By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher
The Marshall Thundering Herd faces the South Florida Bulls on Thursday night. The two teams will face off in the Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl at 8 pm on ESPN at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
This is the first year that the game will be played in Tampa. It was previously held at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida from 2008 through 2017.
The Thundering Herd brings an 8-4 record into the game. Marshall went 4-2 on the road.
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The Bulls are 7-5. They went 3-3 on the road this season.
According to Covers.com Consensus Analysis, the Bulls have a 53% chance to win this game, according to their public poll. Their expert poll; however, gives the Bulls a 68% chance to win this game.
This is the first meeting between these two schools.
The Bulls bring a 6-3 Bowl record into this contest. South Florida has a two-game Bowl win streak, winning in 2016 and 2017.
In the 2016 Birmingham Bowl, they defeated the South Carolina Gamecocks, 46-39. The following year, they also defeated the Texas Tech Red Raiders, 38-34, in the Birmingham Bowl.
This is USF’s second appearance in this Bowl game. They appeared in the inaugural event in a 41-14 win over the Memphis Tigers in the MagicJack St. Petersburg Bowl on December 20th, 2008.
The Thundering Herd has an 11-3 Bowl record. Marshall has won its last six Bowl games from 2009 through 2017.
Their last loss was a 32-14 to the Cincinnati Bears in the PlainsCapital Fort Worth Bowl on December 23rd, 2014 at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas.
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This is also Marshall’s third appearance in this Bowl game. They won 16-10 over the Connecticut Huskies in the St. Petersburg Bowl on December 26th, 2015.
They also defeated the FIU Panthers, 20-10, on December 20th, 2011.
The Thundering Herd lost their regular season game on December 1st in a play-in game for the Virginia Tech Hokies to make the Bowl game. They lost 41-20.
Marshall had a three-game win streak before the loss to the Hokies.
The Bulls began the season with a seven-game win streak. However, they lost their last five contests.
Marshall is averaging 27.4 points per game. Their defense is allowing 22 points per game.
The Thundering Herd is averaging 384.5 total yards per game. They; however, are allowing 335.6 yards per contest.
South Florida is averaging 29.2 points per game. Their defense is allowing 31.5 points per contest.
The Bulls are averaging 444.2 total yards per game. Their defense is allowing 441.9 yards per contest.
Thundering Herd quarterback Isaiah Green went 170 of 305 for 2,238 passing yards. He also had 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Tyler King leads the Thundering Herd backs with 108 carries for 655 yards and four touchdowns. Tyre Brady leads the Thundering Herd receivers with 66 receptions for 914 yards and nine touchdowns.
Bulls quarterback Blake Barnett has gone 203 of 327 for 2,493 passing yards. He also has 11 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
Jordan Cronkrite leads the Bulls backs with 173 carries for 1,095 yards and nine touchdowns. Tyre McCants leads the Bulls receivers with 58 receptions for 607 yards and three touchdowns.
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