Connecticut Huskies vs Marshall Thundering Herd Point Spread Picks

Not all teams are up for a bowl game, but Connecticut will be. UConn suffered through a miserable 1-11 campaign a year ago but won five of seven to make this bowl. That included a 13-3 win over Boston College as a +8 dog and a 36-33 win over Liberty as a +13 underdog. They also upset Fresno State, 19-14, as a +22 dog. At 6-6, UConn has a chance for a winning season, which they haven't had since 2010. The ground attack leads the way averaging 4.8 yards per carry behind RBs Victor Rosa (561 yards, 4.5 ypc) and Devontae Houston (538 yards, 6.8 ypc). Connecticut is 19-6 ATS after covering the spread in five or six of their last seven. Marshall also prefers to run the football with a freshman at quarterback in Cam Fancher (8 TDs, 5 INTs). The last three times Marshall has been a double-digit favorite they failed to cover, beating Gardner Webb (28-7) as 31-point chalk, while losing straight up to Bowling Green (34-31) as a 17-point favorite and to Louisiana-Lafayette (23-13) as 10-point chalk. And Marshall is 16-35 ATS after two straight games committing one or fewer turnovers. Play Connecticut.

ST. PETERSBURG BOWL: UConn Coach Bob Diacvo has done a nice job of turning around the program at UConn. He suffered a 2-10 season in his first year, but got the Huskies to 6-6 this year. They will take on Marshall at the St. Petersburg Bowl. The UConn defense is a lot better than the offense at this stage, even though it looks like QB Bryant Shirreffs will be back on the field for this game. The Huskies are 6-6 despite averaging just 17.7 points per game, so that will tell you that this team can play some defense. Marshall averages well over 30 points per game, but the offense is actually below average, generating 5.4 yards per play to teams that average allowing 5.7. I don't think they sustain a whole lot of drives vs. this UConn defense that allows fewer than 20 ppg. Marshall is significantly above average defensively, and I just don't see either of these teams coming very close to their season's offensive output. The Huskies are 10-1 to the UNDER in their last 11 games when following a 20 point or greater loss, while the Herd is 6-0 to the UNDER after a 20+ point loss in their last six. This one stays UNDER.