FT. WORTH BOWL
CINCINNATI vs. MARSHALL ? December 23rd, 6:30 pm
Yet another match-up featuring two 6-5 teams and who ever said there were too many bowl games? Are you kidding me? What else does the entire country have to do two days before Christmas other than watch what promises to be a yawnfest? I?m quite sure that the fine residents of Ft. Worth are as pleased as they can be at the draw that this game offers. Both teams are in a bowl game this year not because they deserve to be, but because they got lucky. Along with the fact that this game should be less that entertaining, in my opinion the linesmakers have not really offered much value for either side or for the total.
The Marshall Thundering Herd has averaged 25.2 points per game this year and has allowed their opponents to average 21.3 points. The Herd rushes the ball for a whopping 123.2 yards per contest and has passed for around 215 while allowing the teams they have faced 124.2 and 222.5 respectively. I don?t know about the rest of you but those numbers along with their record describes a very average team. After years of basking in the glory that came along with players like Randy Moss and Chad Pennington, this team has got to be wishing that they could put this season behind them. There are a couple of playmakers on this team and watching QB Stan Hill connect with WR Josh Davis could provide some entertainment between trips to the refrigerator. Davis is only one of two players in NCAA history to catch 300 passes in his career. This year he has caught 81 for 847 yards.
The Bearcats from Cincinnati have the slightest of edges in scoring having averaged 28.4 points and allowed 27.8 points per game in 2004. They also have a little better offensive numbers that the Herd with 184.8 yards rushing and 221.4 passing yards per game this season. Cincy was on a roll toward the end of the season with SU and ATS wins over Memphis, TCU, So. Miss and So. Florida before being annihilated by Louisville in their last game. Granted that game was played without their stud QB Gino Guiduali, but regardless, 70-7 is a bad beat any way you look at it. Other loses came against Ohio State, Syracuse, UAB and Army. That?s right; Army beat the Cats 48-29 as 14 point underdogs allowing the Cadets to bring their 19 game losing streak to a halt. Guiduali has supposedly recovered sufficiently from the broken hand injury that he suffered on November 20th against So. Florida but unless he is truly 100% this team may have a tough time against a pretty good Marshall defense.
I have handicapped this game because I said that I would do so for every bowl game. I wish now that I had checked out the match-ups a little closer before making that promise. Marshall?s losses came against better competition and they play better defense. That being said, I?ll hold my nose and make a prediction on the side and the total.
The Verdict: MARSHALL (+1.5) & UNDER (53.5)
CINCINNATI vs. MARSHALL ? December 23rd, 6:30 pm
Yet another match-up featuring two 6-5 teams and who ever said there were too many bowl games? Are you kidding me? What else does the entire country have to do two days before Christmas other than watch what promises to be a yawnfest? I?m quite sure that the fine residents of Ft. Worth are as pleased as they can be at the draw that this game offers. Both teams are in a bowl game this year not because they deserve to be, but because they got lucky. Along with the fact that this game should be less that entertaining, in my opinion the linesmakers have not really offered much value for either side or for the total.
The Marshall Thundering Herd has averaged 25.2 points per game this year and has allowed their opponents to average 21.3 points. The Herd rushes the ball for a whopping 123.2 yards per contest and has passed for around 215 while allowing the teams they have faced 124.2 and 222.5 respectively. I don?t know about the rest of you but those numbers along with their record describes a very average team. After years of basking in the glory that came along with players like Randy Moss and Chad Pennington, this team has got to be wishing that they could put this season behind them. There are a couple of playmakers on this team and watching QB Stan Hill connect with WR Josh Davis could provide some entertainment between trips to the refrigerator. Davis is only one of two players in NCAA history to catch 300 passes in his career. This year he has caught 81 for 847 yards.
The Bearcats from Cincinnati have the slightest of edges in scoring having averaged 28.4 points and allowed 27.8 points per game in 2004. They also have a little better offensive numbers that the Herd with 184.8 yards rushing and 221.4 passing yards per game this season. Cincy was on a roll toward the end of the season with SU and ATS wins over Memphis, TCU, So. Miss and So. Florida before being annihilated by Louisville in their last game. Granted that game was played without their stud QB Gino Guiduali, but regardless, 70-7 is a bad beat any way you look at it. Other loses came against Ohio State, Syracuse, UAB and Army. That?s right; Army beat the Cats 48-29 as 14 point underdogs allowing the Cadets to bring their 19 game losing streak to a halt. Guiduali has supposedly recovered sufficiently from the broken hand injury that he suffered on November 20th against So. Florida but unless he is truly 100% this team may have a tough time against a pretty good Marshall defense.
I have handicapped this game because I said that I would do so for every bowl game. I wish now that I had checked out the match-ups a little closer before making that promise. Marshall?s losses came against better competition and they play better defense. That being said, I?ll hold my nose and make a prediction on the side and the total.
The Verdict: MARSHALL (+1.5) & UNDER (53.5)
