St. Petersburg Bowl Odds & Prediction

Here are the team capsules for the St. Petersburg Bowl and the pick against the spread!

Happy Holidays to all of you readers! You may be taking it easy, but there are bowl games to prepare for, so I am still at it! I still have nearly 30 picks to make to try and stay above .500. It could be a challenge with the way this bowl season has started!

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In case you missed how the point scale works, here is a brief rundown:

5. A lock. I am comfortable making a sizable wager on this game.

4. Very confident. Not quite a lock, but I am comfortable making a decent sized wager on it.

3. Middle of the road. Good enough that I would make a small wager on it.

2. Could go either way. So much so that I wouldn’t bet on it.

1. Stay away from these.

Just in case you missed any:

• Gildan New Mexico Bowl
• Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl
• Raycom Media Camellia Bowl
• Autonation Cure Bowl
• R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
• Miami Beach Bowl
• Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
• Marmot Boca Raton Bowl
• San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
• GoDaddy Bowl
• Popeyes Bahamas Bowl
• Sheraton Hawaii Bowl

Now, on to the St. Petersburg Bowl!

Connecticut vs. Marshall(-4.5) at St. Petersburg, FL(2):

Connecticut(6-6, 4-4):

Wins: vs. Villanova(20-15), vs. Army(22-17), at Central Florida(40-13), vs. East Carolina(31-13), at Tulane(7-3), vs. Houston(20-17)

Losses: at Missouri(6-9), vs. Navy(18-28), at BYU(13-30), vs. South Florida(20-28), at Cincinnati(13-37), at Temple(3-27)

Record vs. bowl teams: 1-5

Marshall(9-3, 6-2):

Wins: vs. Purdue(41-31), vs. Norfolk State(45-7), at Kent State(36-29), vs. Old Dominion(27-7), vs. Southern Mississippi(31-10), at Florida Atlantic(33-17), vs. North Texas(30-13), at Charlotte(34-10), vs. Florida International(52-0)

Losses: at Ohio(10-21), at Middle Tennessee State(24-27), at Western Kentucky(28-49)

Record vs. bowl teams: 1-3

UConn became known for fierce defense in the dogfight in Columbia in late September. Only Cincinnati was able to hang more than 30 on the Huskies, but they did have some problems on the offensive side of things. Connecticut has not scored more than 30 in a game since early October. That usually isn’t an issue, but it may be in a game like this where Marshall scored more than 30 points in all but one of their wins.

The only team with a pulse that the Herd beat was Southern Mississippi, but putting up 31 on that defense is a solid game. This team is at its best when it is scoring, and that could be a problem against Connecticut. If points are at a premium, Marshall has struggled.

The key to this is the Connecticut defense. They were able to keep a good Houston offense mostly under wraps, but failed to do so against BYU, Temple, and Cincinnati. Is Marshall’s offense that caliber? Doubtful.

My pick: Connecticut

Next: The Picks For Every Bowl Game!

Stay tuned for the picks of every bowl game against the spread!