Friday, May 18th, 2012
The Florida International Golden Panthers (8-4) and the Marshall Thundering Herd (6-6) will meet up in the St. Petersburg Bowl later this month, and this is an interesting game from a wagering perspective.
The St. Petersburg Bowl will be played on Tuesday, December 20th, and college football fans can watch the action live on ESPN with an 8:00 PM ET start time.
One of the reasons why Florida International is a 4-point favorite in the St. Petersburg Bowl has to do with the fact that their 4-2 record away from home easily trumps the poor 2-5 mark that Marshall has accumulated on the season when having to travel.
The Golden Panthers are on a 3-game winning streak over Florida Atlantic, UL Monroe, and Middle Tennessee State, and they’ve managed to cover the point spread in all 3 victories.
Defense has been a big part of Florida International’s success this year and they’ve gone under the total in 7 of their last 8 games.
The Thundering Herd enters with 3 wins over their last 4 games but they haven’t always played spectacular football even in their victories.
Marshall has a balanced but not-terribly-explosive offense that averages 22.0 points per game, while their defense allows 30.2 and has been a bit of a problem.
The Thundering Herd simply don’t score enough points on offense for their defense to be letting them down like has happened at times this year.
Marshall games have gone over the total in 4 of 5 heading into the St. Petersburg Bowl, making this an interesting clash between two teams that have been playing vastly different styles lately.
It seems that fans are expecting Florida International to determine the pace here since the total has been bet down to 49 after opening up at 51.
The Golden Panthers are receiving a large amount of public support, yet the point spread has been moved the other way after opening at -5.
Tags: betting, college football, december 20th 2011, espn tv, florida international golden panthers, las vegas, line, marshal thundering herd, money line, odds, offshore, over under, pick, point spread, preview, sportsbook, st petersburg bowl, total, tuesday
