College Football: Boca Raton Bowl Odds And Prediction

We have made it to bowl season! I have picked every single college football game against the spread for you this season. There is no way I’m going to abandon you now!

Boca Raton Bowl at Boca Raton, FL

Marshall(-10.5):

Wins: at Miami(OH)(42-27), vs. Rhode Island(48-7), vs. Ohio(44-14), at Akron(48-17), at Old Dominion(56-14), vs. Middle Tennessee State(49-24), at Florida International(45-13), vs. Florida Atlantic(35-16), at Southern Mississippi(63-17), vs. Rice(41-14), at UAB(23-18), vs. Louisiana Tech(26-23)

Losses: vs. Western Kentucky(66-67 OT)

Record vs. Bowl Teams: 2-1

Northern Illinois:

Wins: vs. Presbyterian(55-3), at Northwestern(23-15), at UNLV(48-34), vs. Kent State(17-14), vs. Miami(OH)(51-41), at Eastern Michigan(28-17), at Ball State(35-21), vs. Toledo(27-24), at Ohio(21-14), at Western Michigan(31-21), vs. Bowling Green(51-17)

Losses: at Arkansas(14-52), vs. Central Michigan(17-34)

Record vs. Bowl Teams: 3-2

Common Opponents:

Miami (OH): Marshall beat the Redhawks by 15 on the road. NIU beat them by ten at home. Advantage: Marshall

Ohio: Marshall beat them by 30 at home. NIU beat them by 7 on the road. Advantage: Marshall

Prediction:

The talent favors Marshall behind QB Rakeem Cato. The intangibles favor Marshall. The common opponents favor Marshall. This one looks like it will be a landslide on paper. So why is the spread that “low”? Because Marshall’s defense has had some issues, especially late in the year.

The Huskies come in riding a seven game winning streak. They have won ugly at times, but really seem to be playing well lately. The destruction of Bowling Green in the MAC Championship was evidence of that.

What it boils down to for me is that I don’t trust the NIU offense, even against a somewhat shaky defense.

Pick: Marshall

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