THE New Orleans Bowl is hardly the most attractive of all the bowl games over the upcoming weeks, but Troy can get punters off to a profitable bowl season start.
The Trojans take on the Ohio Bobcats in ‘the Big Easy’ on Saturday night in a contest that is priced up as being fairly close to a coin-flip. However, there are several reasons to believe that the Trojans are the superior team – and the team far more motivated to be in this particular game. Troy has been focussed on ‘the drive for five’ this season, a 5th consecutive Sun Belt conference title, and although they did not win the conference outright, wins over Western Kentucky and a blowout of Florida Atlantic helped the Trojans to a share of that title. Trojans coach Larry Blakeney and his players had also incorporated the target of a trip back to New Orleans in their plans for the season, making their third appearance in this particular bowl game all that more meaningful. Troy’s high-powered offence was the highest scoring in the Sun Belt conference as they averaged 31 points a game. The offence is led by quarterback Corey Robinson, whose performances have been indicative of his team’s chances in games. Robinson has thrown 15 picks on the season, but also 24 touchdowns, and he was excellent in the 44-7 road win over Florida Atlantic to end the regular season.
As for the Bobcats, in Head Coach Frank Solich, Ohio has a coach who is no stranger to bowl games. Solich was a former player and coach at Nebraska, and he has led Ohio to two previous bowl games – although they lost both. In 2010, Ohio began the season 1-3, before embarking on a seven game win-streak that returned the team back into bowl contention. However, a 28-6 loss at Kent State to end the regular season knocked Ohio out of contention for the MAC championship game and left the Bobcats relying on an at-large bowl selection. Ohio is of course delighted to simply be in New Orleans and have the opportunity to finish the season on a high, as well as claim their first ever postseason win, but they will have to ensure that their intensity levels are high from the beginning in this contest. The Bobcats ball control, rush-lead attack offence is not built to come from behind, and Ohio has to be ready to go from the outset against a Troy squad that has momentum on its side.
The two teams had two common opponents this year – both beat Bowling Green and Louisiana-Lafayette, games that don’t provide much of a clue as to how these two squads match up. However, Troy has proven several things that Ohio has not. Firstly, Troy has won its big games at the end of the season in convincing fashion, whereas Ohio lost its big game against Kent State without much of a fight. Secondly, Troy has the ability to put big points on the board, something Ohio cannot live with if its defence does not play to its best. Thirdly, and finally, Troy wanted to be here and targeted this game all season whereas Ohio fell into the New Orleans bowl and is more relived to be in attendance than excited. These facts make the 5/6 available on Troy too tempting to turn down – the main concern being whether the freshman Corey Robinson can avoid putting the ball in the hands of an Ohio defence that claimed 17 interceptions on the season.
SUGGESTION –
Troy WIN (5/6 @ Paddy Power)
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