Toledo: FIU is going to have to pass a lot to lead themselves to victory, so Josh Teachey‘s name gets thrown into it. Teachey plays cornerback and safety for the Rockets. Teachey has shown to be a much needed body in the secondary on an off-year for Toledo defense. In his senior season, Teachey has racked up 54 total tackles, 4.0 tackles-for-loss, and 1.0 sacks. Watch for Toledo to try to give FIU some different looks on defense, especially with shifting the backs to give FIU some confusion. This will all revolve around Teachey placing himself where he is needed to stop the FIU pass game.
The Basics
Both teams play little to no defense at all. This is not good when going against any team, let alone a team that can score. This is more so sloped for FIU in the case that their offense is one dimensional. I am more confident that Toledo can make a few more stops on defense and that their offense can score a few more times than FIU’s. Toledo averages 41.1 points a game compared to FIU’s 34.6, plus Toledo is on a win streak. I guess the Bahamas Bowl just isn’t for Florida International.
Score Prediction
38-27 Toledo
Photo Credits: https://patch.com/illinois/arlingtonheights/elk-grove-village-sponsor-2018-makers-wanted-bahamas-bowl
