Bahamas Bowl Spread: Florida International vs. Toledo Prediction

Charlie Grant | Updated Dec 16, 2018

toledo rockets

Toledo scored 40 or more points in four of its five final games of the regular season and the team finished as the 11th highest-scoring side in the nation at 41.1 points per game.

AT
December 21, 2018, 12:30 PM ET
Thomas A. Robinson Stadium
Toledo
7-5
Pointspread +7 -110
Moneyline +230
Over / Under o +56.5

47%

Betting Action

53%

Pointspread -7 -110
Moneyline -280
Over / Under u +56.5

47%

Betting Action

53%

The early games on the college football bowl schedule often feature teams many bettors haven’t spent much time watching. What FIU and Toledo lack in star appeal they make up for with high-octane offences. That sounds like music to the ears of Over bettors everywhere.

Bahamas Bowl Betting Analysis

The Rockets opened as 6-point favourites at Sports Interaction and while the line has moved a little bit, it seems the closing number should fall just under a touchdown spread.

The total opened at 67.5 and moved up to 68.5 soon after. That’s the third highest total of all the 39 bowl games on the betting board. Only the Orange (80.5) and Liberty Bowls (74.5) have higher totals.

The Panthers went 8-4 during the regular season (9-3 against the spread) and came just shy of winning the Conference USA East division. Their loss in the regular season finale locked them into the No. 2 slot in the C-USA East.

The Butch Davis-coached team enters the post-season on a three-game ATS win streak. The Panthers are making their second bowl-game appearance in two years but they were routed 28-3 last year in Gasparilla Bowl by Temple.

Toledo knows the feeling about post-season embarrassment. The Rockets were shot down by Appalachian State 34-0 in the 2017 Dollar General Bowl. The MAC school is making its fifth straight postseason appearance and its eighth this decade. Toledo has covered the spread in just two of its last seven bowl games.

Florida International Golden Panthers

FIU made some headlines the week before its bowl game but not for the right reasons. Running back Shawndarrius Phillips was arrested on a domestic violence charge. The warrant had been out for him for almost three months before the actual arrest.

Phillips is the Panthers’ third-leading rusher this season with 393 yards and four rushing touchdowns. He remains on the active roster for the bowl game despite the arrest.

Quarterback James Morgan is the FIU player to watch in this game. The junior transfer from Bowling Green completed 65.3 percent of his pass attempts and finished the regular season with 26 touchdown passes compared to just seven interceptions.

Toledo Rockets

Toledo scored 40 or more points in four of its five final games of the regular season and the team finished as the 11th highest-scoring side in the nation at 41.1 points per game.

The Rockets excel at moving the ball on the ground rather than through the air. Three of their running backs topped the 500-yard mark this year, and the trio combined for 24 rushing touchdowns.

Bryant Koback is the main threat in the running game. He collected 316 rushing yards and four TDs in his final two games of the season.

Golden Panthers vs. Rockets Prediction

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