Triple Option

By Michael Maynard

Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl (7 PM CT, ESPN, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL): Marshall (-3) vs. USF

Why I Care: The name. The “Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl” is such a good name for a bowl it sounds fake. The favorites are still 8-0 and I’m tracking that streak for when it snaps. Last year roughly 50% of favorites won last year, so if the law of averages holds true, eventually some crazy results might occur.

Why You Should Care: Neither team is incredibly exciting, as this is probably C-USA #5 vs. AAC #5. USF started 7-0 in a weak schedule, and lost 5 in a row to end the season against the 5 C-USA bowl-eligible teams. Marshall lost two ACC games against NC State and Virginia Tech, split with the other two C-USA contenders, losing at home to MTSU and beating FIU on the road in Rivalry Week. USF QB Blake Barnett’s collegiate journey across the map from Alabama to Arizona State to USF concludes today, but he didn’t play against UCF so his status for the bowl game is uncertain. No TNF today but the NFL did schedule two more again on Saturday. So this is the only football on.

Team Stats:

Marshall: 8-4, 6-2 C-USA (5-1 EAST). BER: 2-4. OPPG: 27.4, DPPG: 22.0, Pt. Diff: +65

USF: 7-5, 3-5 AAC (2-3 EAST). BER: 1-5, OPPG: 29.2, DPPG: 31.5, Pt. Diff: -28

Game Notes:

• “Gasparilla” refers to mythical Spanish pirate José Gaspar, who became legend in the Tampa area. So it also may explain why the NFL team is named the Buccaneers.
• Previously the St. Petersburg Bowl, this is year two with the new name as the matchup moved from Tropicana Field to Raymond James Stadium. Last year Temple beat FIU soundly 28-3.
• As I mentioned yesterday, Florida leads all states with 8 bowl games, the Gasparila Bowl the third so far (Cure and Boca Raton previously, Camping World, Orange, Gator, Outback, and Citrus in the future).
• The Outback Bowl also is played at the Raymond James Stadium, making it one of 4 sites to host multiple bowl games (Camping World Stadium, Mercedes-Benz Superdome, Mercedes-Benz Stadium).
• USF is playing a home game for the Gasparilla Bowl, one of two teams to do so this bowl season (Hawaii). Last year such teams were 1-2, which FAU winning the Boca Raton Bowl, and Miami losing the Orange Bowl and Memphis losing the Liberty Bowl. USF joins UCF, San Diego State, Akron, and Eastern Michigan as the only 5 G5 teams with a win over a Power-5 bowl-eligible team (Georgia Tech in Wk. 2)

Published December 20, 2018 @ 5:43 PM C.T. 

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