Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl: 5 Reasons Louisville Will Beat Southern Mississippi

The college football bowl season resumes on Tuesday in St. Petersburg, Fla., when the Louisville Cardinals take on the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles in the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl.

The latest line released for this game has the Cardinals listed as 2.5 point favorites for this matchup between the Big East and Conference USA.

Here are five reasons why the Louisville Cardinals will win the St. Petersburg Bowl.

5. Southern Miss Defense

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NEW ORLEANS - DECEMBER 20: Dwight Dasher #9 of the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders runs past Ronnie Thornton #56 of the Southern Miss Golden Eagles during the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl at the Louisiana Superdome on December 20, 2009 in New Orleans, Lou

At first glance, the Golden Eagles defense looks mighty impressive.

The rushing defense is ranked 13th in the nation, but built that hefty resume against very poor teams.

When the Golden Eagles faced a team that could rush the ball well they were dominated on the ground and gave up over 200 yards per game to the likes of UAB, South Carolina and East Carolina.

4. Louisville Defense

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CINCINNATI - OCTOBER 24: DJ Woods # 3 of the Cincinnati Bearcats runs with the ball while defended by Brandon Heath #5 of the Louisville Cardinals during the Big East Conference game at Nippert Stadium on October 24, 2009 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by

Defense is the strength of this Cardinals team.

The team hired a defensive-minded coach in Charlie Strong in the offseason and the move has paid off. Louisville has limited opponents to just 224 points this year and ranked 12th in the FBS with 304.7yards per contest.

The defense had two shutouts on for the first time in six years, to include shutting out BCS-bound Connecticut. The Cardinals have the 15th scoring defense and should be able to control this game.

3. Motivation

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LOUISVILLE, KY - SEPTEMBER 04: Charlie Strong the Head Coach of the Louisville Cardinals gives instructions to his team during the game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium on September 4, 2010 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by

While both teams would like to win a bowl game, the motivation is much stronger for a Louisville team that has not played in a bowl game since 2006. A bowl win by Charlie Strong would only improve on his early recruiting success.

2. Trends

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LOUISVILLE, KY - NOVEMBER 29: Brian Brohm #12 of the Louisville Cardinals celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the Big East Conference game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on November 29, 2007 at Papa John's Stadium. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty

College football bettors will recognize the sports betting trends in favor of the cardinals for this meeting.

The Cardinals are 12-1 against the spread (ATS) in their last 13 against a Conference USA opponent, 4-1 ATS in their last five games as a favorite and 30-11 ATS in their last 41 non-conference games.

The Golden Eagles are 1-4 ATS in their last five non-conference games and 2-9 ATS in their last 11 games after accumulating more than 280 yards passing in their previous game.

1. RB Bilal Powell

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LOUISVILLE, KY - OCTOBER 15: Bilal Powell #15 of the Louisville Cardinals runs with the ball during the Big East Conference game against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium on October 15, 2010 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy

Powell is the motor of the Cardinal’s offense and amassed 1,330 yards this year on the ground which is good for second in the Big East this year.  

This senior has experience against the Golden Eagles running for 58 yards on 10 carries in the last meeting.

Powell earned all-conference honors and is the nation's 10th leading rusher. Powell will allow the Cardinals to control the time of possession.

The Cardinals have the edge on defense and will be able to control the clock with Powell running the rock. Louisville wins and covers the small number in the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl.

Matt Regaw is a B/R Featured Columnist and the founder of BookieBlitz.com, your one-stop shop for sports articles, previews and predictions. Feel free to contact Matt at [e-mail].

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