2008 St. Petersburg Bowl Preview
The 2008 St. Petersburg Bowl between South Florida and Memphis is another bowl game featuring an under-performing team. South Florida was expected to make some noise in the Big East Conference this year, and labored home with a 7-5 record.
Memphis had to overcome injuries all season, especially at quarterback, and this may be the healthiest they've been in some time. Quarterback Arkelon Hall, who threw for over 2,000 yards this season, returned for the team's final regular season game.
This is essentially a home game for South Florida, but the big question is how much they care. Playing on the first day of bowl games is not what the Bulls had in mind at the start of the season or even during the season, as the Bulls broke into the top 10, only to lose four of their last five games.
There's no question that South Florida has the better talent, especially on the defensive side of the ball, but Memphis has the ability to move the ball on the ground, which is something you always like to see when betting a double-digit underdog.
The line opened South Florida -13 and is now USF-11, despite 52-percent of the bets coming in on the Bulls. But as the Thursday Night Football Game between the Colts and the Jaguars showed us, reverse line movements don't always come through. Still, have to believe that Memphis is the way to go in this game.
The total on the game has climbed to 55 after opening at 51.
3* Memphis +11
2* Under 55
