Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl Predictions: Florida International vs. Marshall Preview

Written by Jake Thompson
Tuesday, 20 December 2011 02:35

Predictions are ready for the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl game between Florida International and Marshall.

The Florida International Golden Panthers (8-4) and the Marshall Thundering Herd (6-6) will meet up in Tuesday’s Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl, and we’ll do our best to preview the teams while making predictions on the likely outcome.  Start time of the Florida International vs. Marshall game is set for 8:00 PM ET and the game will be shown live on the ESPN channel.

Legends Sportsbook opened up the betting odds with Florida International favored by 5 and the total at 51, but much has changed in the days leading up to kickoff.  The Golden Panthers are now favored by 4 on the point spread, while the total has shifted down to 48.5.  Close to 65% of tracked college football bettors are going with Florida International, yet the point spread has moved in the opposite direction.

Florida International’s Offense vs. Marshall’s Defense:

The Golden Panthers’ offense has a nice mix of the run and the pass, averaging 26.2 points per game on 219.2 passing and 151.2 rushing yards.  Quarterback Wesley Carroll (2224 yards, 59.7%, 14 TD, 4 INT) has been poised in the pocket, but Florida International is a team that uses the run to set up the pass.  The Golden Panthers need the run to be truly effective and should be able to find room against a Marshall defense that allows 155.2 yards on the ground this season.  Florida International won’t score a million points, but they should be effective on offense.

Marshall’s Offense vs. Florida International’s Defense:

The Thundering Herd isn’t scary on offense, but they do have enough balance to move the ball effectively at times.  Marshall scores 22.0 points per game with averages of 212.2 passing and 123.1 rushing yards.  The problem with that rushing tally is that they only average 3.6 yards per carry and aren’t overpowering along the offensive line.  Florida International allows just 3.4 yards per carry and has been a very solid defense this year.  Marshall has lost by double digits in their past 4 games in which they were outgained by 30 or more yards on the ground, and I could see a similar rushing statistic happening in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl.

Florida International vs. Marshall Predictions – 2011 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl:

Marshall has a habit of playing in some close, low-scoring games, but ultimately I think that Florida International has to be the play here.  Predictions call for the Golden Panthers to be superior on both offense and defense, while the Thundering Herd’s inability to stop the run will play a big part in the favorite covering the point spread.  Florida International isn’t great at any facet, but they are good at just about everything and that should be enough to get them the victory.

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Florida International 27

Marshall 20