Two more bowl games on tap today. At 6:00 EST there’s
Northern Illinois +9.5 vs Marshall – The inaugural Boca Raton Bowl feature two conference champions that were looking to go to New Year’s Six Bowl but fell just short. Marshall was on track to face off against a Power Five team but gaffed against Western Kentucky 67-66 in OT over Thanksgiving weekend. The Herb rebounded with a win over La Tech to capture the CUSA championship.
Marshall is an offensive dynamo led by Miami native QB Raheem Cato. The Herd steamrolled teams this year averaging 45 points per game (5th overall). The Herd has a balanced attack ranking 18th in rushing and 7th in passing.
Northern Illinois won the MAC for the third time in four years after blasting Bowling Green 51-17 three weeks ago. Their attack is all about the run led by QB Drew Hare. It all features one of my favorite players in the bowl season, bruising RB Cameron Stingily. The 6’1” 235 bruiser is a juggernaut once he gets rolling.
But the Huskies struggle when forced to throw. Hare is efficient, completing 60% of his passes while throwing for 17 TDs against only two picks. But the passing attack is anemic ranking 102nd overall.
Marshall will feel confident playing the MAC champs as they were 3-0 against MAC teams this year, winning by an average score of 45-19. And the Herd has the better defense too allowing 20.8 points per game (22nd overall) versus NIU’s 23.6 points per game (36th overall).
NIU struggles in bowl games going 2-7 while Marshall is on a three game win streak. NIU struggles against the spread too. They are 1-3-1 on neutral fields, 2-5 ATS in bowl games and 3-8 ATS on grass.
Marshall went 8-3 ATS this year and is 5-1 ATS against non CUSA teams.
Overall, it appears that this should be a cover by Marshall, but I think the spread is a bit large for a proud Northern Illinois team. I’m taking the Huskies to cover but putting no quatloos on it.
Northern Illinois +9.5 vs Marshall – The inaugural Boca Raton Bowl feature two conference champions that were looking to go to New Year’s Six Bowl but fell just short. Marshall was on track to face off against a Power Five team but gaffed against Western Kentucky 67-66 in OT over Thanksgiving weekend. The Herb rebounded with a win over La Tech to capture the CUSA championship.
Marshall is an offensive dynamo led by Miami native QB Raheem Cato. The Herd steamrolled teams this year averaging 45 points per game (5th overall). The Herd has a balanced attack ranking 18th in rushing and 7th in passing.
Northern Illinois won the MAC for the third time in four years after blasting Bowling Green 51-17 three weeks ago. Their attack is all about the run led by QB Drew Hare. It all features one of my favorite players in the bowl season, bruising RB Cameron Stingily. The 6’1” 235 bruiser is a juggernaut once he gets rolling.
But the Huskies struggle when forced to throw. Hare is efficient, completing 60% of his passes while throwing for 17 TDs against only two picks. But the passing attack is anemic ranking 102nd overall.
Marshall will feel confident playing the MAC champs as they were 3-0 against MAC teams this year, winning by an average score of 45-19. And the Herd has the better defense too allowing 20.8 points per game (22nd overall) versus NIU’s 23.6 points per game (36th overall).
NIU struggles in bowl games going 2-7 while Marshall is on a three game win streak. NIU struggles against the spread too. They are 1-3-1 on neutral fields, 2-5 ATS in bowl games and 3-8 ATS on grass.
Marshall went 8-3 ATS this year and is 5-1 ATS against non CUSA teams.
Overall, it appears that this should be a cover by Marshall, but I think the spread is a bit large for a proud Northern Illinois team. I’m taking the Huskies to cover but putting no quatloos on it.
But I will take a Mega Bet on
Navy vs San Diego State under 54.0 – Forget about high flying aerial attacks in this game. Navy is known to run the ball ranking 2nd overall in rushing but 127th in passing. What is a bit of surprise is that SDSU is somewhat similar. The Aztec ground attack averages 218 yards per game (30th overall) while the passing game averages only 181 yards per game (106th overall)
It’s the Aztec defense that led them to a bowl game. Behind a pretty good linebacking corp featuring sophomore Calvin Munson and senior Josh Gavert, SDSU allows only 20 points per game (15th overall). Against a very similar Air Force attack, they stuffed the Falcons 30-14 holding them to a mere 140 yards rushing.
I’m torn on who to take versus the spread. San Diego State has been up and down but is 6-0 at home SU and 3-1 ATS versus bowl teams. They are also 6-2-1 ATS on grass. Conversely, Navy went 1-5 ATS versus bowl teams. That said, they are 18-5 ATS versus Mountain West opponents.
When in doubt take the points so I’ll take Navy and the three but placing no quatloos on that aspect of the game
The Mega Bet is on the under. Just like the Arm Navy game this game will feature a ton of running and very little scoring. In fact, the under went 11-1 on SDSU this year and Navy is on a 9-4 under streak (including a Mega Bet under win on Army Navy)
Navy vs San Diego State under 54.0 – Forget about high flying aerial attacks in this game. Navy is known to run the ball ranking 2nd overall in rushing but 127th in passing. What is a bit of surprise is that SDSU is somewhat similar. The Aztec ground attack averages 218 yards per game (30th overall) while the passing game averages only 181 yards per game (106th overall)
It’s the Aztec defense that led them to a bowl game. Behind a pretty good linebacking corp featuring sophomore Calvin Munson and senior Josh Gavert, SDSU allows only 20 points per game (15th overall). Against a very similar Air Force attack, they stuffed the Falcons 30-14 holding them to a mere 140 yards rushing.
I’m torn on who to take versus the spread. San Diego State has been up and down but is 6-0 at home SU and 3-1 ATS versus bowl teams. They are also 6-2-1 ATS on grass. Conversely, Navy went 1-5 ATS versus bowl teams. That said, they are 18-5 ATS versus Mountain West opponents.
When in doubt take the points so I’ll take Navy and the three but placing no quatloos on that aspect of the game
The Mega Bet is on the under. Just like the Arm Navy game this game will feature a ton of running and very little scoring. In fact, the under went 11-1 on SDSU this year and Navy is on a 9-4 under streak (including a Mega Bet under win on Army Navy)