Gasparilla Bowl 2018: Marshall vs. USF TV Schedule, Time and Odds
One of the most successful college football programs in bowl games over the last decade takes the field in Thursday's Gasparilla Bowl.
Doc Holliday's Marshall Thundering Herd won their last six postseason contests, with the latest victory coming in the New Mexico Bowl a year ago.
Two of those victories have come in past iterations of the Gasparilla Bowl, as the Thundering Herd won the Beef O'Brady's Bowl over Florida International in 2011 and the St. Petersburg Bowl against UConn in 2015.
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Marshall's opponent is one familiar with the surroundings of Raymond James Stadium, as the South Florida Bulls use the home of the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers as their home stadium.
The Bulls made their only Gasparilla Bowl appearance in 2008 when it was named the magicJack Bowl.
Since then, the Bulls won bowl games under four different coaches and reeled off back-to-back wins in the Birmingham Bowl.
Gasparilla Bowl Information
Date: Thursday, December 20
Start Time: 8 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
Live Stream: Watch ESPN or ESPN app
Odds (via OddsShark): Marshall -3; Over/Under: 51.5
Preview
Marshall deserves to be the Gasparilla Bowl favorite, and it's a bit surprising to see it with such a small line given the recent results of both teams.
The Thundering Herd won three games in a row before falling to Virginia Tech December 1 in a game the Hokies used to become bowl eligible.
South Florida cracked the AP Top 25 in October, but it fell off the map with five straight defeats to a quintet of programs that qualified for the postseason out of The American.
Playing at home helps the Bulls, but they have plenty of things on defense to correct in order to be competitive for four quarters.
South Florida's biggest disadvantage is its rushing defense that ranks 122nd in the FBS after conceding 2,936 yards and 244.7 yards per game.
The eight programs with worse rushing defenses than South Florida combined to go 21-75, and none of them made a bowl game.
Marshall running back Brenden Knox must be thrilled about the Bulls' weakness covering the ground game, as he's coming off a 204-yard performance against Virginia Tech.
Quarterback Isaiah Green is also capable of putting up big numbers through the air, as he is two games removed from tossing 387 yards against UT-San Antonio.
South Florida is much better defending the pass, as it ranks 31st in the FBS, but it's going to have to contain Knox in order to allow its secondary to do work against Green.
Normally the Bulls would feel confident in their offense keeping them in the game, but quarterback Blake Barnett's status is in doubt.
USF head coach Charlie Strong didn't provide an update on Barnett's health Monday, which is an indicator Barnett might not be ready to go, per Joey Knight of the Tampa Bay Times.
If Barnett is unable to go, the Bulls will be forced to rely more on their running attack, which is exactly what Marshall wants them to do.
The Thundering Herd rank eighth in the FBS in rushing defense, and they haven't conceded a run longer than 40 yards this season.
The Bulls possess a pair of strong running backs in Jordan Cronkrite and Johnny Ford, but they only produced two 100-yard performances during the five-game losing streak, both of which came from Ford.
In order to finish the season with a victory on their home field, the Bulls need a few breaks to go in their favor, and they're going to need one or two momentum-changing plays out of their running backs.
Prediction
Marshall 35, South Florida 16
Marshall hands Conference USA its second victory of bowl season with a dominant performance on the ground, but there will be some concerns if the over hits.
The thing to watch for over bettors is how South Florida's offense advances down the field in the first half.
If the Bulls show some promise and put together a few nice drives, they'll be able to put up points in the second half once the Thundering Herd let their feet off the gas.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90
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