St. Petersburg Bowl 2016: Miami (OH) vs. Mississippi State TV Info, Time & Odds
The 2016 St. Petersburg Bowl features two of the better storylines bowl season has to offer, with the Miami (Ohio) Redhawks facing the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
The Redhawks (6-6), out of the MAC, suffered various injuries before the season began, adjusted and rattled off six consecutive wins to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2010.
An SEC competitor, the Bulldogs (5-7) are one of three teams to back into a bowl game with a losing record thanks to its Academic Progress Rate, meaning a team with quite the dangerous offense still gets a chance to make some noise.
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As a way to help the holiday hangover, this looks like a great encounter. Here's everything to know about the morning matchup.
St. Petersburg Bowl 2016
Date: Monday, Dec. 26
Time (ET): 11 a.m.
Location: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida
Watch: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Tickets: ScoreBig.com
Over/Under: 58
Spread: Mississippi State (-14)
Team Injury Reports
| Nate Becker | TE | Out for season |
| Zach Hovey | OL | Out for season |
| Collin Buchanan | OL | Ques Mon |
| Danny Godlevske | OL | Ques Mon |
| Matt Skibinski | OL | Ques Mon |
| Jordan Rigg | OL | Ques Mon |
| Zach Smierciak | DL | Ques Mon |
| Billy Bahl | QB | Ques Mon |
| Jordan Martin | QB | Out indefinitely |
| Chris Hudson | WR | Out for season |
| Darryl Williams | OL | Out Mon |
| Deion Calhoun | OL | Out Mon |
| Michael Story | OL | Out Mon |
| A.J. Jefferson | DL | Out Mon |
| John Hankerson | DB | Out indefinitely |
Injury reports courtesy of USA Today.
Storming Back
The Redhawks, albeit quietly, stand as one of the year's best stories.
After losing some of the big names noted in the injury report above, the team lost its first six games of the year, though four of those were by a maximum of 10 points.
The key to Miami's turnaround was quarterback Gus Ragland, who came off an injury to complete 62.4 percent of his passes for 1,274 yards and 15 touchdowns with no interceptions.
Over this stunning turnaround, Ragland's offense scored 35 or more points three times while the defense surrendered more than 20 just twice.
Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen has even stressed the importance of not overlooking a team with so much momentum, according to STATS LLC (via ESPN.com).
"It's not like they were getting crushed early in the season and then all of a sudden the light came on," Mullen said. "They were battling. They had some tough losses early in the season and just kind of started making the plays and having some confidence to win the games later in the year."
The reward for an epic turnaround is a fight with an SEC team, which is a far cry from the MAC play to which the Redhawks are accustomed—but with Ragland playing this well and confidence high, anything is possible.
Proving They Belong
Judging the Bulldogs by a losing record does the team a great disservice.
One only has to look at the season's results to see the Bulldogs deserved a postseason slot. They registered wins against programs such as South Carolina and Ole Miss—though everything pales in comparison to the November upset of then-No. 4 Texas A&M.
As for losses, the Bulldogs went down 23-20 at the hands of then-No. 20 LSU, lost in double overtime to BYU, 28-21, and 40-38 to Kentucky.
That's not bad for a team undergoing a major transition while needing to replace quarterback Dak Prescott. The task went to Nick Fitzgerald, who responded with 2,287 passing yards and 21 scores. He also led the team in rushing with 1,243 yards and 14 touchdowns while averaging seven yards per carry.
As SEC Network's Cole Cubelic pointed out, Fitzgerald, like his predecessor, ranked among some of the conference's best:
Fitzgerald leading the team in rushing doesn't mean he did it alone. Any player on the offense with more than 10 carries averaged better than four yards per, while top wideout Fred Ross reeled in 68 catches for 873 yards and 12 touchdowns.
The offense has improved as the season has progressed, hence the Bulldogs dropping 55 points against Ole Miss on the road to finish the year. Next is a Miami defense out of the MAC.
Prediction
The Redhawks have something truly special to build on moving forward after Ragland's emergence and rallying for a bowl appearance.
But a bowl victory won't go on the resume. Pitting a MAC team against an SEC team is never a tough sell, hence Las Vegas favoring the Bulldogs so heavily.
Miami doesn't have the speed or physicality to stop Fitzgerald. Nor does it have the corner to match Ross. Fitzgerald especially shouldn't have any problems moving the ball through the air or on the ground to control this one.
Look for the Bulldogs to secure a sixth win on the season with a statement game before charging into next year's SEC slate with confidence.
Prediction: Mississippi State 38, Miami 20
Statistics courtesy of ESPN unless otherwise specified. All betting information according to OddsShark.
Follow Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) on Twitter.
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