2009 New Orleans Bowl Picks: Southern Mississippi v. Middle Tennessee State Football Odds & Predictions
The 7-5 Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles face off against the 9-3 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders on Sunday, December 20th at the Superdome for the 2009 edition of the New Orleans Bowl (8:30 PM EST, ESPN). NCAA football odds makers are expecting a good game, listing Southern Miss as the 3.5-point favorite with the total set at 58.
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This year’s New Orleans Bowl will mark the eighth straight bowl appearance for Southern Miss and the 12th in the last 13 seasons. And the New Orleans Bowl is certainly not new territory for the Golden Eagles, who defeated Troy 30-27 in overtime in last year’s edition.
It’s been another impressive season for the Southern Miss offense, which racked up over 5,000 yards for a third straight season while ranking 31st in total offense with a 418.3 yards per game average. The Golden Eagles rank 26th nationally in rushing offense with a 186.3 yards per game average and 44th nationally in passing offense with a 232 yards per game average. And, their 33 points per game are good for 19th in the nation. The offense is led by QB Martevious Young and running back Damion Fletcher. Young comes in boasting an incredible 13 to 1 touchdown/interception ratio and Fletcher needs only 35 yards to pass the great Herschel Walker for ninth place on the all-time NCAA rushing list. If he can gain 63 yards Sunday night, he will become just the ninth player in FBS history to register four 1,000-yard seasons.
Defensively, the Golden Eagles are strong up front with a front seven you can put up against just about anyone. This unit has helped the Southern Miss defense rank 12th in the country in sacks with 2.8 per game and 22nd in tackles for loss with 6.9 per game. Despite the amount of pressure the Golden Eagles have been able to bring, they have been susceptible to the pass, ranking 113th in the nation in pass defense with a 266.2 yards per game allowed average. The boys up front, especially end Cordarro Law, who leads the Eagles with 7.5 sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss, must be able to keep MTSU dual-threat QB Dwight Dasher under constant duress. The Eagles were able to do so when they faced a similar QB in UAB’s Joe Webb earlier this season, limiting him to just 23 yards passing. It is worth noting that the Golden Eagles are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 bowl games. If you like the Golden Eagles to win the New Orleans Bowl a second straight year and cover the spread in the process, bet Southern Miss at -3.5 at BetUS.
Middle Tennessee State is going bowling for the second time in four seasons and few teams enter the postseason running hotter. Coach Rick Stockstill’s Blue Raiders reached the nine-win mark for the first time since moving to the Football Bowl Subdivision in 1999 and enter the New Orleans Bowl on a six-game tear. The Blue Raiders are led by Mr. Everything QB Dwight Dasher, who leads them in rushing with 953 yards and passing with 2,627 yards. Dasher has 21 touchdown strikes against 14 interceptions, and he added another 11 scores on the ground. The MTSU QB has played extremely well during its winning streak, and he will have to post big numbers Sunday for the Blue Raiders to come out on top.
Defensively MTSU has been solid, ranking 49th in total defense, allowing 351.6 yards per game, and 45th in scoring defense, allowing 23 points per game. The defense was especially good down the stretch, holding its last three opponents to 19 or fewer points. I’ll be keeping my eye on cornerback Marcus Udell, who leads the team with seven interceptions. He was crucial to the Blue Raiders’ success down the stretch with six picks during his team’s six game winning streak. It is worth noting that the Blue Raiders enter on a perfect 6-0 ATS run. If you like one of the hottest teams in college football to keep rolling Sunday, bet Middle Tennessee State at +3.5 at BetUS.
Jimmy Boyd has dominated the bowl season each of the last two years, finishing the 2007-08 bowl season on a 14-5 run and the 2008-09 season on a 10-4 home stretch run. Crush your book again this year through the BCS Championship Game with Jimmy’s expert football picks!
