The Gasparilla Bowl between the Marshall Thundering Herd and UCF Knights is the lone game on Monday afternoon so why not put a little action on it while you’re bored at the office.
Marshall has won each of its past six bowl game appearances, while UCF has won one of its last four. UCF is used to playing in bigger bowl games but in a 9-3 season, this is about where the Knights belong in 2019.
Both teams have really struggled in covering spreads in 2019, combining for 6-14 against the number in their current streaks.
We will see a contrasting of styles as UCF likes to use an up-tempo offense, while Marshall relies on the run game to control the clock and move the chains.
Game Time/TV Channel/Streaming
The Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl will begin at 2:30 p.m. ET in Tampa, Florida on Monday, Dec. 23 and can be seen on ESPN and WatchESPN.
Point Spread, Totals, Odds, Trends
Spread: UCF (-17.5) vs. Marshall
Point Total: 61.5 O/U (-110)
Money line: Knights (-770), Thundering Herd (+525)
- UCF is 2-7 against the spread in its last nine games.
- Marshall is 3-7 against the spread in its last 10 games.
- The point total has gone over in 12 of Marshall’s last 18 games.
The Best Bet
This isn’t quite the UCF team we’ve seen in the past with the three losses coming in. Also, motivation should be a bit of a factor since the Knights are traditionally the “Cinderella” team if there is such a thing in college football. Generally they play very good competition against major Power 5 programs. It’s not the case this year, and Marshall is good enough to cover the 17.5 point spread.
Pick: Marshall +17.5
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Odds and lines subject to change. See website for details.