2008 MagicJack St. Petersburg Bowl

This is the inaugural magicJack St. Petersburg Bowl. It will be hosted in Tropicana Stadium (the home of Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays) in St. Petersburg, Florida according to Wikipedia . The stadium has a dome so weather will not be a factor in this game. This is only a few miles from South Florida's campus according to Google Maps, so the crowd should be in their favor. In only their 11^th season, South Florida will play in its third bowl game. Below you will find analysis of each school's offense, defense, and special teams based on statistics compiled from FoxSports.com.

South Florida (7-5)

Offense: South Florida has the 38^th most offensive yards per game (397.4) along with above average passing and running games. The 159.8 yards rushing (51^st) and 237.6 yard passing (39^th) each game make their offense highly effective. They average 26.5 points per game for the 54^th rated scoring offense.

Defense: The Bulls have been very strong on defense this year, ranking 30^th overall. Allowing only 97.7 yards per game rushing, they have the 9^th best rush defense. With only 194.1 yards per game passing, they are 44^th against the pass.

Special Teams: The Bulls have been above average on punt returns (9.32 yards per return) and kick returns (22.45 yards per return), but they have been giving more than they get on both punts (10.9 yards per return) ranking 86^th and kick returns (23.6 yards per return) ranking 100^th.

Memphis (6-6)

Offense: Memphis has a very good offense, ranking 22^nd in the country with a total of 432.2 yards per game. 205.6 yards rushing (18^th) and 226.6 yards passing (47^th) have led them to score 28.3 points each week for the 44^th best offense in the country.

Defense: Memphis has the 66^th ranked defense in terms of points allowed (26 per game). They allow 146.3 yards per game rushing (69^th) and 195.7 yards per game passing (47^th).

Special Teams: The Tigers average 7.62 yards per punt return and 19.02 yards per kick return. Their coverage allows 5.7 yards per punt and 19.5 yards per kick which rank 27^th and 32^nd respectively.

Match Up: Earlier this season, both South Florida and Memphis faced Louisville, a game both lost, although South Florida was much closer. In another common game, South Florida beat UCF, while Memphis lost to them. Both teams run the spread offense effectively, so look for a high score. Though the Tigers have better numbers on offense, the Bulls have a much better defense and that will be the difference in this game.

Prediction: South Florida 35 - Memphis 27