Bowl Pick: New Orleans
The Louisiana Superdome plays host to the 2008 New Orleans Bowl, which pits the Troy Trojans over the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles.
Our team of writers and handicappers break down the matchup and hand out a free pick for the 2008 New Orleans Bowl, which kicks off Saturday, December 21 at 8:15PM ET.
Oddsmakers from online sports book Sportsbook.com have made Troy -5 point spread favorite. The over/under for this game has been set at 55 total points.
Top Public Betting Trend: Troy is 4-2 against the spread in their last six games and 6-2 straight up in their last eight contests. The total has also gone under in four of Troy’s last six games.
Key Stat: The Trojans dominant almost every major stat in this matchup including points for (33.3 to 30.7), points against (20.6 to 23.8), passing yards per game (246.0 to 238.2), pass defense (180.4 to 223.9) and run defense (139.8 to 145.0).
Game Outlook: The Eagles have been competitive of late going 4-1 against the number in their last five games, but this is a tough matchup for them. Troy’s offense is incredibly fast and they’ll be even faster on the turf of the Superdome. But it won’t be their offense that wins this game – it’ll be their defense. Southern Miss has been outstanding running the ball this year, averaging close to 200 yards per game on the ground. But Troy’s defense is quick and while their allowing an average of 139.8 rushing yards per game, they’re better than that stat indicates. Troy has also hung with some big time opponents this year, including LSU, who the Trojans loss to 40-31 but easily covered the 16-point spread. Southern Miss’s offense will keep the Eagles in this game for the most part, but we expect the Trojans to pull away in the second half and win by at least a touchdown. For the rest of our Free College Football Bowl Pick, see below.
Check out the 2008 New Orleans Bowl Preview
Our Free College Football Bowl Pick for the New Orleans Bowl matchup between the Troy Trojans and Southern Miss Golden Eagles game is
TROY TROJANS -5
TheSpread.com Projected Final Score
Troy Trojans 35
Southern Miss Golden Eagles 28
We also predict that this game will GO OVER THE TOTAL (55 Sports Interaction.com) SET BY ODDSMAKERS
Posted: 12/21/08 2:00PM ET