By Scott Morganroth

A year ago, the FAU Owls basketball team had a 21-11 record and were in first place in the Sun Belt Conference with a 13-3 mark. That earned them a trip to the NIT, where they would lose to the Miami Hurricanes.

What a difference a year makes. The Owls finished with an 11-19 overall mark and were tied for third place in the conference with Western Kentucky with 7-9 records.

FAU’s only chance to make it to the NCAA Tournament was to win the Sun Belt Conference Tournament in Hot Springs, Arkansas. But Arkansas State (13-19) put an end to FAU’s post-season aspirations by ousting the Owls, 70-55, Saturday Night.

Dennis Mavin led the 8th-seeded Owls with 12 points and Shavar Richardson had 11. FAU finished the season with a five-game losing streak. This was the last game for Richardson and his fellow senior Alex Tucker.

Richardson finished his career with 1,018 points, which is 9th in FAU history, while Tucker leaves as the all-time leader in assists with 538, which is also good for 7th all-time in Sun Belt Conference history.

FAU Coach Mike Jarvis’ career record at FAU stands at 52-71, while he is 371-273 overall.

After the Owls blew a double-digit lead to the Troy Trojans and lost an 83-82 decision, he had some critical comments about the way the season has gone, especially after the high expectations following last year.

“We’re still not ready to win and we may not be again this year,” Jarvis said. “This team should have been better, has the ability to win games and the games we lost were mostly mental. We haven’t played as hard as we can for 40 minutes all year. Until we do, we don’t deserve to win.

“We’re talented enough. I love my guys. They’re mature, but my children are not hungry enough like most teams in America.

“Last year’s team was much hungrier and this team lacks hunger. Lots of teams will go into their conference tournament, hoping the fairy godmother will get them to the NCAA Tournament.”

The players will be watching the NCAA Tournament like the rest of us on their couches or at sports bars.

During the Owls final home game against Troy, former FAU Baseball Coach Kevin Cooney was honored as the newest member into the School’s Sports Hall of Fame.

With basketball season over, this hasn’t been a good year for Men’s Producing Revenue Sports, as the football team finished with a 1-11 mark. In addition, the basketball squad reported an  underachieving year at 11-19.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at www.scottsports33.com.

By Scott Morganroth

The New York Giants’ 21-17 victory over the New England Patriots sent shock waves to the rest of the NFL.

Just get in the playoffs and play your best football in December and January, as they became the first team in NFL history to lose seven games and win a Super Bowl.

The Giants were 7-7 in December and made it to the playoffs by defeating the Dallas Cowboys 31-14 to clinch the NFC East Title in the final week of the season, finishing at 9-7.

By winning the division title, New York earned a home game and dispatched the Atlanta Falcons 24-2 in the opening round. Atlanta’s only points came off a safety.

Ironically, the Giants’ first points in the Super Bowl were the result of a safety.

The Giants took their act on the road as they defeated 15-1 Green Bay 37-20 in the second game of the tournament in frigid Lambeau Field. They prevented Packers MVP QB Aaron Rogers from leading Green Bay to its second straight Super Bowl Championship.

The NFC Championship Game would be hosted by the 13-3 San Francisco 49’ers. But the Giants wouldn’t be affected by the three-hour difference in time zone as they earned a 20-17 overtime victory.

What would it take for New York to win the Super Bowl over the 13-3 New England Patriots?

It would take an MVP Performance by Giants QB Eli Manning as he threw for 296 yards and one touchdown. Manning became the fifth player in Super Bowl History to win two MVP Awards and he accomplished that twice against the New England Patriots.

This MVP came in the stadium that his brother Peyton built – Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

The Giants played good defense. They sacked Patriots QB Tom Brady twice and forced him to throw one interception.

In the end, this Super Bowl rematch of four years ago would be decided in the final minute as the Giants got a
late touchdown by Ahmad Bradshaw, a play designed to set up a field goal. However, he inadvertently backed in and scored. This play will go down as one of the classic endings in Super Bowl history.

Eli Manning’s legacy has now been cemented as a two-time Super Bowl Champion. With two Super Bowl rings, he owns family bragging rights over Peyton.

Following Sunday night’s game, the Giants have defeated the Patriots three consecutive times – including two Super Bowl triumphs and a 24-20 regular season win in New England on Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011.

More importantly, the Giants Super Bowl victory sends a message to the entire sports world.

“Don’t worry about the win-loss regular season record. Just qualify for the post-season.”

As long as a team peaks in the playoffs, that’s all that matters. You can bet every coach in every sport on all levels will use the Giants’ improbable underdog ride as motivation to inspire players to win a championship.

That’s what will make Super Bowl XLVI stand out for years to come.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at www.scottsports33.com.

If anybody was hoping that after a 1-11 Football Season that there would be better results for the FAU Men’s Basketball Team, then think again. Going into Monday night’s road game against Arkansas State, FAU was 5-11, 1-2 in the Sun Belt Conference.

FAU’s latest loss, the Owls offense failed to show-up in Little Rock, as Arkansas Little Rock won a 40-38 contest Saturday night. That’s correct, 40-38, as both teams combined to score a mere 78 points. FAU scored 20 points trailing 22-20 at half-time.

Thus far, the highlight of the 2011-2012 FAU Season occurred at the Orange Bowl Classic, as the Owls lost a 93-90 double overtime contest to the Miami Hurricanes. Omari Grier led FAU with 27 points.

Miami leads the all-time series against FAU 21-1 as FAU’s last win against the Hurricanes occurred on Dec. 3, 2002, 74-73 in Boca Raton. This game set Orange Bowl Basketball Classic records for most assists (41) and 3-pointers made (29) and tied for most field goals made (63) and 3-pointers attempted (49). This was only the second game in Orange Bowl Classic history where both teams eclipsed the 80-point plateau, joining Florida’s 94-93 double-overtime win over Miami in 2002.

FAU now stands 0-2 all-time in Orange Bowl Classic play.

When the game was over, Miami Head Coach Jim Larranaga had nothing but positive things to say about the Owls.

“My hats off to Florida Atlantic, their coaches and their team for the outstanding job they did,” Larranaga said. “Their 3-point shooting was incredible, the way they got those threes with tremendous dribble penetration and kicking it out. We were very concerned about that going into the game and it proved to be very true.”

Will there be any more Miami vs. FAU Men’s Basketball games in the future?

“Yeah, if they came to our place every other year,” FAU Coach Mike Jarvis said. “We would love to continue to play them, but they don’t want to play in Boca. So, we’ll ask them again if they’ll play home and home, and if they don’t want to play a home and home, then we probably won’t play them again.”

Since the Miami loss, FAU has lost four of the last five games. Those losses have come against Harvard, Siena, Louisiana-Lafayette and Arkansas Little Rock.

The Owls next home game is Saturday, Jan. 14 against Middle Tennessee State at 7 p.m. During the next month, FAU travels to Miami to face Isiah Thomas’ FIU Golden Panthers on Jan. 21 at 2 p.m. The two teams meet again on Feb. 4 in Boca Raton at 7 p.m.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at www.scottsports33.com.

The Howard Schnellenberger era is officially over, as the only coach in FAU Football History leaves the program with a 58-74 mark. Schnellenberger’s all-time record in 27 years of coaching college football is 158-151 with a National Championship for the Miami Hurricanes in 1983.

The Owls can thank the UAB Blazers to avoid going winless this season as FAU pulled out a 38-35 win Saturday, Nov. 26, thanks to Senior Running Back Alfred Morris’ 198 yards and four touchdowns. Morris became the first person in Schnellenberger’s career to surpass 1,000 yards twice in his career. He finished with 1,186 yards in 2011 with a 72-yard effort against ULM. In 2009, he amassed 1,392.

The embarrassing defeat by UAB led to the firing a few days later of its’ Head Coach Neil Callaway, who had a 3-9 season and was 21-51 in five years.

When the game was over, FAU sent Schnellenberger out with a fireworks display. He also gave a game-ending speech thanking everyone in the stadium for their support. It took him longer to address the media because he spent extra time talking to his players. At the end of the press conference, the popular coach was busy signing media members’ press passes.

Schnellenberger said, “This is the first time I’ve turned a football team over in this type of situation. But I want the players to know that I value them being here. I didn’t want these players to go out as losers. There are a lot of good football players on this team.”

But Schnellenberger was pleased that his retirement would turn out differently than legendary coaches like former Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden and Penn State’s Joe Paterno by leaving on his own terms.

“I talked to Bowden about this and with the way coaches are getting disposed of. I didn’t want to leave like that. I wanted this to be a seamless transition. I’ve never missed a day of work in 52 years of coaching, and I’m glad that I can retire, relax, spend time with my wife Beverlee, children and grandchildren,” Schnellenberger added. “I’ll be moving out of my football office Sunday and into a new one in the administration building Monday, helping out any way I can, but “won’t be in the way of the new coach.”

My time with Coach Schnelleberger dates back to our days with the Miami Hurricanes in the early 1980s. It will be different without my friend in the future, but the UAB win meant so much that it would have been a major injustice for him to end his final season as the only winless team in NCAA Division I FBS. Thankfully, it didn’t happen and I’m pleased he left on his own terms.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33.com.

The FAU Owls couldn’t get it right when they were shut out 20-0 by the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers to open up their new on-campus stadium on Oct. 15.

But the Owls had a second chance for another first in their new home. The Arkansas State University (ASU) Red Wolves were the first opponent in FAU’s inaugural Homecoming Game. The results were encouraging. With 10:55 left in the first half, the Owls were -13 yards in total offense.

But that was before running back Alfred Morris got his hands on the football and ran for 39 yards, thus putting the Owls in the black in total offense.

Two plays later, the Owls capped off a four play, 71-yard drive as Morris would score a 13-yard touchdown as he tied Doug Parker with 25 total all-time, rushing and receiving. FAU trailed at this point 15-7.

With 2:49 left in the first half, the Owls put together a seven plays, 62-yard and 3:16 drive and cut ASU’s lead 18-14. Morris would cap this drive with a four-yard touchdown run as he broke Parker’s record with 26. Morris has 22 rushing and four receiving touchdowns.

In the second half, Morris picked up where he left off, as he had 33 yards on the Owls opening drive, which led to an FAU eight play drive that went 70-yards and lasted 4:36.

Quarterback Graham Wilbert connected with Derek Moise for an 18-yard touchdown. It was the first of Moise’s career. The Owls took a 21-18 lead, and this was the first FAU lead in the new stadium.

But that lead wouldn’t last long as ASU responded with a six plays, 40 yards and 2:18 drive that gave them a 25-21 lead. It was capped by a seven-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Aplin to Taylor Stockemer.

The Red Wolves scored 21 unanswered points to build a 38-21 lead by the 7:39 mark in the fourth quarter. Aplin had five touchdowns, four rushing and one passing. He threw for 244 yards.

Morris finished with 163 yards rushing, while Graham ended his night with 147 yards and two interceptions. FAU had four turnovers and committed nine penalties for 69 yards in the 39-21 loss. ASU out gained FAU in total yards 429-281 and first downs 28-15.

The Owls dropped to 0-8 and 6-5 in Homecoming Games. The Red Wolves lead the all-time series 4-3.

When the game was over, Morris downplayed his personal accomplishments as he said, “This is bittersweet, but we wanted to win. As usual, we made a lot of mistakes. The film shows it. I don’t play for the accolades, but because I love the game. I don’t look at stats, just wins and losses.

“I take pride in blocking and take it serious because I don’t want them touching my other running back or quarterback. The positive part of this game is we showed we can move the ball.

“But I don’t want to be part of a win-less team. We have four chances to win a game. We’re not desperate for a win, but hungry for one. If I had the answers to this losing, I’d try to fix it.”

Coach Schnellenberger added, “Taking the lead in the third quarter was an accomplishment. This game was more disheartening because of the improvements you saw. I was a proud football coach and remain one. It’s tough trying to develop a football team that hasn’t won. What’s history is history. It’s a different type of development and we’ll continue to develop these players for the new coach.”

FAU’s next chance for a win is on Saturday night at 6 p.m. when it travels to Miami to face FIU in the Shula Bowl.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at www.scottsports33.com.

By Scott Morganroth

It’s hard to believe that, in 91 days, the FAU Owls football team will begin a new era with their new on-campus stadium.

By the time FAU plays in the new stadium, the Owls will have played five road games. Their first three games will be against the Florida Gators, Michigan State Spartans and defending National Champion the Auburn Tigers. It seems destined that FAU could start 0-3. They’ll definitely get three big pay days to put in the athletic department’s checkbook.

FAU’s first two Sun Belt Conference games are at the University of Louisiana Lafayette and North Texas.

By the time Oct. 15 rolls around, will the Owls be out of the post-season picture and be looking for a miracle to become bowl eligible? Time will tell.

In the 30,000-seat expandable stadium, this season will occupy five dates. In the future, it could be as many as seven home games.

The question remains, what events could we see down the road? I anticipate there could be a bowl game.

Here are some ideas for Athletic Director Craig Angelos.

Angelos should have no problem attracting events because, being in South Palm Beach County, this stadium is centrally located to Palm Beach, Broward, Dade and Martin County.

There is no doubt that Angelos will get his fair share of concerts. Years ago, the Orange Bowl (OB) was a venue that  attracted concerts. The Marlins new baseball stadium, on the OB site, will be ready by next season. Although there will be competition for the outdoor market, I do believe there is enough room for two outdoor concert facilities.

Back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers played their home games at Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale. Even though Lockhart was horrible for the Owls because of the poor locker rooms, it was good for a North American Soccer League team.

Major League Soccer has a solid fan base in the U.S.A., so it’s time to see if Angelos can get a team on campus and call it the South Florida Strikers.

In 1983, FAU Coach Howard Schnellenberger left his National Champion Miami Hurricanes for the USFL to coach a team in Miami at the Orange Bowl. This move backfired because the league never played a game in this market and subsequently folded.

The spring of 2012 marks the return of the New USFL. While I doubt we’ll see the 77-year-old Schnellenberger coach this team, it would be neat to see a team in the area in a league where he wanted to coach in the pros again.

Back in the old USFL, there used to be a territorial draft where teams could draft players that played at local schools. I could see a territorial draft with Miami, FIU and FAU, and there will be old faces chasing their dreams in Boca Raton.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at www.scotts ports33.com.