The St. Petersburg Bowl will be slated for an early 11 am start at Tropicana Field, in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Thundering Herd from Marshall will be looking for its third bowl win in as many seasons. The Herd were victorious in Florida at last year’s Boca Raton Bowl. The UConn Huskies will be making their first bowl appearance in four years. The Huskies have actually been outscored on the year, grinding out wins with a no-name blue collar defense. Marshall got here in much of the same fashion, only beating one team that was invited to a bowl, Southern Mississippi. A strong defense that ranked 14th, only allowing 18.4 points per contest, was the primary reason the Herd are returning to Florida for the second straight bowl season.
Bowl: St. Petersburg Bowl
Teams: Connecticut Huskies vs Marshall Thundering Herd
Date/Time: December 26, 2015 – 11 AM EST on ESPN
Location: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FL
Vegas Line/Total: Marshall -4.5 / O/U 44
Written by: Erik the Hun
6 – 6 Record – 5 – 7 Vs Spread Over – Under: 2 – 10 11/28/15 @ Temple L 3-27 L 13.5 U 38 |
9 – 3 Record – 7 – 5 Vs Spread Over – Under: 4 – 8 11/27/15 @ Western Kentucky L 28-49 L 12.5 O 64 |
January 1, 2011 – Fiesta Bowl – UConn 28 – 40 Oklahoma Sooners January 2, 2010 – PapaJohns.com Bowl – UConn 20 – 7 South Carolina Gamecocks January 3, 2009 – International Bowl – UConn 38 – 20 Buffalo Bulls December 29, 2007 – Meineke Car Care Bowl – UConn 10 – 24 Wake Forest Demon Deacons December 27, 2004 – Motor City Bowl – UConn 39 – 10 Toledo Rockets |
December 23, 2014 – Boca Raton Bowl Marshall 52 – 23 Northern Illinois December 27, 2013 – Military Bowl – Marshall 31 – 20 Maryland December 20, 2011 – Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl – Marshall 20 – 10 Florida International December 26, 2009 – Little Caesars Pizza Bowl – Marshall 21 – 17 Ohio December 23, 2004 – Fort Worth Bowl – Marshall 14 – 32 Cincinnati |
Connecticut Outlook:
For a school known mostly for its basketball achievements, the Huskies hope a 6-6 year and a bowl victory can boost some recruiting for the football program. Bob Diaco’s Huskies were anything but spectacular this year, but a huge victory over 19th-ranked Houston, in one of its final two games, capped a six-win season and a chance for their first winning season since 2010.
Sophomore transfer quarterback Bryant Sherriffs will be back under center after suffering a concussion in the season finale. Sherriffs completed 60.3 percent of his passes, for 1992 yards and nine touchdowns with seven picks. Surprisingly, those numbers were the best for the Huskies since Dan Orlovsky in 2004.
Arkreel Newsome was the Huskies Swiss army knife. The Connecticut running back had 173 carries for 756 and six touchdowns on the ground and 40 catches for 432 yards and two through the air. With an offense that doesn’t move the ball by big plays, starting field position is important and in comes Newsome again. Newsome had 19 returns for 429 yards, with a long of 72.
Even though the wide receiver group was not called upon to do to much, they did manage to move the chains when necessary. Junior Noel Thomas collected 54 receptions for 719 yards and three TDs, and Alec Bloom managed to grab 20 balls for 290 yards and a touchdown.
All year long the defense was the unit that kept the Huskies competitive. Cornerback Jamar Summers, with his 7 interceptions, and tackles Julian Campeni and Foley Fatukasi led this salty defense that kept teams’ point totals to a manageable number (17.8 points a game). The Huskies ability to shut down the pass, allowing only 186.9 yards a game, good for 21st in the country, will look to expose the Herds true freshman Chase Litton’s inexperience and force him into some turnovers.
Marshall Outlook:
The Thundering Herd are a far cry on the offensive side of the football than the good old days when Byron Leftwich and Rakeem Cato were throwing the ball all over the place. Marshall struggled to generate those type of numbers, but did manage to put up 32.6 points a game, albeit in a conference not known for its defenses. The Thundering Herd, much like the Huskies, kept themselves competitive with its stingy defense and special teams.
True freshman quarterback Chase Litton, though improving, needs to work on his accuracy, completing under 60 percent of his passes. Litton did find the back of the end zone 22 times and only tossed seven interceptions. The 2390 yards through the air is not what the fans are used to, but it was good enough for Marshall to reel of seven straight victories through the middle of the season.
Since the injury of running back Devon Johnson, Marshall has not recovered the ability to balance the offense on the ground. Johnson went out October 17th, and since that time, The Herd has had to rely on three running backs to make up for his production. Hyleck Foster, Remi Watson, and Tony Pittman combined for 229 carries for 1131 yards and 11 touchdowns.
With the decline in the passing game, the wide receivers numbers are down. Davonte Allen and DeAndre Reaves, the two senior wide outs, will try to make an impact in the last game of their college careers. Allen had 56 catches, 696 yards and five scores and Reaves recorded 47 more for 617 yards and four scores.
The defense for the Herd should create some match-up problems for the Huskies along their offensive line. Marshall does well against the pass because of the pressure they create on the quarterback. The Herd are ranked 33rd against the pass, yielding only 201 yards a game. This stat correlates as to why the Herd only allow 18.4 points a game.
Match-up Analysis & Prediction
Analysis:
If you’re tuning into the St. Petersburg Bowl to watch two teams move the football up and down the field, this bowl game is not your cup of eggnog. These two teams rely on their defenses to control the game and try to limit mistakes by playing conservative football. Marshall’s signal caller, Chase Litton, will need to show some flashes of why he is an up-and-coming threat in the Conference-USA and create some big plays. The special teams for Marshall will need to once again outplay those of their opponents. The Huskies must bring that hardhat-and-lunch-pail mentality one last time, and gut out another blue collar, hard-working victory, by playing solid defense and running the ball effectively enough to achieve victory in the Sunshine State.
Prediction:
To get further analysis from Ej the Rainmaker and Erik the Hun, check out our audio preview of the Bowl using the audio file below…
