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International Bowl: Buffalo vs. Connecticut Football Picks

Written January 2, 2009 by Jason Lowry

Connecticut Buffalo Football

This Saturday January 3rd the Mid-American Conference Champion Buffalo Bulls will look to keep the hot streak going when they take on the Connecticut Huskies in the International Bowl from Toronto. This is the first ever bowl game for the Bulls, who finished the season with a huge win over previously undefeated Ball State in the conference championship game, as the Bulls turned a 2-4 start into a 8-5 finish. As for the Huskies they started the season strong winning its 5 games, but really struggled down the stretch winning just two of its final 7 games, including the final two of the regular season. For those of you looking to do some NCAA football betting on the game, the oddsmakers have Connecticut 6.5 point favorites over Buffalo at Bookmaker.com.

The Bulls come in with a pretty solid offensive attack, as they are scoring 31 points a game, and have scored 40 or more in 3 of their last 4 games. The Bulls are doing it both on the ground and through the air, as they are averaging 380.5 yards a game, and 141 of those yards come on the ground. James Starks is a big reason for the Bulls ground success, as put together an All-Conference performance this season running for 1,308 yards and 15 touchdowns. Helping Starks was backup Brandon Thermilus, who ran for nearly 450 yards with 7 touchdowns. In the passing game it was Drew Willy who got this team rolling, as Willy completed nearly 65% of his passes for 3,091 with an impressive 25 touchdowns to just 5 interceptions. Willy didn’t do it all on his own, as he had a pretty good receiver in Naaman Roosevelt to throw the ball to, as Roosevelt caught 96 passes for 1,312 yards and 13 scores, so its easy to see that Bulls have talent on this side of the football.

The defense is where this team has struggled, as they let opposing teams score 27.5 points per game, and nearly 410 total yards of offense per contest. A big reason why this team has been so bad on this side is they just can’t stop the other team from running the football, as opponents ran for nearly 160 yards a game. The Bulls have been able to force 28 turnovers this season, and 20 came from fumbles. When teams went to the pass the Bulls were only able to sack the opposing quarterback 12 times this year, and that is a ridiculously low number for any team. The guy worth watching is Justin Winters who led the Bulls with 117 tackles and 7.5 tackles for loss at the linebacker position. Bet Buffalo Bulls +6.5 at Bookmaker.com.

When you take a look at the Huskies offense, it won’t take you long to figure out that this team is going to try and run it in your face for 4 quarters. The Huskies come in averaging just over 350 yards a a game of total offense, and 204 of those yards come on the ground, and if this team scores its likely going to be on the ground as well, as they have just 4 touchdowns through the air this season. Donald Brown is a big reason for the Huskies success on the ground, as Brown led the entire nation with 1,822 yards with 17 touchdowns. At the quarterback position the Huskies rely on Tyler Lorenzen who not only struggled to stay healthy but struggled to throw the ball as well, as Lorenzen finished with just 2 touchdowns with 8 interceptions, and was unable to even complete 50% of his passes this season.

The Huskies defense is the strength of this team, as they come in allowing opponents just under 20 points a game, and only 281 yards of total offense. The defense was just as good against the pass as they were against the run, as the allowed just 165 yards through the air, while giving up 116 yards on the ground. This unit has also been able to make the big plays, as they have forced 24 turnovers and unlike the Bulls they have been able to get to the quarterback, as this unit has recorded 30 sacks this season. Keep a close eye on Cody Brown in this one, as Brown comes in with 15 tackles for loss and 10 sacks. A concern for this defense is All-Big East corner Darius Butler could miss the game with a knee injury. Bet Connecticut Huskies -6.5 at Bookmaker.com.

Lowry’s Lean on the Game: Buffalo +6.5
I am not 100% sold that the Bulls will come out with a win in this one, but I do believe they keep this one close. I see the Huskies controlling the game with the run, but I see the Bulls making a few big plays on offense to make sure the Huskies don’t run away with this one.

Predicted Score: Connecticut 24 Buffalo 23

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