The Camellia Bowl is set for Christmas Day this year, and features an interesting matchup between Buffalo and Marshall. Both teams won their respective conferences, losing to UAB in the Martial Conference USA Championship Game, and falling to Ball State in the Buffalo MAC Championship Game. These teams may not have met for the first time, as they were conference allies at one time.
Buffalo joined MAC in 1999 and has been there ever since. Marchel has had two stints at MAC, most recently attending the conference in 1997 and spent eight seasons there before moving to the conference USA. It was during the eight years when these teams met six times. Marshall won all six games at an average of 33 points per game. As a new return to the FBS level at the time, Buffalo’s program was not as late as it used to be.
So who wins this showdown on Christmas Day in Montgomery, Alabama? Let’s take a closer look at the matchups and storylines that followed, before making some expert straight up and against the spread.
Storylines
Marshall: Thundering herds were not roaring under the belt. Marshall enters the game on a two-game losing streak, and like many programs, has seen the start of his season and frequent watching. Marshall started the season in early September, but after a 2-0 start, the program had to wait almost a month between games. That didn’t stop him from a 0-0 start, but after another long layoff in mid-November, Hurde suffered a 20-0 defeat to Rice in early December. Freshman quarterback Grant Wells, who had a spectacular season, threw five interceptions into the loss. Heard’s offense will struggle again against UAB in the convention title game, managing just 268 yards and 13 points. If Silver had been in search of the lining, he would have won the Marshall C-USA Championship, not the Bowl to play. UAB went into the Gasparilla Bowl, which was canceled after South Carolina had to withdraw from the game due to covid problems.
Buffalo: Most of the Bulls later joined the party because Mack didn’t start his season until November. In perspective, Marshall was already 5-0 and postponed three games before the Bulls started the season. When they were late, they didn’t waste time working, trashing their first five opponents of the season. The Bulls won their division with ease and entered the Mack Championship with a 5-0 record, winning at an average of 30.8 points per game. This was mainly due to a run behind Jarrett Patterson, who has run for 1,072 yards and 19 touchdowns in just six games. Patterson was injured during a 38-28 loss to Ball State in the MAC Championship of the B Champion Fellows, but the team hopes he can go against Marshall.
Viewing information
Game: Camellia Bowl
Date: Friday, December 25 | Time: 2:30 pm and
Location: Crematon Bowl – Montgomery, Alabama
TV: ESPN | Live stream: fuboTV (try for free)
Camellia Bowl predicts, picks
Latest hurdles:
Buffalo Bulls -5.5
I think Marshall has found value because of his two-game losing streak. The Bulls opened as a 3.5.-point favorite, but the line quickly reached … Given the tendency to struggle during the Bowl season and Buffalo’s easy schedule this season, it makes the heart more attractive. Plus, the question is whether Jarrett Patterson will be able to play. If not, I love Heard. If he can go, I’m not as enthusiastic as a fan of this play, but I can still make it. Pick: Marshall +4.5 | Marshall 27, Buffalo 24
So who wins Buffalo vs. Marshall? And which side of the spread hits 60 percent of the time? Visit Sportsline now to see which side of the spread is on the back, All from a proven model of 55-35 runs on his top rated college league football .l elections this season.
